No news is good news—or is it?
There was a dearth of news published in the Pioneer District during the first six months of 1973, due mainly to the fact that Troubadour Editor Roger Lewis encountered scheduling problems with his work and was unable to put out anything but two small Troubadours (one in January 1973 and another about May 1973). Both of these were simply announcements of the upcoming district convention and the announcement that the district was looking for a new editor for the publication. At the April 1973 Board meeting, his resignation was accepted.
Houston hosts midwinter convention
More than 300 barbershoppers and their wives gathered in Houston January 26-28, 1973 for the annual midwinter convention. At the Board meeting, Immediate Past President Dick deMontmollin reviewed 1972, reporting on the year and his programs. Under his leadership, the Society reached an all-time membership high of 34,376 (Pioneer District stood at 1486). A new high was also reported in Logopedics for a one-year period, bringing the Society to less than $50,000 short of the $1,000,000-mark at the year end. Auditions for Admissions proved to be an outstanding membership program in 1972.
New President "Chuck" Abernathy presented his goals and programs, and enthusiastically presented his POSITIVE ATTITUDE—POSITIVE ACTION theme for the year. Actions taken at the meeting which affected Pioneer members included the following: The enrollment fee for new, dual and reinstated members was increased from $3.50 to $5 effective March 1, 1973. To eliminate the constant problems encountered due to too many spring and fall conventions on one weekend, the Board adopted a master convention schedule which was binding on all districts. Article 9 (b) of the Society's Statements of Policy concerning convention activities was revised to read: "It is required that each person attending an international convention activity hold an official registration." Also, "Profiteering on the sale of convention registrations or tickets is considered a violation of Canon 7 of the Society's Code of Ethics."
Apparently they had run into some problems with ticket scalping at the Atlanta convention.Other early 1973 news from here and there
The NORTHERN HI-LITES announced that Bob Wisdom had replaced Clint Bostick in the baritone spot of the quartet. Another impending change which would take place a little later, at the Portland convention, was that Glenn Van Tassell was announcing his retirement from the GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT to be replaced on stage by Greg Backwell, former tenor and many-time medalist with the NIGHTHAWKS of London, Ontario. In making his decision, Glenn cited family considerations, his new position which required considerable travel, and a desire for a chance to rest. He planned to continue to be active in quartet coaching, chorus directing, and in contest and judging work.
Lansing welcomes 1973 spring convention
The Lansing Chapter was the host for the 1973 spring convention on April 27-29, 1973. Eleven choruses chose to compete for the Pioneer District chorus championship with fourteen quartets vying for the two spots at the international quartet competition in Portland in July. The headquarters hotel was the beautiful downtown Olds Plaza Hotel.
Fittingly, as they were hosts for the convention, the Lansing CAPITOL CITY CHORDSMEN under the direction of Ken Gibson topped the other ten choruses with a 1083 score to win the 1973 Pioneer District chorus championship. In second place 45 points behind was the Battle Creek CEREAL CITY Chorus, followed in order by Grosse Pointe, Traverse City, Grand Rapids, Niles-Buchanan, Flint, Windsor, Milford, Cadillac and Big Rapids. It was a real thrill for the Lansing Chapter to win in their own back yard, so-to–speak.
 Vagabonds
|  Sharplifters
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In the quartet competition the VAGABONDS and the SHARPLIFTERS pulled away from the rest of the field in an exciting contest. With only 16 points separating the two quartets in the semi-finals, the VAGABONDS added 53 more points to that total in the finals to win over the SHARPLIFTERS by a total of 69 points. Both quartets were sharp in their performances. In third place was the newly renovated NORTHERN HI-LITES, with fourth place going to the RING MASTERS. Other quartets in the finals were the GALAXIES, the LATEST EDITION, and the PHIDAVONICS in fifth, sixth, and seventh place, respectively. Quartets eliminated in the semi-finals included the FOUR "D" MINORS, TRAVEL CHORDS, FAMILIAR FEELING, KEEPER OF THE KEYS, BACK PORCH MAJORITY, SMALL TOWNERS and the ABOUT FOUR. Merle Clayton of the Battle Creek Chapter was again the chairman of the judges with Ed Gaikema of the Grand Rapids Chapter as the vice chairman.
At the House of Delegates meeting held in conjunction with the Lansing convention, President Bill Warner announced the resignation of International Board Member Tom Damm, and President Warner's election to fill the unexpired term. No reason was given for the resignation. Awards presented at the meeting by Secretary John Gillespie included the Chase Sanborn Area Counselor of the Year Award to Herm Dykema of the Kalamazoo Chapter for 1972. District Achievement Awards were presented to Grosse Pointe in the Gold Division and to the Lansing Chapter in the Silver Division. Twenty-five year anniversary plaques were presented to the Fruit Belt Chapter and the Hudson Chapter.
District Board meets in Dearborn June 23, 1973
 Don Funk
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President Bill Warner called the meeting to order at 2:45 p.m. After the routine reports, Executive VP Don Funk reported on the Lansing spring convention, stating he was somewhat disappointed as to the (in his opinion) small number of chapters competing at the contest, although he did mention the convention netted $2,200 for the district. In another action, the Board unanimously accepted Roger Morris of the Milford Chapter as the new editor of the Pioneer Troubadour. On another note, Vice President McTaggart reported on the lack of response on the "Hall of Fame" Award. The Board agreed to delay the presentation until the 1974 spring convention.
DEALER'S CHOICE wins big at Portland—VAGABONDS and SHARPLIFTERS bring laurels to the Pioneer District
Jumping into an early lead in the afternoon quarter finals, the DEALER'S CHOICE of the Dallas Metropolitan Chapter in the Southwestern District continued to impress the judges and pile up points which eventually carried them to the 1973 quartet championship of SPEBSQSA at the coliseum in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday, July 14. While moving ahead, the new champs were elbowing their way past some first-class company. Both the VAGABONDS and the SHARPLIFTERS moved up from the previous contest; the VAGABONDS gained two positions, placing seventh, and the SHARPLIFTERS (sixteenth) moved up 19 spots to finish in the top twenty for their first time.
In the chorus competition, the crown went to the Cincinnati Western Hills SOUTHERN GATEWAY Chorus followed closely by the ever present Louisville THOROUGHBREDS. Thom Hine, the director of the MOTOR CITY Chorus, had his charges ready; and, when they finished, they found themselves in twelfth place in some pretty fast company. The chorus did excellent renditions of "Floatin' Down to Cotton Town—How's Every Little Thing in Dixie Medley" and "Make Believe."
Overall, the convention was highly successful for the Pioneer District, especially having two quartets wind up in the "top echelon" of quartets in the Society. We were especially proud of them!
Fall convention featured Past Champions Show
The Battle Creek Chapter invited the district members to attend the 1973 fall convention and district contests which were held in Battle Creek October 10-12, 1973. In addition to the normal weekend, they particularly urged members to come on Friday so that they could attend the Friday night Past District champions Show at Kellogg Auditorium. Included in this first for a district convention were the NORTHERN HI-LITES, the VAGABONDS, the SHARPLIFTERS, the FOUR FITS and the AIRE-MALES. The admission to this show of shows was set at just $2.50, very reasonable for a show with that much talent at the time.
 Galaxies
|  Four D Minors
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In the quartet competition, the Grand Rapids GALAXIES (Terry Huyge, tenor; Chuck Buffham, lead; Al Van Iwaarden, baritone, and Bernie Poelman, bass), in a fine display of consistent performance, edged the FOUR "D" MINORS of the host Battle Creek Chapter and overcame an early lead taken by the RINGMASTERS from the Saginaw-Bay Chapter who finished third. The FOUR "D" MINORS were also named the 1973 junior champions, and Traverse City's LAST CALL won the novice championship.
In winning the '73 crown, the GALAXIES collected a total of 1971 points, an improvement overall of 108 over their showing in Flint (the contest before) where they finished fifth. Other quartets making the finals included the BACK PORCH MAJORITY, the USED PARTS and the LATEST EDITION. Other quartets competing included the INNOCENT BYSTANDERS, the ABOUT FOUR, the CIRCUIT BREAKERS, and the HERR-RAZORS.
 Motor City
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Detroit #1's MOTOR CITY Chorus, 12th place finishers in Portland, won the nod of the judges in a close victory over the Wayne WONDERLAND Chorus. Thom Hine's dapper songsters rode to victory with their interpretations of "How's Every Little Thing in Dixie?," and "Smile and Make Believe." Wayne finished 75 points off the pace with "So Long Sally" and "Dixie Medley." In this contest, the Wayne Chorus made its appearance in competition under the direction of Bob Whitledge, who replaced Gordon Limberg just three weeks before contest time. Gordie, whose 1971 chorus took the district championship, heeded his doctor's advice and took a well-deserved rest from the rigorous chores of a demanding job. Grosse Pointe's LAKESHORE Chorus, with Russ Seely back at the helm, edged the Battle Creek CEREAL CITY Chorus, directed by Larry Swan, for the third spot. Other choruses competing included Lansing (fifth), Kalamazoo (sixth), Grand Rapids (seventh), Saginaw-Bay (eighth), Niles-Buchanan (ninth), Cadillac (tenth) and Monroe (eleventh).
Hall of Fame" introduced
 Doran McTaggart
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After considerable research and spadework, Doran McTaggart, Zone I vice president, reported his findings to the House of Delegates on Sunday, October 14, 1973 at Battle Creek, recommending that the first selections be announced at Traverse City the following spring. The officers and delegates unanimously agreed with McTaggart's findings and voted accordingly.
The report, as accepted, is as follows:
"Background:
"In our district there have been many men with exceptional talents who have given many years of their lives spreading the gospel according to O.C. Cash throughout their communities and district. We seldom say `Thank you' for a job well done. By means of a Hall of Fame, all barbershoppers of the Pioneer District could give some small recognition to those `Pioneers' (past and present) for the many contributions the recipients of such an award have given to their chapters, district, and barbershopping in general. Some type of an award to say thanks seems in order.
"Proposed Award:
"A suitable scroll or plaque could be presented (even posthumously) along with a citation on the evening shows of our district convention. A suitable feature story could be written in the Troubadour and the recipients' names could be listed in the District Directory as members of the Pioneer District `Hall of Fame.'
"Two or four members could be selected annually; one or two at each convention. At first a large number could be selected to catch up on the back log. Names of worthy candidates along with a summary of their achievements should be sent by chapter Boards, executives or individual barbershoppers to the District Board for consideration.
"The District Board would select the nominees to be honored at each convention.
"Nominations for the Spring Convention Award must be received by December 31.
"Nominations for the Fall Convention Award must be received by June 30.
"All nominations will be sent to the district secretary who will send resumes to all the District Board members prior to the selection meeting.
"All nominees not chosen for the current award will be retained for future consideration by the District Board.
"The award will start at the spring convention in 1974."
Commenting on the Hall of Fame Award following the action of the Delegates, President Bill Warner said there are a number of members of the district, past and present, who have contributed so much to barbershopping, to their chapters, and to the Society. "Many of them have contributed equally as much as those of us who sit here in this room today, though they may never have been a member of the Board or an officer of the district. Their contributions should not be overlooked."
The following officers were elected to serve the Pioneer District at the House of Delegates meeting on October 14, 1973, for the 1974 year. President, Don Funk; Executive Vice President, John T. Gillespie; Vice Presidents, Zone I, Doran McTaggart; Zone II, Herman Dykema; Zone III, Thomas Hegle; Zone IV, Loton Willson; Zone V, Clifford Douglas; Secretary, Lawrence G. King; Treasurer, George Schmidt, International Board Member, Bill Warner.
Organization of Port Huron Chapter was well orchestrated
When Sam Kennedy, Society field representative, placed an ad in the local papers in the Port Huron area announcing his intentions to hold a meeting in that city for the purpose of organizing a barbershop chapter, many eyebrows were raised. By the time Sam left town most of those eyebrows were drooping because it worked. Pat Yacques of the Grosse Pointe Chapter, the fine baritone of the BACK PORCH MAJORITY, was asked to become the musical director and help guide the work in its organizational stages. What followed were newspaper ads, day and evening appearances on radio and TV and a splendid kick-off show that featured the BOONDOCKERS, BACK PORCH MAJORITY and the vibrant LAKESHORE Chorus from Grosse Pointe and staff members from Kenosha.
The organizational meeting was held at the Fogcutter, a restaurant on top of the Peoples Bank Building in Port Huron, Wednesday, September 26, 1973. President Bill Warner, who was invited to be on hand for the occasion, found himself pressed into service as the master of ceremonies for the event. The net result of this initial effort was the signing of 24 members who paid their initiation fees that evening. The fledgling chapter was granted a license with hopes to charter within a year. With a great deal of help from John Wearing, president of the Grosse Pointe Chapter, and Zone V Vice President Cliff Douglas, Port Huron was able to get a start on administrative organization of the chapter. Jerry Schultz was the president, Lyle Lee the administrative vice president, and John Wilson was the treasurer.
District Board meeting held in conjunction with COT school
President Bill Warner called the meeting to order at 10:25 a.m. on November 10, 1973. After the routine reports, Division I Vice President Doran McTaggart reported on the proposed merger of the Milford and Pontiac Chapters and the meeting he had been having with those two chapters. Though nothing was resolved, it was pointed out that membership in each chapter overwhelmingly favored a merger. In another action in regard to the changing of the convention format, a motion was made and seconded that our contest format be changed to hold quartet preliminaries on Friday evening, House of Delegates meetings on Saturday mornings, chorus contest remaining on Saturday afternoon, and the quartet finals on Saturday evening. The motion was passed unanimously. This change was to take place as soon as all scheduled convention accommodations permitted the change and, at any rate, no later than the spring of 1976.
It was announced that Mac Huff was going to visit the Pioneer District in March and would conduct a three-day District Coaches' Training School and four Area Coaches' Training Schools. The district school was to be held at the Olds Plaza in Lansing with the area schools to be held in Detroit, Benton Harbor, Traverse City, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The area schools were to be three-hour intensified one-night sessions.
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