Looking Back on the Jan 28th
Presidents’ Award Banquet and Board Installation
This year’s Presidents’ Award Banquet was at the Elks Club on Saturday nite,
Jan. 28th . This was our 43rd
such event. About 150 of the Harmonizer family attended the buffet
banquet.
Our 2016 chapter president Randall Eliason served as master of ceremonies and kept us laughing
with his references to the current political scene in DC. Social hour was from 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm, then
Randall invited folks to find their
seats at the tables and the buffet. Terrific
table center pieces were created by Jerri
White. Robyn Murane, Janet Cerutti, Lydia Golden, Judy Huber, Sandy Stamps and Kristen Colby helped set up for the
banquet.
After
the meal, Randall thanked others who
had helped with the banquet event including Steve Murane and Jack Pitzer
for the printed program and year in review; Alan Wile for helping get all the awards for the nite; and Art Medici for help with tickets and reservations.
Each year this event is hosted by the past
presidents of the chapter – thus the name Presidents’ banquet. Presidents attending this year included Terry Reynolds, 2014-15; Steve Murane, 2011-12; Mick Stamps, 2008; Rick Wagner, 2005; Ken Fess,
2004; and Jack Pitzer, 1976 (the
first Presidents’ Ball was during his term – some years the event has been even
more formal and other years it has been a potluck). To continue a tradition
begun at the first banquet, each man presented a rose to his significant other
as we sang “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”
Randall
thanked his 2016 board and recognized those
men retiring from the board: Mike
Edison, Kevin McKenzie and Steve
White.
A number of the Board Members of our sister
corporation, AH Inc, were also introduced at the banquet: Steve Sutton, Clyde Crusenberry, Bruce Roehm and Rick Wagner.
Randall
shared. “2016 was an exciting year with some
wonderful musical and artistic achievements of which you are all aware and
which are summarized in your program.” [See the recently released Harmonizer 2016
Year in Review.]
“Organizationally
we completed the rollout and starting up of AH Inc. as our separate 501(c)(3)
corporation, and we are now moving forward under that new structure. I’m very
enthusiastic about the year ahead and the many initiatives that we have
underway to make it even greater to be a Harmonizer in 2017 and beyond.”
“For years our friends and family have given us
tremendous support through volunteer activities. It takes a lot to keep a group
like the Harmonizers going. Our volunteers help with membership; help host
parties and events; run the house and usher at our shows; sell snacks, CDs,
tickets, taking donations; work on fundraisers like White House ornaments; work
on the silent auction; and sew and mend costumes to help us deal with any
last-minute wardrobe malfunctions. It’s honestly no exaggeration to say we
could not succeed in all we do without their help. The volunteers team is
headed by Volunteers Director, Robyn
Murane, and a long list of 2016 volunteers were listed in the banquet
program. Many thanks to all of them.”
Under our new structure much of the day-to-day
operation of the chapter has been moved from the duties of the BHS Chapter
Board of Directors and given to an operations team composed of directors with
various responsibilities. Randall recognized the “Ops Team” for
2017:
Executive Director:
Terry Reynolds
Music/Artistic Director: Joe
Cerutti
Finance Director AH Inc: Carl
Kauffmann
Finance Director BHS: Bruce
Minnick
Volunteers Director:
Robyn Murane
Communications Director: Steve Murane
Contest Director: Craig Kujawa
Education Director:
Vickie Dennis
Development Director: Nick Leiserson
Membership Director:
Rich Hewitt
Shows Director:
Mick Stamps
Operations Director:
Mike Edison
For the next event in
the banquet program, Dennis Ritchey,
our fellow chapter member, front row guy, and current Mid Atlantic District
president, installed the board for the Alexandria Harmonizers BHS Chapter
President – Randall Eliason
Secretary – Chris Buechler
Treasurer – Al Herman
Members at Large – Dave Branstetter, Don Dillingham, Art
Medici
Immediate Past President
– Rick Wagner
Moving
on, Randall acknowledged the many
“riser rats” who continually execute the hard work to set up the risers, sound
equipment, refreshments, guest chairs, admin table, screen and av equipment,
membership sign-in kiosk and member picture board.
Randall used his presidential prerogative to present
three Meritorious Service Awards for exceptional service to the chapter.
This first recipient was Keith Jones. He has been a
Harmonizer for nearly 40 years. He has held chapter offices, has produced
shows, chaired conventions, been a section manager, and performed just about
any other duty for the chapter that you could imagine. When life took him
outside of the Alexandria area he was an active member in a number of other
barbershop chapters around the country. In addition to work within the chapter,
he has served as the board secretary for the Mid-Atlantic District for at least
10 years. He was a BHS judge and has served on the faculty at Harmony College
East. Even after he stepped off the risers, he has continued to attend
virtually every rehearsal and provides invaluable service to Joe and the rest of the music team
behind the scenes.
The second recipient was Terry Reynolds. They say in
any institution such as ours no one person is indispensable – but Terry comes close. He has served in
many, many capacities for years as an integral part of the music and management
team of the Harmonizers. As well, he has
served in various capacities for the BHS. The transition we have undergone this
year to create the new 501©(3) was the vision of a small number of people, but Terry was spearheading it as chapter
president for two years. And since then he has been working tirelessly as our
first executive director. Randall
said, “This award really seems inadequate when compared to his contributions,
but I just wanted to personally thank him for all the work he has done and
continues to do on behalf of the chapter, and all of the help that he has given
me personally.”
The
third recipient was Liz Birnbaum (actually
presented at the Tues Jan. 31st chapter meeting). The final
recipient of the Meritorious Service Awards goes to an individual who
contributed a great deal to the successful creation of our new 501(c)(3)
corporation and the division of accounts and responsibilities between the two
corporations. Many Harmonizers devoted a great deal of time and effort to this
project, but this award goes to someone who is not a Harmonizer but
nevertheless devoted an enormous amount of time and effort to that project. As
a lawyer with experience in the nonprofit world she was instrumental in
drafting the many corporate organization documents and state and federal
filings necessary to create AH Inc. She was deeply involved in the creation of
our new Organization Manual that sets out the responsibilities of the different
members of the Ops team and division of responsibility between the two
corporations. She has served as one of our inaugural community board members
for the BHS Chapter – becoming the first female chapter board member in the
history of BHS – and then as a community board member in the new AH Inc.
organization. Within AH Inc., over the
past year she spearheaded the development committee to focus on things like
fundraising and consolidating our mailing lists of patrons, and now for 2017
she has taken the helm as President of AH Inc.
Next Randall honored these recipients of the
six chapter memorial awards given each year with a description of the award.
New Note of the Year Award
(Nominated by the
President, VP-Membership/Chapter Development, and VP-Operations; selected by
the Board of Directors). Given to a Harmonizer who has contributed
outstanding service to the Chapter in his first year of membership. All
new members for the previous 18 months prior to October 31 of the current year
will be considered. Attendance, attitude, and accomplishments of duties,
both volunteer and assigned, shall be considered.
2016
recipient – Matt Doniger – This was a tough
field this year, as we were fortunate to have a number of new members who are
already contributing a great deal. This year’s winner is an enthusiastic chorus
performer and quartet man. In addition to singing, he is always one of the
first to volunteer to assist when anything needs getting done. He is
consistently there when we call for extra hands to help with a show set-up or
tear down, as well as helping with the risers every Tuesday. He has volunteered
as an active member of the operations team and now regularly serves as one of
the drivers of the truck, as well as working on loading and unloading the
truck.
Spirit of Harmony Award
(Selected by the Board of Directors).
Presented to the Harmonizer who during the past year best exemplified the
fundamental Society membership qualities of congeniality and good character and
worked hardest to encourage participation in vocal harmony by Chapter visitors
and members. The awardee must reflect the spirit and ideals of O.C. Cash
(Society founder) by his enthusiasm for good fellowship and good harmony and by
his unselfish dedication to and obvious joy in barbershopping.
2016 recipient – Dave Branstetter (actually presented at the Tues.
Jan. 31st chapter meeting). This year’s recipient
absolutely embodies the criteria for this award. He is a dedicated member of
the chorus who clearly relishes not only the singing but the fellowship that
the chapter provides. He has been an enthusiastic and energetic performer on
the front row. He has served the chapter on the board of directors and has
volunteered in other ways, most recently stepped up to help with publicity for
the holiday show by working on a mass mailing.
But perhaps his standout contribution is his weekly
memo to all of us, describing what will be happening at next week’s meeting and
beyond. The centerpiece of these memos is his weekly philosophical musing on
some topic related to the chorus, what we are doing, or what Joe and the music
team are trying to teach us. It’s always uplifting and positive and encourages
us to focus on something important. Maybe you love them, maybe you skip over
them, but the time and obvious care that he spends on these messages really
demonstrate his love for the chapter..
Ibbianne and Wilbur Sparks Award
(Selected by the Board of Directors).
Given to recognize the important contribution of Harmonizer family teams to the
success and well-being of the Chapter. The award will be made only to a
truly outstanding team which has contributed greatly both in volume and quality
of services over a period of time. The team can be a Harmonizer and any
family member or significant other.
2016 recipient – Saundra Deltac and Don Dillingham – She is a stalwart
member of Robyn’s volunteer team,
particularly working at shows to sell tickets, sell concessions, make signs,
help organize, and do basically anything else that needs to be done. In the
past few years she has also taken the lead in organizing and running the Silent
Auction (or, this year, the raffle) at our Holiday Show.
He is a solid member of
the bass section who also contributes to the chorus in many other ways,
including as an occasional motivational speaker and cheerleader. He took the
initiative to organize and teach the New Zealand Haka to a group of men before
we went to International at Nashville last summer, and they performed it for a
New Zealand chorus. That chorus was so moved that their director was in tears
and the Harmonizers have now formed an enduring bond with that group as a
result. He has also been active in our youth outreach programs this year,
including helping to bring star quartets to local high schools to sing and
promote our youth harmony festival.
Harmonizer Honor Award
(Selected by the
Board of Directors). Given to a Harmonizer for service which is above and
beyond the usual service expected of members during the past year. It is
not intended as a reward for discharging a single specific duty, but for
continuous service in several activities.
2016 recipient – Carl Kauffmann
– We
completed the rollout this year of our new 501©(3) organization, AH Inc. One of
the most complicated parts of that process involved the finances and budgets of
what would now be two organizations. Books and accounts had to be set up for
each corporation, along with separate budgets. A number of people on the
finance committee and elsewhere did a great amount of work in this process, but
Carl made it work. Through it all he
demonstrated his great attention to detail, and always asked the hard questions
to make sure we were doing things right. He started out last year as the
treasurer for the BHS Chapter, and then transitioned to the position of finance
director for AH Inc., where he currently serves. In addition, of course, he is
a long-time member of the tenor section, consistently and reliably at every
performance and engagement.
Oz Newgard Memorial Award
(Nominated by the
President, VP-Music & Performance, and Musical Director; Selected by
the Board of Directors). Presented in memory of Oz Newgard (Musical
Director 1962-70). It is given to the Harmonizer who has made a
significant contribution to the musical program of the Chapter during the past
year. The awardee's contribution need not be highly visible or of a
technical musical character, but it must be related directly to the musical
program. It should show the intent to make the musical program superior
and enjoyable for all members. The awardee should be a dedicated
Harmonizer who has endeavored to improve the Chapter image in the Society and in
the Alexandria community through musical excellence. Any Harmonizer who
has been a chapter member for more than one year shall be eligible for the
award.
2016
recipient – Rick Savage – This year’s recipient
is one of those heroes of the chorus, who quietly serves year after year to
make the Harmonizers the best they can possibly be. He has been a Harmonizer for more than four
decades, has sung in a variety of competitive quartets, has been an outstanding
performer both on the front row in the past, and currently on the risers. He
also served as uniform chair in the past. He’s a reliable member of the chorus
who can be counted on to attend virtually every performance. But perhaps his most stand-out musical
contribution has been his service as the tenor section leader for so long that
no one can remember for sure – at least more than two decades. He can always be relied upon to help out when
needed, including last summer in Nashville when we called on his sartorial
skills to help fit and alter uniforms for the competition.
Harmonizer Memorial Award
(Selected by the Board of Directors).
Presented in memory of those men who died while members of the Chapter.
It is the highest recognition which the Chapter can bestow on a member.
It is given to the Harmonizer who, during his entire period of chapter
membership, has devoted himself most unselfishly in rendering outstanding
service to the Chapter. The award is made only to a truly outstanding
member who has regularly attended Chapter activities and who has contributed
greatly both in volume and quality of services over a long period of time.
2016 – Mick Stamps – Throughout nearly 30 years in the chapter, Mick has always stepped forward to
contribute. He is a devoted performer
with the chorus and has also been a long-time successful quartet man. He has
held offices in the chapter, including president. He has been a producer or
co-producer on a number of successful shows, including serving as a co-chair
organizing our recent very successful trip to Normandy. He has produced three
separate CDs for the chapter. He has worked on numerous committees related to
fund raising, music, uniforms, and shows. He and his wife, Sandy, have for years
spearheaded our successful fundraiser selling holiday ornaments each year.
Most recently, when the
chapter suddenly and unexpectedly found itself without a producer for our
holiday show, he stepped up on extremely short notice to be the producer, and
his professionalism and experience made it an extremely successful show. He has
now agreed to continue his service to the Chapter as our new Director of Shows
on the Ops team.
Before the banquet was
adjourned, director Joe Cerutti thanked
president Randall for his work and
leadership. And then we sang Happy Birthday to Randall.
After the banquet,
guests were invited to dance to the music of Riptide band which includes Chris Huber, Kellen Hertz, Joe Cerutti Sr. and Joel Golden. They invited Rusty Orvik to sing one of their numbers too.
Until next time –
editorjack!
(This message is prepared for your review if you
were there, for your information if you had to miss, and as a historical record
of the great things going on each week during the 68th year of the
Alexandria Harmonizer Chapter. —YeEd
