All the latest news and information about the Barbershop Society’s newest District • July, 2011 Looking Back, Looking Ahead By Steve Tremper, NSC VP for Contest & Judging Our first-ever Spring Convention is now behind us and we have a lot to look back on with pride and satisfaction, and a lot to look forward to in the coming months. Those of you who were with us in Charlotte back in March enjoyed a fun weekend with lots of opportunities to sing and hone your barbershop skills a bit more. What a hobby! We coordinated the International Quartet Prelims contests with a Saturday agenda that included group vocal techniques, chorus coaching sessions with our excellent judging panel and top District coaches, a variety of classes in several areas, and a “zone chorus” experience that gave everyone an opportunity to sing in a large chorus environment with fellow barbershoppers from around the District. If you didn’t get your singing jollies out of that weekend, it’s your own fault! Feedback from the convention was very positive on the agenda and activities, and the contest and meeting room venues served us very well. There were a number of complaints about the “creature comfort” aspects of the weekend, with some people having problems with their sleeping rooms, bathrooms, the lack of an in-house restaurant, parking issues, etc. Much of that, unfortunately, was out of our control, and we hope that didn’t dampen your enjoyment of the weekend. On the contest side of things, we had another good one, though it would have been great to have more quartets take advantage of the contest experience, not only to get valuable stage time in front of the best audience in barbershop, but also to work with the judges and pick up lots of help in improving your overall performance skills. But the 13 quartets that did turn out gave it their best in a good contest. We qualified Let’s Sing! To represent the District at International this summer in Kansas City, and enjoyed performances by our current Seniors Quartet Champions, Village Green and our Novice Champs, Easy Livin’. Even our current 4th place International Medalist Seniors Quartet, BLacKJack was there! Everyone got a chance to strut their stuff in the spotlight as the Zone Chorus sing-off rounded out the Saturday night show, and then we all enjoyed a number of hospitality rooms and “glowed” into the wee hours. Be sure to thank NSC Events VP Mike Doheny and his team for once again putting on an outstanding weekend, and special thanks goes to Mark Rodda and his Charlotte Chapter host team, who provided excellent support and manpower in all areas. You really stepped up to the plate, guys, and we thank you! Many of you who attended the Spring Convention returned to your chapters with lots of good feedback and “you-shoulda- been-there’s” for their fellow singing buddies who missed it. (cont. pg. 2) One of many great classes held during Saturday’s busy schedule. Barbershoppers were coached by some of the best in our hobby. (photo: Ken Thomas) Our Spring District Convention location; beautiful Charlotte, NC. Carolina District Newsletter | July, 2011 1 How can you prevent that from happening again? Come to Florence this October! We have an exciting convention in the works for this Fall, and I strongly encourage all of you to make plans to be there. The Florence Civic Center is a 10,000 seat arena with tons of space and a top rate venue for our contests. A local “mega-church” uses the facility on Sundays for their weekly services, and they have a large stage and extensive lighting and sound already in place. We’ve negotiated to use their equipment for our weekend, so you are going to have a “mini-International” experience on that stage! If you want to give your chorus and quartet a real performance treat, you have got to sign up for this contest. It’s gonna be awesome! Right next to the Civic Center are a bunch of great hotels, and within two blocks are over 25 different restaurants to satisfy every palate and taste. A large shopping center is right across the street, and it’s all just off the intersection of I-95 and I-20. Believe me, you are gonna love this! Mike and the Events team will be publishing more info in the coming weeks, but you should make plans now to bring your family and invite your friends to this special weekend, October 21-23. Check the District web site for info as it becomes available, talk it up with your chapter and quartet, and get ready for another GREAT Carolinas District Convention! One of the best reasons for barbershoppers to have a convention... to meet up with old friends, make brand new friends and to sing, sing, SING! A one and a two and a three and a FORE! The NSC Spring Convention Golf Outing is a great success On a bright sunny Friday morning on March 25th, a group of twelve gathered for the purpose of harmony and golf, just not necessarily in that order. We gathered at the beautiful Raintree Country Club in Charlotte. This was the kickoff of our newly formed “first” Carolinas District Spring Convention weekend. This being said, it was also the beginning of a “new” form of Convention and Quartet Contest that turned out most favorable to the 400 plus attendees. The golfers had the opportunity to play a modified scramble format with one group to conclude as the winners. They were the group of Jim King, Dave Powell, Mark Thompson & Andy Crutchfield. The foursome was called “The Happy Whacky Harmonizers” …. I believe. That’s my story and I am sticking to it! We awarded two other lavish gifts to two other players. Longest putt went to Andy Crutchfield. Word has it that no one else made anything over one foot either! Closest to the pin on a par three went to Dave Powell. Rumor had it that he was actually the only one to be closet the green also!! Again, my story!! All said and done, what a wonderful way to enjoy sun, fun, and generally a great time with our brothers and sisters in Harmony. Oh yeah, we did get a few smiles as we sang to the Pro Shop Staff and Administration and to the gals in the 37th watering hole. GOLF/HARMONY … catch the fun at your next District gathering. Till next time, good old boy and golfing legend in my mind …. Jeff James 2 Carolina District Newsletter | July, 2011 A Chapter-Driven District? By Bob Clark, NSC VP Chapter Development From the first discussions that led to the eventual creation of our “CAROLINAS DISTRICT”, it has been intended to create an organization whose primary purpose would be the improvement and growth of existing chapters and the creation of new chapters of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Just what does it mean to be “chapter-driven”? The answer to that question is a work in process, but it means that the district officers must continually ask themselves: will the action we are considering be helpful to chapters? If we spend this money, (or don’t spend it) will it benefit chapters? Will the training we propose help chapters? What actions can we take that will be most helpful to chapters? The admonition to be “chapter-driven” applies to all leaders of the CAROLINAS DISTRICT, and that philosophy certainly must drive the choices, and actions taken by the Chapter Development organization of our district. 2010 was the year of our birth and it was a very good year for us. The CAROLINAS DISTRICT was granted a charter on 3 Jul 10 in Philadelphia on the occasion of the International Convention of the Barbershop Harmony Society. Just two weeks later, the CAROLINAS DISTRICT House of Delegates met to commence the business of the district and elect and install the first slate of district officers. The first convention was held in Myrtle Beach, SC in October and it was a huge success. The great participation by chapters and members was a just reward for the hard working convention committee and the total experience holds the promise of even better things for our district as we go forward. It is now time to go to work on things that will make chapters better. The Most Important Goal? Every chapter can be better: Every chapter leader, officer, and director can be better; meetings can be more enjoyable and more productive. That philosophy is as American as apple pie and has been fundamental in the creation of this marvelous country in which we are fortunate to reside. We strive for continuous improvement in all that we do and we succeed a good percentage of the time. It is the responsibility of the leadership of a organization to recognize the opportunities for improvement and to direct the actions that make them happen. The job of the chapter leadership team is to determine just what the members of the chapter want the chapter to become (this is unique for each chapter) and then to set about taking the action that makes the wants become a reality. Any involvement by the District in the business of the chapter should only be at the invitation of the chapter leadership. Chapter members are responsible for the operation of the chapter. We have just elected new slates of officers across the district. Many men have just assumed the responsibility to lead their chapters in activities in which they have had little or no experience. We should remember that the thing that makes a job hard is “not knowing how to do it”. (I was reminded of this during the holidays when my eight-year-old granddaughter had to help me with a couple of electronic devices that I couldn’t figure out. It was so simple once I knew “how to do it”!) In our district we have many men with experience, knowledge, and skills in every office and most of them are ready, willing and able to provide counsel and advice to fellow barbershoppers who could use a helping hand. A task for the district is to identify those willing to help and hook them up with chapter leaders who could use a little help. It sure makes life easier when someone with know-how shows us “how to do it”. Four Strategies for Improvement As we enter 2011, the Chapter Development organization of the CAROLINAS DISTRICT is pursuing four efforts that we believe can be helpful to chapters. Each is being led by a “Director” with area responsibility. I’d like to tell you a bit about each of the four efforts. (cont. pg. 4) Carolina District Newsletter | July, 2011 3 I. Planning for Chapter Improvement Director of Planning, Kirk Binning dharmasdad@msn.com Improvement is best accomplished with an Annual Chapter Plan; create a plan for improvement and execute the plan. A burning question for chapter leaders in creating a plan for improvement is “What do members really want”? This is often difficult to determine because in barbershop organizations, just like any other organization, the few vocal members tend to drive the agenda for the whole organization. This may mask real issues and cause less vocal members to simply vote with their feet and leave the chapter. The New Bern Barbershoppers developed a terrific process a few years ago that involves every chapter member in a meaningful “data gathering meeting” that is facilitated by barbershoppers from other chapters. This permits all chapter members to participate as equals, it deals strictly with barbershop chapter issues, it is structured tightly and is extremely efficient at identifying the real issues with which a chapter should be wrestling. One three hour meeting of all chapter members is required (exactly three hours) and works very well from 0900 to 1200 on a Saturday. This is three hours very well spent!! In November there was an all-day training session during which about twenty barbershoppers from across the district were trained to facilitate these data gathering meetings and now stand willing and able to go to work for chapters wishing to start a meaningful planning process. Contact Kirk Binning to schedule facilitators for your chapter meeting. II. Clinics Director of Clinics, Warren Fuson wfuson@nc.rr.com Our first district function of 2011 was the Leadership Academy held at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC under the direction of Warren Fuson on 8 Jan 11. This was one good Leadership Academy! Seventy-four men participated, exceeding the level of participation of prior years, and all nine tracks were taught by Carolinas instructors. The cost of this clinic was born by the district with the belief that there should be no barriers to officers learning how to do the work of their office in their chapter. This is fundamental for chapter improvement. A second clinic was scheduled for 12 February 11 in Hamlet NC where the subject is Chuck Greene’s course on “Compellingly Attractive Chapter Meetings”. This proved to be a bad date because of the conflict with singing Valentines, and it will be re-scheduled. Chuck has done stunning research on our organization and we should not ignore his data and conclusions. Those leaders responsible for the conduct of chapter meetings, (especially Presidents, Directors, Music VPs, and Program VPs) will benefit greatly by participating in this workshop. Once again, the district is covering expenses except for the cost of the manual used in the course that will be the property if each participant for future reference. III. New Chapter Development Director of New Chapter Development, Brian Giersch bdgiersch@suddenlink.net We plan to create new chapters in the CAROLINAS DISTRICT and we have identified some promising locations. Another need has been identified that is taking precedence at this time, and that is the rejuvenation of chapters that are struggling and are in a weakened condition. The chapter in West Jefferson is in such a condition. Their membership is small, their director has moved away and they are out of ideas, but they still have a desire to ring some chords in the mountains. On the afternoon of 5 Mar 11 there was a barbershop event at the Ashe County Community Center in West Jefferson. This was a joint venture of the Carolinas District and the Ashe County Arts Council to stir community interest in building a strong barbershop chapter in West Jefferson. A show featuring a chorus from the North Carolina Harmony Brigade, the quartets: Accappella Fellas, New River Chordsmen, Antics, and Bar None, and a massed chorus of the fifty barbershoppers who came to the mountains from all around the district to give their support was very well received by the local audience. There is a plan in place to provide free vocal lessons to men in the West Jefferson area and an invitation for them to sing with the local chapter after the lessons. West Jefferson had lost their director and the District is providing an experienced director to assist them in a new start. Seven men signed up on Saturday afternoon and hopes are high for more participation. Brian Giersch, Director of New Chapter Development and Jane Lonon, Director of the Ashe County Arts Council collaborated to make all of this happen. The West Jefferson event could be a model for future assists to other struggling chapters and to stirring community interest for the creation of new chapters. IV. The Fifth Man Teams Director of Fifth Man Teams, Terry McPherson terrymchhi@roadrunner.com When four guys form a quartet, they start to sing together and continuously improve their performance. After a while they have done about all they can do without some outside help. (cont. pg. 7) 4 Carolina District Newsletter | July, 2011 The West Jefferson Story Bob Clark, NSC VP Chapter Development In the fall of 2010 the director of the “Mountain Overtones” moved away from the community. The Mountain Overtones is a chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society in West Jefferson, North Carolina. The chapter had been quite active in this mountain community that is uniquely supportive of the arts, but the chapter had fallen on hard times and just a handful of men remained on the active roster. They considered calling it quits. Bob Baldwin is a veteran barbershopper who is a member of the Mountain Overtones and he did not want to see the West Jefferson chapter fold. He asked the new Carolinas District if there might not be some other options. A number of possibilities were considered. The “other option” chosen involved the remaining members of the Mountain Overtones, the Ashe County Arts Council, the North Carolina Harmony Brigade, Four quartets, and about fifty barbershoppers from all across the Carolinas. It was a real happening. Brian Giersch is the Director of New Chapter Development for the Carolinas District. He worked with Bob Baldwin, who volunteered to be the point man for the chapter, and Jane Lonon, Director of the Ashe County Arts Council to create a special barbershop show for the West Jefferson community to showcase our unique music. Jane is a real fireball!! The District sought her counsel when trying to come up with a way to help the chapter. She very much wants to see the chapter once again be a major player in the community and she can generate more ideas in a minute than most of us can in an hour. The Arts Council provided the venue for a show, advertised the event in the community a number of ways, printed and distributed tickets for the performance and worked with barbershoppers at the show by meeting and greeting the attendees. Brian Giersch coordinated the whole operation and assembled the talent and planned the show. On a cold rainy Saturday afternoon in March, an enthusiastic audience gathered at the Ashe County Civic center in West Jefferson. As they entered the Civic Center they were greeted by songs from quartets singing in the lobby and welcomed by barbershoppers from all over North and South Carolina. They became the audience for one terrific barbershop show. Bob (Squeak) Tilton, our District President, welcomed the audience and explained our new organization. Charlie Prickitt from the Wilmington chapter was master of ceremonies for the show. The show was built around the North Carolina Harmony Brigade. They were directed by Jim McMahon, Larry Reinhart, and Larry Triplett and their performance was awesome. Four quartets; New River Chordsmen, Antics, Accappella Fellas and Bar None filled out the program. Robert Cox directed a massed chorus of all barbershoppers in attendance and then led the audience in a sing-along. It was all good fun!! The audience was made aware that the West Jefferson chapter desires to recruit new members and plans to become a thriving chapter once again. It was announced that free singing lessons will be provided to men who would like to learn to sing or to sing better and everyone is welcome to be a part of this activity. Seven men signed up after the show and all of them have been participating in the singing lessons. At this writing (April) there have been two meetings with singing lessons and the most recent meeting had thirteen attendees. It is a good start. The West Jefferson approach may be helpful in other communities and will be watched closely so that we may learn from the experience. For sure the barbershoppers attending had a great time, they provided wonderful entertainment for the people of West Jefferson, they did a great service for the chapter and they were terrific ambassadors for our Carolinas District. A huge thank you to all of the barbershoppers who made the trip and participated at West Jefferson!! A highly appreciative Wet Jefferson audience. Just one of the special moments provided by a contingency of the North Carolina Harmony Brigade Chorus. Carolina District Newsletter | July, 2011 5 A Letter to NSC Chapter Presidents and Secretaries from Bob Tilton The District has recently appointed Ed Miller, Director of YIH (Youth In Harmony). The YIH program has been very actively and successfully underway throughout the Society for perhaps 15 years or longer. Few of our Carolinas Chapters historically have promoted YIH. Several chapters have sponsored young men to attend the Harmony Explosion Camps of Dixie District, but the numbers have always been small. All chapters need to make a good effort to support and promote YIH. We need to turn the page and get behind this effort in an organized and effective way. I was dismayed to find that only six (6) chapters across the district had someone in charge of promoting the success of this function. You and I both know that the best way to get something done is put a good leader in charge of it – make it someone’s responsibility. Then, give him good support. THE TASK: I am asking every chapter to send our Secretary, Dave Millson the name of an individual in your chapter who will work with Ed Miller in gearing up this opportunity. PLEASE RESPOND by June 1st to: mmillson@carolina.rr.com If you are unsure about the program, if you have questions or need guidance, please contact Ed Miller directly. Ed is a talented young music educator who is ready, willing and able to help your chapter with a successful effort. Ed’s contact information: h704-345-8041 • w704-434-7371 • c704-349-8701 • eamiller@clevelandcountyschools.org Thanks for your cooperation, Bob Tilton President, NSC District PS: Should you have doubts about what a youth effort can do for a chapter, I suggest you check the Savannah Chapter’s website to learn about their “Savannah Storm” youth chorus. www.savannahbarbershoppers.org/savannah_storm.htm January 17, 2011 To: The Gold Standard Chorus I am sending this note to thank you for setting my son off into a love of A cappella singing! Wilson attended the barbershop weekend camp at Clemson University when he was an early high schooled. At the time, he was excelling vocally in his local high school choirs but had not experienced barbershop singing before then. He had a wonderful experience at camp, continued his love of singing through high school and is now a member of the very distinguished Spartones, the men’s A cappella group at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. His first experience ... exposure to barbershop singing ... has set him on what I expect will be a lifelong love. Thank you! Joyce Brooks The following is a letter from the mother of a youth the Charlotte Chapter, Q-028, sponsored a Dixie Harmony Explosion Camp when we were still in Dixie. The Gold Standard Chorus sponsored about 17 youth that year. 6 Carolina District Newsletter | July, 2011 Communication Systems in the NSC NSC Website, Chapter Groupanizer Accounts, and NSC Member Groupanizer Accounts by Bob Burns landofskymanager@hotmail.com During the recent NSC HOD meeting it became apparent that there is some confusion concerning the different avenues of communication within our District. Following approval of the formation of NSC by the Society Board, many structures had to be in place by the time we received our Charter. Some of those structures had to do with communications (the NSC Board position VP of Communications reflects some of the main features of being a Chapter-based District, two-way communication and transparency. It was decided that the fledgling District needed a website to show our public side, and to be a venue for intra-District communications on a broad scale, and also needed a method to create better mail lists (email) for more specific intra-and inter-District communications. In stepped Tom Metzger and his Groupanizer, Inc. Some NSC Chapters had already been using Groupanizer Sing! (Groupanizer), for a time, to manage certain aspects of their organization like Calendar, Repertoire, Blogs, Member Roles, etc. Metzger proposed that Groupanizer, Inc. could design and host a NSC website based on content management system component from Drupal, the basis of Groupanizer. Also, for a reasonable price for a period ending 12/31/2011, Metzger offered to set up Groupanizer accounts for every Chapter in the District. He also offered free Drupal- based websites and free website hosting to any Chapter. NSC agreed, and www.carolinasdistrict.org was set up, and Groupanizer accounts were offered to all NSC Chapters and their members. These systems are somewhat tied together, and they are not. I will try to explain: If you, or the public, go to our website (www.carolinasdistrict. org) you will see menus entitled HOME, THE DISTRICT, EVENTS, FIND A GROUP (Chapter), FIND A QUARTET, MARKETPLACE/ (Event) REGISTRATION, COMMUNICATE (Forums open to anyone), CALENDAR, NEWSLETTERS, and YIH. On the left-hand side you will see a box USER LOGIN/Create new Account/Request new password. Why do you need this account (we will call it your NSC Account)? Well, if you have the account and login, besides the menu headings above, you will see “private” District info: CHAPTER TOOLS and DOCUMENTS (go see which ones). (cont. pg. 8) Chapter Driven District (from pg. 4) They acquire a coach or a “fifth man” that helps the quartet continue to improve. Chapter leadership teams may also benefit from some outside coaching and in the same spirit as the quartet “fifth Man”, we are creating “Fifth Man Teams” that will be available to coach chapter leadership teams that desire an outside look. We are forming teams of three men. One man will have music skills, one administrative skills, and the third has a barbershop background and skills. This seems to produce a good, balanced team that can be helpful across the spectrum of chapter issues. There are currently three pilot teams working and available for chapter coaching. A day is planned in late spring to train more coaches and eventually create five or six teams able to serve every chapter across the district without any undue travel. The Fifth Man Team works for and only at the invitation of the chapter leadership team. If you have an interest in participating as a team member, or if you have questions about the program, or how it might help your chapter, please contact Terry McPherson. We live or die depending on the strength of our chapters. Those of us who have enjoyed ringing chords and the fellowship that comes with participation in barbershop activities can’t even imagine life without this wonderful hobby. We will do what is required to assure that future generations are afforded an opportunity to participate in this great American art form. That means that we will lend our talents to strengthen our chapter and do what we can to help other chapters flourish. Join us and be part of the solution. Carolina District Newsletter | July, 2011 7 Communications Systems in the NSC (cont.) Also, when you set up the NSC Account you are asked what your Roles are within the District and your Chapter. This info allowed us to set-up and maintain specific Mail Lists (email)… Chapter Presidents, Chapter Treasurers, Secretaries, Quartet Contact, Members, etc. Chapter Groupanizer Account: Your Chapter has set up a Groupanizer Sing! Account, and many of you have Member Accounts with your Chapter. I will not go into the organizational aspects of Groupanizer here. Go see the very helpful info at www.groupanizer.com for that, and speak to your Chapter Groupanizer Admin if you have questions. Here I want to speak about the communications aspect. If your Chapter has a Chapter Groupanizer Account, then NSC Leadership can post Blog items to that Account. If you go to your Chapter’s Groupanizer page (Dashboard) you will see posted articles down the middle of the page. Some of these are from NSC Leadership and (hopefully) some from your Chapter Leadership. NSC Leadership can post to all Chapter Groupanizer Dashboard pages at once. Also, if you have a Member Account with your Chapter’s Groupanizer, whatever gets posted on your Chapter’s Groupanizer Dashboard Blog also gets emailed directly to you. If NSC Leadership has something important to say to all NSC Members, the item gets posted on the NSC website, gets posted on your Chapter’s Groupanizer site, and gets emailed to each Member who has a Groupanizer account. Comments: 1) As a NSC Member, I need two Accounts: a NSC Account to let me see the “private” sections of the NSC website, and a Member Account with my Chapter’s Groupanizer. 2) An NSC and/or Chapter Leader also obviously needs those two Accounts, but for him he needs to make sure he has the NSC Account to be on the specific Mail Lists. 3) Sadly, the timing and technology were such that these could not have been out together easier, but if you are smart, the Username and Password you use for your Chapter Member Groupanizer Account will be the same as what you use for your NSC Account. 4) Please e-mail me with any questions. Albemarle Sounds Introduce A Dane To Barbershop A recent exchange high school faculty member from Denmark, Soeren Svagin, was a guest at the weekly rehearsal of the Edenton, NC chapter. A talented musician who composes music for his high school programs and is a jazz enthusiast, was enthralled by the barbershop style and wanted some music to take back to Denmark. The chapter gave him copies of several BHS booklets with the hope of planting a seed for another European affiliate of the society. 8 Carolina District Newsletter | July, 2011 The BHS Chapter Achievement Program (CAP) by Bob Burns In the fall of 2010, Paul Wietlisbach, the Society’s Director of Education, conduced a trial survey across the Society to learn more about what chapters were doing inside their organizations and inside their communities. Nearly 450 chapters took part. The survey was tweaked, named the Chapter Achievement Program-2011, and each chapter was again invited to reply, this time to earn scores that would be compared to other chapter. You can read more about it at http://www.barbershop.org/chapter-achievement-program. html In January, the Asheville Chapter completed the survey, along with 7 other Carolinas District chapters. Surprisingly, to the Asheville leadership, they came in #1 out of 336 chapters, Society-wide. Asheville scored 180 points (there is no upper limit as the net number of members gained in a year scores 5 points each; Asheville had a roster increase of 7 members; No chapter in the top 10 had more.). The categories were: Section 1: As I said, in 2010 we had a net gain of 7 members. We received 5 pts per member gained, 12/31/09 vs 12/31/10, plus 2 pts for our New Member Orientation program. 37 points. That is about 20% of our points. Obviously this has to do with membership...gaining new and retaining current. It is due to Compellingly Attractive Chapter Meetings (CACM), which is now deeply instilled in our Chapter’s culture. We probably do not even consciously think about CACM except when we are trying some new idea Chuck has. We were just part of a major article in the Feb. on CACM. What can we add here that hasn’t been said? Section 2: Community Outreach. This area was concerning our paid and un-paid sing-out in the community, etc.; annual shows (we do one in each of 3 cities). Singing Valentines, Singing for Life, our website and our Facebook page, having high school choruses in our shows, the donations we make to the high schools. All of these scored points...44 of them. Section 3: Chapter Management. This was about leadership... how many Board meetings, how many Music Team meetings, how many to Leadership Academy (our being in 2 Districts in 2010 helped us score well in some of this), leadership listings in eBiz (thanks to our great Secretaries), etc. 41 points. For some reason our Harmony Foundation donations didn’t score points here. I am not sure why. Maybe the approximately $3000 this Chapter’s members donated in 2010 wasn’t enough for some points, although we gave at the Bronze Level. Section 4: Contest Involvement. Again, being in 2 Districts really helped us, but so did regular and Senior quartets competing, our guys who went to BHS International in Philly, guys attending the DIX Fall Convention, etc. 42 points. Section 5: Member Excitement/Fulfillment. Events like officer installation, afterglows, CACM, recognition awards (BOTY, etc.), Quarteting of any kind before, during, after meetings (polecats, tags, repertoire, etc.). We received only 16 points here. We weren’t as sociable as some other chapters, we didn’t have many who went to Harmony University (#10 Alexandria received 24 points for that alone), and we do not have a bulletin/newsletter, as such. So, we scored 44 for community outreach, 42 for contest involvement, 41 for Chapter Management, 37 for membership, and 16 for member excitement/fulfillment. Obviously, we will work on Member Excitement/Fulfillment, mostly focusing on quarteting. The other Carolinas District Chapters who took part in CAP were: Pinehurst, New Bern, Charlotte, Greensboro, Spartanburg, Greenville Area, and Central Carolina. Asheville is obviously proud to have done so well, but we didn’t do anything special to increase our score over what we received in the trial program in 2009. It is just in our culture. If you go to the Webpage above you can see the survey template. Take a look at the categories. Then do some planning to see how well your chapter can score in 2011. Contributing Writers (this edition): Steve Tremper, Bob Burns, Bob Tilton, and Bob Clark Bob Burns can be reached by phone at 828.242.5495 or by email at landofskymanager@hotmail.com. Carolina District Newsletter | July, 2011 9