Official Publication of Atlantic-Gulf Region 9 Sweet Adelines International www.sairegion9 July 2015

Education Station By Barbara Mauldin, Region 9 Education Coordinator

I can't believe another year is now history in our Wonderful World of Sweet Adelines! Beginning my term as Education Coordinator for Region 9 in May 2014 made for one whirlwind of a

year! I want to thank all of you for your patience as I worked to find my way as a new member of Region 9 and as your Education Coordinator.

Our 2015 convention is also history and planning has already begun for next year's contest. Many of you may not know that in addition to your own chorus contest comments by the judges, they also give us comments on the contest overall, which is one resource we use to help us determine what classes we need to offer at future Regional meetings.

Speaking of future meetings, for all you Region 9 directors and faculty, August 7-8 you can spend the weekend with none other than the great and wonderful Dale Syverson! I Can't imagine any of you missing that one!

Next comes Winter Meeting 2016 and a little bird told me we'll all be "buzzing" around with some quartet that likes to "buzz" around in Region 9. Wonder who that is?

After that Darlene Rogers, Vickie Maybury and Bling! are lined up! Woo Hoo!

Your Regional Management Team is committed to bringing our Region 9 members quality education, and this faculty line-up surely shows that commitment.

I would like to encourage everyone to mark your calendars and make plans to attend these education events. It is only through your attendance that we are able to continue offering quality education.

On another note, the Regional Management Team is looking for a Youth Activities Chair. If you or someone you know enjoys working with young people and would like to know more about the position, please get in touch with me at education@sairegion9.com.

Have a great summer and "Keep Singing!"

Remember to submit your suggestion for

REGION 9’S NEW NAME!

Click here or visit www.sairegion9.com

to submit your idea.

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Toast of Tampa

T oast of Tampa was proud to be

the Assistance Chorus at Region

9’s “Sea of Sound” competition in

April. We enjoyed hosting all

competing choruses and quartets on their

journey to the stage, and congratulate each

singer for a weekend of amazing music. Special

kudos to Spirit of the Gulf as the

Region’s new champions!

Well represented with

eight competing quartets, Toast

of Tampa was also thrilled that

chapter quartets medalled in all

top five. Windsor won blue, one

point off of historic SAI high

score, followed closely by

Monarch with another historic

score for placing second, thus

garnering a wildcard for

International in Las Vegas this

October. Third place Ciao Bella!

scored super high; NightCap!

and Ladybug and took fourth and fifth place.

Well done, ladies!

Toast of Tampa continues with an

exciting coaching schedule on its road to Vegas

2015. Dale Syverson follows Randy Loos and

Betty Clipman’s April visits on May 15-16 to

work sound magic; Erin Howden finesses

choreography on June 19-20 and, with Randy

Loos, will return to do our August 21-23 retreat.

With the immense All In! cooperation,

dedication, and focus

from chorus

membership, Toast of

Tampa is growing larger (over 150 singers now!)

and smarter as singers each Tuesday.

Among our talented singers is a special

one. While giving it her all with the ladies in the

Front Row, Beth Curts also

dedicates her time and energy

offstage as marketing and media

maven. Curts and Chamber of

Commerce member TPepin’s

Hospitality Center partner to

provide Toast of Tampa with a

beautiful new venue to rehearse

weekly. Curts also coordinated

with WEDU TV to feature the

chorus on an Arts Plus segment

to promote the craft of

barbershop singing by women.

To thank her for directing energy

toward media outreach,

strengthening sponsorships, stewarding gifts,

and fostering a culture for legacy giving, in May,

Beth Curts was recognized by her peers as the

2015 Sweet Adeline of the Year – a highlight of

the TOT chorus year.

Another Red Letter Day is SRO. Mark

your calendars now for Toast of Tampa’s annual

Standing Room Only show on Sat, November 14

at USF’s Music Concert Hall!

Beth Curts with Tony DeRosa

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For the fourth year in a row, the Hilton Head Shore Notes chorus was honored to participate in the Hilton Head Choral Society’s Memorial Day celebration, “America Sings!”

Under Faye McLanahan’s direction, the chorus sang “Let Freedom Ring,” “Proud to Be an American” and “All Nations Rise” to a full house.

The evening always becomes emotional when the Choral Society honors the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard veterans who proudly stand up throughout the audience as their particular salute is sung.

This event is one of the highlights of the year for the Shore Notes, and we are thrilled to see that our participation has become an integral part of this important celebration.

Hilton Head Shore Notes

4 (CLIPMAN continued on page 6)

An Interview With Betty Clipman By Meryl Kelleher, South Florida Jubilee

I had the awesome privilege recently of interviewing Betty Clipman. Betty is a Sweet Adelines International faculty member, SAI International and Regional Competition Judge, SAI Past President, International Queen of Harmony Quartet Winner, and current director of the Woodlands Show Chorus (and many other titles too numerous to mention!). ------------------------------------------- How many years have you been a Sweet Adeline all together? I joined in February of 1965, and I have been a continuous member since that time. So, this is my 50th year! Why did you originally join Sweet Adelines? I come from a very musical family. We played piano and sang, and I also sang in school throughout my childhood. After college, I married and had babies, and I was just desperate to do things with adults. My natural inclination was to get the music back in my life. My sister was a Sweet Adeline, and so I checked it out and got hooked! Sweet Adelines was a wonderful outlet and kept me rejuvenated. What choruses have you been in? I started with the Lehigh Valley Chorus in Pennsylvania. Then, I moved to Harrisburg, Pa. and spent several years in the Greater Harrisburg Chorus. Next, I moved to Scranton, Pa. and became the “reluctant” director of the Scranton Chorus (they needed a director and seemed to feel I was the best

qualified, even though I had to learn how to do it!) After that, I moved again and directed the Millstone Valley Chorus in New Jersey. My next move was to Virginia, where I directed the Vienna Falls Chorus, and we won the gold medal! Once again, I moved to Houston, Texas and directed the Houston Horizon Chorus for 11 years. After that, I retired from directing but remained a lifetime member of that chorus. I kept coaching and judging and teaching and training. After I lost my husband I came out of director retirement

and started directing the Woodlands Show Chorus. It’s been a great, great 50 years! How many years have you been coaching? I started coaching around 1978. My quartet “The Penna-Fores” won International Competition in 1980. After that, my coaching really started taking off in the early 80’s. What is your favorite and least favorite thing about coaching? My least favorite thing is the physical part like flying and traveling (especially in bad

weather!). The thing I love most is that I have an opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives in a very positive way. You have a way of telling it like it is, in a nice way. That must be very challenging. Can you tell us your strategy? I’ll tell you my secret-I try to always criticize the performance, rather than the performer. People need to learn in a non- threatening environment; they will not achieve their very best if they feel insecure and threatened. I read a book called, “Top Performance”, that was a pivotal point in my coaching career. It was written by Zig Ziglar, a motivational speaker. Everybody who deals with other people can benefit by reading this book. He talks about creating an atmosphere of teamwork; the more you focus on creating an atmosphere where people feel safe, like you are on their side, the better they will learn. When I coach a chorus I really am on their side. I really want people to do their best. I really care a lot about people. I feel awful if I’ve hurt someone’s feelings-it bothers me a lot! Now let’s talk about judging. That is fascinating to me-I do not know how you ladies do it! One of my favorite topics! I just spent all day practice -judging with other judges. We had a blast! Oh my gosh-we are so ready! Judges are so conscientious. I wish our members could see how much we fret and worry about doing it right.

Betty Clipman

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We were delighted to place first in the small chorus division of our recent Region 9 Chorus Competition, and fifth place overall. We were even more thrilled to be invited to the 2016 Harmony Classic Competition in Las Vegas. It is an honor to be counted among the top small choruses worldwide. We plan to do our best to represent our spectacular Region 9. Thanks to our directors, Diane Sherley and Chanda Morris and our coaches, Lea Beverly, and Karen Breidert for their enthusiastic and inspiring assistance with our preparations.

On May 9, 2015 we sponsored a Steel Magnolias Tea and Concert. Last year we did a Mother’s Day Concert, but this year we realized that not all the women we admire are mothers so we changed the name to recognize women in general. After all Steel Magnolias is a recognized term for strong southern women. There were 12 tables, each of which was decorated by our members according to different themes, everything from witches to nurses to books and birds. This tea and concert was held at Celebration United Methodist Church in Gainesville and was well attended, with lots of excellent food, iced tea, lemonade and enthusiasm.

We are in the process of recruiting some new members this summer and fall in all voice ranges. We competed this past spring with 5 new members, which undoubtedly contributed to our success. We hope to find some more talented women to join us.

Gainesville Harmony

Show Chorus News

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(CLIPMAN continued from page 4)

Do judges get paid? You should be! No. We get a $50 per diem which covers meals and expenses. So, it actually costs us money to judge. We are all volunteers, and almost every judge I’ve talked to loves the opportunity to make a difference. We’re not just writing score sheets-we are helping people to improve. Can you tell us about a particularly funny/touching/awesome experience you have had as a judge? When I am writing score sheets I write really fast, especially an uptune. One year I judged a quartet called “Remix” from Sweden. The song was called “My Honey’s Lovin Arms”. The tag goes, “those arms, those arms, those arms…” I wanted to tell them to keep the sound forward in the mask. I thought that’s what I had written. I found out later on when I had the opportunity to coach them, that I had written, “Keep the sound forward-- in your arms!” They asked me what I meant by my comment! I was laughing so hard! And, I had an experience recently judging in the expression category in Hawaii, when Ronninge Show Chorus started to sing their ballad. It

was so magnificent that I was paralyzed for about 20 seconds-I did not write a thing-I just sat there, enveloped in this musical high! Then I got my wits about me and started to write! It was one of the most thrilling musical experiences in my life, and I will be eternally grateful to them for giving me that experience. That’s the gift that you get for bring a volunteer! Your schedule is incredibly demanding. How do you cope with being away from home so much? I try very hard to be honest with the groups that I work with, like letting them know that I need to eat right and get 8 hours of sleep a night. I try hard to get exercise when I am away. I try to keep to my regular schedule as much as possible. Also, I have people who look after my house when I am away. I have made so many priceless friends all over the world, like James and Deanna Kastler, so when I go there, it is a little bit like going home. I have lots “homes”, lots of “families”. So I have homes and families all over the place! Your chorus is fantastic! You have to be so proud of them! Who directs them when you are away? Can you tell us

about your relationship with those ladies? That is my ultimate family! I have a very strong team. I have helped to train people in my chorus. There are 2 sounds judges (besides me) in my chorus. I have an outstanding directing team. So when I’m away I have very competent people taking over. I utilize the talent in the chorus. Directors should utilize and develop talent in their choruses. I am very very proud of them. They step up. They are wonderful and I love them! I look forward to the rest of my life with them! What else would you like to share with our readers? Sweet Adelines has been one of the greatest gifts in my life. It totally changed my life, in a wonderful way. I could never, as much as I volunteer, give back more than I’ve gotten. So I would encourage every Sweet Adeline to give as much as you can, because everything you give comes back to you! ------------------------------------------- Those are wonderful parting words for our readers. Betty, I am truly honored that you have taken the time to share your “pearls of wisdom” with us!

Magic of Manatee

We took our utmost game to competition in Daytona in April, even though we were alone in the Open Division. We sure would welcome some competition there! Wonderfully fun, yet still singing our best, the Manatee Stray Cats meowed all the way to audience favorite, and we returned home to start learning and rehearsing right away for our February show and next April’s competition.

(MAGIC continued on page 10)

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O-Town Sound is testing a new rehearsal format for the summer and basically giving our new Master Director, Kay Webb, the months of June, July and August off. Well not completely off, we relieved her of having to plan every rehearsal and she just has to show up to participate in the evenings’ activities! The coordinator of the Summer Program is our Management Team Coordinator Shelley Sudbury, and carrying out the rehearsal activities are about 50% of our chorus membership, mostly those who serve as music and administrative leaders. So all in all, it takes a giant group effort to replace our awesome director, Kay!

Before we got started with the planning, Kay had a few parameters for us. First and foremost, it had to be FUN. It had to be “worth the trip” for our many members who drive long distances to rehearsal. The schedule had to be flexible enough to allow for adjustments when needed due to guests and visitors. And, finally, if a particular activity is going well, Kay had to be able to continue and preempt a planned summer activity to another week. So with those wide parameters in mind, Shelley set out to gather and coordinate the chorus for the next 14 weeks.

Each week, there is an actual “Kay’s” portion of rehearsal to go over repertoire music and new music we are learning. Since new music is expected to be learned at home, Kay just has to work out some of the “kinks” when we get together.

There are section rehearsals almost every week, but each week of summer there is a different twist such as having a lead in each of the other sections while Kay works with the rest of the lead section or the same scenario with each of the other voice parts. There are also section duets.

Every other week, we rehearse regional songs with the help of our assistant director, vocal warmup guru, and regional songmaster, Christine Garrott. A “Sing your part smart” section rehearsal was recently organized by Gail Essner, our bass section leader. More singing was done with tag singing organized by Kris Brown, our baritone section leader and Finale’ guru and with quarteting time guided by our Quartet Promoter, Sue Reardon. Each evening ends with singing the Happy Trails tag, directed by a different member each week. Every other week or so we work on movement and emotion through our faces and bodies to improve our overall showmanship while learning new choreography to our repertoire music under the capable tutoring of our choreography co-team leaders, Fran Stump and Lisa Schlinkert, also our tenor section leader.

Finally, there have been and will be more non-singing activities on some evenings devoted to completing surveys and compiling member profiles, brainstorming show packages and costumes, creating musical parodies, and sessions where we will re-visit our mission statement and added a new five-year plan and goals. There have been classes on basic music theory (to be followed later in the summer by basic barbershop theory), technology classes and a session on how to be a mentor. These classes, were all led by even more/different music and management team leaders (Connie Harr, Marsha Williams and Doris Birkinbine).

(O-TOWN continued on page 8)

Summer Nights

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Pensacola Sound Chorus has been very busy since Contest. We have in-stalled our new management team. The team consists of Susan Adams-Treasure, Penny Avery-Secretary, Pam Grueling-Team member at large, Karen Schutt-Asst. Team Leader and Janae Pelham-Team Leader. At the installation dinner we also rec-ognized the following members for years of membership in SAI: 20 years - Joni Ray, Susan Adams, Janae Pelham, 10 years – Tara Smith, Shireen Merrill, Christie Miller, Tari Wyant, 5 years – Jackie Corby, Penny Francisco, Pam Grueling, and Patsy Folsom. We are excited about the new year. We are planning on having a show this year and also looking at adopt-ing a local charity for the Pensacola Sound to support yearly. Great things are in store for our chorus. We are hoping to grow our membership and spread the love of barbershop harmony.

Pensacola Sound Chorus

Of course, in true OTS fashion, the summer program wasn’t all work and no play! Not only was it mandatory to have fun and laugh every week, but we started the summer with a surprise bridal shower for our very own Tricia Samuels, organized by Sara Barnett and Wendy Jones. We also had the pleasure of singing at Tricia’s wedding at a very familiar venue - the Daytona Beach Hilton! Next is our annual pool party, hosted by Bev Calfee and we’ll end the summer with an old-fashioned Ice cream social in August.

It’s great to be in O-Town Sound!

(O-TOWN continued from

page 7)

Harmony Shores Chorus was happy to be a part of the 9th

annual Women’s Expo at the Panama City Mall June 13th. The Expo is all

about women – health, fashion, beauty, finances, and so much more. And

we all know the health benefits of singing! Our chorus enjoys participating in

local events and supporting our local charity organizations. All proceeds for

this event benefited the Bay County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

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We send out huge congratulations to the winning choruses and quartets who competed in April’s Regional Contest. Region 9 has identified its cast of competitors to represent itself in the upcoming contest arenas, and as usual we have set the bar at stunning heights. Great job, everyone!

One of our members, Jackie Russo, returned from this Contest with the rare recognition of being awarded her 50-year Sweet Adelines International membership pin! She was honored at the Show of Champions on Saturday night of Contest Weekend. We surprised her the very next week with a party, complete with a version of This is Your Life testimonials from friends and family for her very special night. Cake and refreshments followed. Congratulations, Jackie, we think you—and your achievement—are wonderful, unique and special, just like you.

In mid April, we took advantage of the Pitch Perfect 2 movie buzz and got invited to sing two songs at the premiere of that movie at the theatre where it took place. The animated conversations, frequent laughter, cool, glitzy outfits, all of these just added to our excitement and ability to show off to this “aca crazy” audience just what an a cappella chorus does! We’ve included a video of it here for you. It was an exciting night for us and for Sweet Adelines.

Simply because we sing, we are offered access to many new and amazing places. On May 28, it was our honor and privilege to perform the National Anthem and God Bless America at a Naturalization

Musical Summer Solstice Greetings

to You, Region 9! By Julie Reeve, Jacksonville Harmony

Ceremony at the Bryan Simpson U. S. District Court in downtown Jacksonville. Forty-seven people became U. S. citizens that day, and one of our members recalled hearing no less than 41 countries being represented. The judge is an accomplished immigrant herself, having emigrated from Cuba during the Mariel boatlift. Interestingly, our chorus Team Leader, Deb Eunpu, shared with the judge a photo of her own daughter, complementing the judge’s tale. Deb related to the judge how she held a bewildered white-stockinged curly brown haired newly adopted Russian three year old in her arms at a courthouse years ago, and then took the naturalization oath for her daughter. Jacksonville Harmony was moved to watch an attainment of what so many of us take for granted.

Another errand in Downtown Jacksonville is July 10 at the Jacksonville Suns Baseball game! Hear the bat cracking, the crowd yelling, and smell the popcorn popping! We sing the National Anthem again this year for the Suns at the Jacksonville Ballgrounds. Batter up!

These public appearances fine tune our performance abilities and better prepare us for this year’s Las Vegas Harmony Classic contest. Toward that end, we have continued our Private Vocal Instruction from our most capable Music Staff---thank you, ladies---we are truly not worthy and we are definitely reaping the benefits! Also, Coach Extraordinaire Diane Porsch visits July 18 for a full day session on Harmony Classic goals. Were honored to represent Region 9 in Las Vegas and hope to see lots of you there.

Until then, enjoy the giving gift that is Sweet Adelines. Be thankful for not only brilliant music that surrounds us but for sisterhood that enfolds us.

This article is dedicated to the memory of Hank O’ Neal whose light shines on.

Jackie Russo

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Team Coordinator LISA DEPREZ A Cappella Bay

Membership Coordinator

DEBBIE DENNIS Sound of Sunshine

Communications Coordinator RHONDA PAYTON

Toast of Tampa

Events Coordinator SUE GIESLER

Chapter at Large

YOUR REGIONAL

MANAGEMENT TEAM

Education Coordinator BARBARA MAULDIN

Harmony Shores

Marketing Coordinator IRENE ZIMMER A Cappella Bay

Finance Coordinator CATHY FREY

Toast of Tampa

Directors’ Coordinator FRAN RUSS

Jacksonville Harmony Hilton Head Shore Notes

We elected our new board at our banquet at Olive Garden April 28, with Ellen Linsley remaining our President, Mary DeJong Vice President, Treasurer Jeanette Rothberg, and Secretary Cindy Perry. Board members for 2014-15 will be LuAnne Ackerman, Ruth McKinnon,

Cheryl Gaynor, and Bunny Klein.

Our annual mini-show at Wine on Pine, on Anna Maria Island May 2, turned out very well,

and we sang the only encore requested among the entertainers from the receptive crowd.

We’ve been using our time before July break to

brainstorm ideas, learn new music, and try some

unique warmup techniques. Who knew alternate

nostril breathing could yield such benefits? Now

we do! New member Samantha Mills created a

new Facebook page for us and we have almost

150 likes so far, and we’re hoping this will add to

our recruitment efforts coming up in September.

Last year we were heady with excitement after

our new member gala. It did bring us new

members and created a lot of interest. Since all

of us already know how fabulous Sweet Adelines

are, we tend to forget that other wonderful

women who like to sing might not know about us.

We always have to remember to talk about our

passion for barbershop. “Sing a song to your

neighbor…”

(MAGIC continued from page 6)

A Cappella Bay

Clearwater, Florida

Denise Helbig, Director

Gainesville Harmony

Gainesville, Florida Diane Sherley & Chanda Morris,

Co-Directors

Goldcoast

Miami, Florida

Iris Cokeroft, Director

Harmony Shores

Panama City, Florida

Barbara Heckerson, Director

Heart of Highland

Avon Park, Florida

Betty Meinholz, Director

Hilton Head Shore Notes

Hilton Head Island, S. Carolina

Faye McLanahan, Director

Jacksonville Harmony

Jacksonville, Florida

Ann Gooch, Director

Magic of Manatee

Bradenton, Florida

Lois Van Beek, Director

O-Town Sound

Orlando, Florida

Kay Webb, Director

Pensacola Sound

Pensacola, Florida Connie Hancock, Director

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Published Quarterly January, April, July

and October JANUARY deadline Dec. 15 APRIL deadline March 8 JULY deadline June 15 OCT deadline Sep. 15

Email submissions to: paulab902@gmail.com

Platinum Show

West Melbourne, Florida

Elaine Haugan, Director

Song of the Coast

Ormond Beach, Florida Diane Johnson, Director

Sound of Sunshine

Orlando, Florida

Nancy Lewis, Director

South Florida Jubilee

Plantation, Florida

James Kastler, Director

Southern Company

Brandon, Florida

Linda Verzosa, Director

Spirit of the Gulf

Fort Myers, Florida

Mike Slamka, Director

Summer Springs

Ocala, Florida

Judi Stygar, Director

Suncoast Harmony

Hudson, Florida

Anne Prins, Director

Toast of Tampa

Temple Terrace, Florida

Tony DeRosa, Director

Venetian Harmony

Venice, Florida

Jim Shubert, Director

Women of Note

Wellington, Florida

Mitch Greenberg, Director

Region 9

Choruses