SPEBSQSA/Pioneer logos
1979
Chapter Eight

Sarasota midwinter a sell-out

More than 1400 barbershoppers and their families headed for Sarasota on January 25-27, 1979, and the midwinter convention as newly elected President Ernie Hill greeted the conventioneers who were attending in record numbers. Board actions taken which affected Pioneer District members to some degree were as follows:

    In the contest and judging area, the Executive Committee's recommendation that a moratorium of 30 days for district and international preliminary contests and 60 days for international contests be imposed on judges who are also coaches.

    "The Board agreed to increase international convention fees to $30 for adults and $15 for juniors (18 years old and under), effective with the 1980 international convention in Salt Lake City, Utah.

    The Board received a report which provided that the $1,000 donation offered by Tulsa, Oklahoma, Barbershopper Bill Bailey be used to fund a study by the international office staff to determine how best Harmony Hall could be utilized and what costs might be incurred to designate a room of appropriate size where interesting items illustrating the Society's history could be displayed. It further provided the authorization of a fund-raising effort so that this room could be furnished in a professional manner. This was the beginning of our historical museum at Harmony Hall.

District increased membership during 1978



Doran McTaggart
President Doran McTaggart announced that the Pioneer District was the only district in the Society to increase its membership during 1978, having added two chartered chapters in Livingston County and Huron Valley (mentioned earlier). Word was received earlier that another organizational meeting was held in Coldwater to discuss the possible establishment of a new chapter there.

In other announcements made early in the year, Fran Durham, the Pioneer District Logopedics chairman, announced that fourteen chapters won the coveted Harmony Foundation Award for their contributions of $10 or more per man, on a per-capita basis, to the Institute of Logopedics. Benton Harbor led the pack with a contribution of $1250, or $27.77 per man. The total contributions from the Pioneer District amounted to $12,266.47.

The international office announced that the following chapters were declared winners of the International Achievement Awards for 1978: Plateau 1–The Boyne City Chapter, Plateau 2–The Niles-Buchanan Chapter, Plateau 3–The Flint Chapter, Plateau 4–The Jackson Chapter, Plateau 5–The Grosse Pointe Chapter, Plateau 6–The Detroit #1 Chapter.

The scoring for this award was based on a wide range of activities including chapter programming and membership recruitment. All in all, it was a good indication that the district was on the move in the membership area.

District Board meeting held in Lansing

The Pioneer District Board of Directors held their first meeting of the year at the Holiday Inn South in Lansing, Michigan on January 28, 1979. The meeting was called to order by President Doran McTaggart at 10:15 a.m. The general business was conducted as usual with reports being received and accepted, etc. Actions which required Board approval were as follows:

A.)A motion to add a third trophy to the spring district chorus contest was passed. The awards will now include: (1) Chorus Champion (overall winner); (2) Gold Division Champion; (3) Silver Division Champion.

B.)The following fall registration fees will be in effect at the Civic Center Heritage Theatre in Saginaw. Pre-registration—$9; On-site registration—$11; Tickets for single performances—$5.

C.)President McTaggart announced that Roland J. (Rusty) Ruegseggar of the Oakland County Chapter had accepted the position of editor of the Pioneer District Troubadour. The Board also agreed to purchase a "Word Master" typing system for use in the preparation of the publication.

Saginaw hosted the spring convention April 27-29, 1979

Not having hosted the district convention since 1951, the Saginaw-Bay Chapter was extremely excited about hosting the 1979 spring event. As Saginaw bragged, "Not since October, 1951—28 years ago—has Saginaw had the honor of hosting the `MGMMFPHS'—`the Mighty Gathering of Men's Magnificent Four-Part Harmony Specialists'". The site of the contest was the 2300 seat "Heritage Theater" in the downtown Civic Center with the headquarters hotel being the Holiday Inn-East in Saginaw.

Wayne wins 1979 district crown



Wayne Wonderland

Twelve choruses answered the call to compete for the district chorus championship, with the Wayne WONDERLAND Chorus under the direction of Steve Sutherland outpointing the second place Grosse Pointe LAKESHORE Chorus by 80 points and the Oakland County WOLVERINE Chorus in third place by 82 points. Other chapters competing included Lansing in fourth, Traverse City in fifth, Benton Harbor-St. Joe sixth, Gratiot County seventh, Battle Creek eighth, Flint ninth, Kalamazoo tenth, Windsor eleventh and Port Huron twelfth. Grosse Pointe was declared the 1979 Gold Division chorus champion, and the Traverse City Chorus was declared the 1979 Silver Division chorus champion.

GREAT LAKES EXPRESS, MOTOR CITY MUSIC COMPANY win right to represent district



Great Lakes Express
Motor City Music Company

Twelve quartets battled for the two spots allotted the district at the Minneapolis international quartet contest in July, with the GREAT LAKES EXPRESS (Steve Boughner, tenor; Len Johnson, bass; Walter Dorosh, lead, and Brian Kaufman, baritone) from the Detroit #1, Port Huron, and Saginaw-Bay chapters, and the MOTOR CITY MUSIC COMPANY (Bob Demchak, tenor; Russ Seely, lead; Bob Wisdom, bass, and Dave Caldwell, baritone) from the Grosse Pointe, Wayne & Detroit #1 chapters, topping the field with scores of 1662 and 1597 respectively. The CROSSTOWN EXCHANGE won the alternate position to the contest with their third place finish of 1567. Rounding out the top eight finalists were the PERSONAL EXPRESSION (district champions) in fourth, the B & L EXCHANGE, CADENCE COUNTS, BLACK VELVET, and DUTCH MASTERS quartets finishing in the fifth through the eighth positions, respectively. Quartets failing to make the finals included the TUNESTERS UNION, UNION STREET ARRANGEMENT, EXTENDED FORECAST, and the BLUE PLATE SPECIAL.

The "happenings" were numerous

The early part of the year 1979 was extremely busy for Pioneer District barbershoppers, and the news about changes was just as prevalent. Listed below are just some of the major events and news occurring during this period.

    A very successful quartet and coaching clinic was held March 9-11, 1979, at Eastern Michigan University. Fifteen quartets and fifteen student coaches participated with a faculty composed of Ken Buckner, Russ Foris, Mac Huff, Oz Newgard, Don Gray, Don Harbin, Sonny Henderson, and Bill Butler, the district music educator, filling in for Jim Luse.

    Thom Hine resigned as chorus director of the Detroit #1 MOTOR CITY Chorus due to business and other considerations.

    Cecil Craig, one of the stalwarts of the Dearborn and Detroit #1 chapters, passed away in the early spring. He was a member of the Pioneer District Hall of Fame.

    The organization of the Southeast Michigan Association of Chapters was announced by Thom Hine. The purpose was to form a coordinated base for the upcoming 1981 international convention to be held in Detroit, to improve inter-chapter relations and promote inter-chapter activities, and to offer a forum to coordinate and promote individual chapter calendars to avoid scheduling conflicts.

    In association with the Clarkston Rotary Club, a Division I Pine Knob Barbershop Spectacular show was performed on May 19, 1979. The show featured the NEW BALTIMORE EXIT, the CITATIONS, the VAGABONDS, the Grosse Pointe LAKESHORE Chorus, the Oakland County WOLVERINE Chorus, and a massed chorus of 250 Division I members. Pioneer District President Doran McTaggart was the master of ceremonies for the event. Approximately 4100 tickets were sold.

    The 1979 Boyne City "Bush League" contest was held on May 19, 1979, and was won by the BLACK VELVET quartet from the Grand Rapids Chapter. The quartet featured Jerry Koning, tenor; Phil Wilder, lead; Joel Mills, bari, and Bob Goldschmeding, bass. The evening show featured, in addition to the champions, the CROSSTOWN EXCHANGE, the TUNESTERS UNION, along with the original ROAD RUNNERS from Ohio (featured) and the Boyne City Chorus, under the direction of Bob Tracy.

    The VAGABONDS announced their retirement after nine years of grueling competition, with most of them in the elite "top ten" bracket and more than a few as a medalist quartet. Ken Gibson, tenor, explained to Roger Morris, the reporter, "It is not that we are tired of the competition grind, or that we don't enjoy singing as a quartet; but, it is rather that, after nine years, some of us have personal responsibilities that merit first consideration." There is no doubt that the VAGABONDS will go down in our history as one of the top quartets of this century in the district.



Vagabonds

GREAT LAKES EXPRESS impress judges and wind up 15th at Minneapolis



Great Lakes Express
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Motor City Music Company

Pioneer's GREAT LAKES EXPRESS quartet finished in a surprising fifteenth place to join the semi-finalist ranks of the contest. Fifteenth place in the second attempt in an international quartet contest was quite a feat—they were 44th in 1977. The quartet (composed of Steve Boughner, tenor; Walter Dorosh, lead; Len Johnson, bass, and Brian Kaufman, bari) sang "Rolling Along," "Cobblestone Road," "Who Told You?" and "If All My Dreams Were Made of Gold." Our other representative quartet, the MOTOR CITY MUSIC COMPANY, from the Grosse Pointe, Wayne and Detroit #1 chapters (composed of Bob Demchak, tenor; Russ Seely, lead; Bob Wisdom, bass, and Dave "Doc" Caldwell as baritone) sang "Moonlight Bay" and "Keep Your Eye/Why Do They Always Say No Medley" to a 42nd place finish out of 49 quartets competing. Not too bad a finish considering the class of talent at the international contest. The contest was won by GRANDMA'S BOYS with the BOSTON COMMON in a close second place.

Back in 1975 at the Indianapolis convention, the Wayne WONDERLAND Chorus finished fifteenth or last in their first attempt at an international chorus competition. It was a different story this time, as Steve Sutherland directed the WONDERLAND Chorus to a commendable twelfth place finish at Minneapolis. (They actually tied for eleventh place, but were placed twelfth because of the lower sound category score.) Steve had the chorus singing "It's Opening Night on Broadway" and "You Can Have Every Light on Broadway" for this fine finish. The chorus contest was won by the Dallas VOCAL MAJORITY followed by the Alexandria, Virginia, HARMONIZERS, two very tough competitors.

District Board of Director's meeting held

The next District Board meeting was held on July 29, 1979, at the Holiday Inn South in Lansing, Michigan. The big news of the district, presented by District President Doran McTaggart, was the announcement that district membership had increased by 49 members and on June 30, 1979, stood at 1,483 members. At the time it looked like the membership goal of 1500 by the end of the year was attainable.

    International Board Member John T. Gillespie announced in his written report the action taken at the 1979 International Board meeting. It included the following: Society life memberships were reinstated; the status of "Associate Chapter" was abolished and a committee was appointed to recommend procedures for the handling of those chapters falling below thirty members. Les Hesketh was elected to be the 1980 international president.

    It was announced by E.V.P. LaBumbard that the Coldwater Chapter would probably be ready to license by the end of September.

    Chairman Jim Gougeon reported that a district-wide competition will be held to select a Pioneer District Logo. Two all-event tickets to the next convention would be allocated to the winner of the design competition.

    President McTaggart announced that, due to job relocation, D.V.P. Thom Hine resigned as a member of the Board. Russ Seely was appointed to serve out the balance of the term with the Board in agreement by motion.

    The Nominating Committee headed by John T. Gillespie announced the following slate of officers had been nominated to serve on the Board of Directors for 1980: Dan LaBumbard, president; Fran Jones, executive vice president; vice presidents—Russ Seely, Division I, Ron Neff, Division II, Jim Horton, Division III, Dick Wheeler, Division IV, Jim Gougeon, Division V; Jack Schneider, treasurer; John McClinchey, secretary; and International Board Member John T. Gillespie.

GREAT LAKES EXPRESS quartet follows through on 15th place finish



Great Lakes Express

After a splendid finish at the international contest three months earlier, the GREAT LAKES EXPRESS (Steve Boughner, tenor; Wally Dorosh, lead; Brian Kaufman, baritone, and Len Johnson, bass) continued to impress at the fall contest held on October 19-20, 1979 at Kalamazoo. They proved they hadn't lost a thing as they finished 119 points ahead of BLACK VELVET (Jerry Koning, tenor; Phil Wilder, lead; Joel Mills, baritone, and Bob Goldschmeding, bass), the most recent "Bush League" champion. Other competing quartets finished in the following order to round out the finalists: SATURDAY NITE FEATURE, third; CROSSTOWN EXCHANGE, fourth; CADENCE COUNTS, fifth; SOUND AMBASSADORS, sixth; A POSITIVE ENDEAVOR, seventh; and THE VERY IDEA in eighth place. Quartets eliminated in the semi-finals included the PATCH CHORDS, the TUNESTERS UNION, SOUND OBJECTIVE, MEMORY LANERS, BLUE PLATE SPECIAL and CCC & C CO.

Wayne WONDERLAND Chorus outscores field of fifteen to win the right to represent district

Fourteen points separated the first place Wayne WONDERLAND Chorus from the second place Grand Rapids GREAT LAKES Chorus as Wayne was thoroughly challenged in the contest. Wayne was directed by Steve Sutherland with Jerry Koning directing the Grand Rapids chorus. The Grosse Pointe Chapter's LAKESHORE Chorus under Russ Seely's direction ended up in third position, 36 points behind the leader. Choruses filling out and competing in the field of fifteen choruses included: Detroit #1, Oakland County, Huron Valley, Monroe, Lansing, Flint, Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Saginaw-Bay, Alpena, Kalamazoo, Clinton Valley and St. Joseph Valley.

Overall it was an exciting contest to see and watch as colorful uniforms and great chords were heard all over Western Michigan University's Miller Auditorium, an excellent facility just meant for ringing barbershop chords. The headquarters for the convention was the Sheraton Inn, located east of the city at Sprinkle Road.



Personal Expression

Outgoing International Board Member John T. Gillespie made the following comments about the Saturday evening show that weekend. "The Saturday evening quartet finals contest certainly lived up to the expectations created the previous evening. After appearances by eight top-notch quartets, the GREAT LAKES EXPRESS was crowned our 1979 district champions. After performances by the WONDERLAND Chorus, our 1978 district champions—the PERSONAL EXPRESSION—and our newly crowned champs, it was back to the hospitality rooms for quartet visits, woodshedding, and just plain barbershopping."



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