May, 2010, #2

Thank You

Since the last Bulletin was published on May 10th, I received this note from Jean Turley, Ed Crosley's daughter. She asked that I share it with the Chapter.

"Words cannot express our appreciation and gratitude for the love and caring that was shown by the all the guys who visited and sang with Ed during his stay in the hospital and the turnout by everyone at the funeral home. It eases the pain of his loss a little to know he was thought of so highly."

Thank you to all.

Billie, Ken, Joanne, Jan, and Jean
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Singing At Copley Place

On Saturday, May 22, we once again were welcomed to Copley Place in Fairlawn. Our directors, Dan Nichols, Terry Arman and Bud Couts ably led us through a forty-five minute performance that included songs from the 2010 show, some old favorites and songs from Chapter quartets. The audience was very enthusiastic and many sang along with the chorus.

As those of you who have joined in our Copley Place singing over the past few years know, the venue is a beautiful place in which to perform. The administration and staff have been very helpful to the chorus by, among other things, providing transportation to some of our Cleveland TV appearances.And at the end of our singing, we were invited to join with others in attendance and enjoy dessert and coffee. What a nice way to brighten up a somewhat rainy day.

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Jim Murfin- 5/31
Paul Albert- 6/3
Bob McCullough- 6/7
Robin Reid- 6/7
Bill Weddington- 6/11

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What O. C. Cash Forgot To Tell Us

1. Beware the 'gambler' barbershopper who believes he'll get even on the next song, two at the most.

2. A good tag will never beat a good song.

3. A guaranteed way to increased chorus membership, go out and buy new risers that meet your current needs.

4. Want more money for your chapter treasury? Maybe this idea will start your brain juices flowing. Do a double printing of all tickets to your annual show. True, at curtain time you may have a little chaos in the aisles. So what. You tell them it was the printer's fault, followed by your loudest song. And, besides, it's only a rented hall.

5. Fifty percent of all chapter presidents believe that, when the nominating committee was asking for volunteers for that job, the rest of the chapter collectively, took one step backward. As relates to any other elected job, this figure raises to 90%.

6. The statistical probability of your chorus/quartet winning at the international level is about equal to any two guys in your chapter mounting a heated campaign to obtain your vote in the joint pursuit for the job of treasurer.

7. Annual chapter elections are about as exciting as vocal warm up exercises. Here's a way to really spice them up. Make the post of past president an elected office. You'll be swamped by contenders. Why not? All you gotta learn is how to say "we never did it that way."

8. Tired of giving your annual show audience the same old uniform look? Consider this. Get your local church choir to trade their robes for your uniforms for one weekend. It will give you a brand new look for your Saturday night show and increase the attendance at the following morning's services.

9. Without fail I attend every chorus rehearsal. No misses. No exceptions. No excuses. I feel that it's the least I can do for my chapter because, come contest time, I prefer sitting up in the balcony keeping score on the back of my program. (an aside. I polled my chorus on this. They didn't seem to mind. A really nice bunch of guys.)

10. When you can no longer duck from taking a job in your chapter, become the chapter's bulletin editor. To begin with, it doesn't take much talent and you can do the job entirely in the comfort of your own home. In many ways it's much like singing lead; it requires a heavy dose of attitude adjustment. If you can restructure your thinking to truly believe that you are only responsible to some level of barbershopping higher than your chapter, your district, or Nashville, you'll have a lock on it.

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Recruiting Signs: The Next Generation

Our campaigns with the "Wanted: Men Who Like To Sing" yard signs have been instrumental in the increase in chorus membership that we have enjoyed recently. All those who participated in that program deserve much thanks. However, as with all successful endeavors, we should not rest on our laurels. The time has come to "ramp" (pun definitely intended) up our efforts and make it easier for prospective members to find us. So, the Bulletin is proud to unveil the 2010 recruiting sign.

Getting To Know Us

Click on the "Featured Chorus" link in the Hot Links section in the top right of this Bulletin page to visit with some of our fellow barbershoppers.

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Chorus Member Age Survey

Now that you're familiar with where the Hot Links section is, take a minute and respond to the survey, according to your age at the present time. You have one week to do this and it is being done to give the Chapter some numerical information about the age demographics of our members. Please, only current members of the Akron Derbytown Chorus should respond to this poll


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Memorial Day

One week from today, we will again honor those men and women who died while in military service. Here are two patriotic songs, both featuring the quartet, "Acoustix". The first one takes us back to "Acoustix-1995", four years after they won Gold at International. The second is from 2007.

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The Youngsters Are At It Again

This quartet should hang out with Hot Air Buffoons to improve their comedy "patter", but the singing is pretty good.