Border Lakes Region 2! Spring 2018 Newsletter

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1 Border Lakes Region 2! Spring 2018 Newsletter

2 MISSION STATEMENT Border Lakes Region 2 is an organization of American and Canadian women singers which advances musical excellence in barbershop harmony through education and performances. Regional Website REGIONAL MANAGEMENT TEAM Team Coordinator Mary Patrick Communications Coordinator Martha Delargey Directors Coordinator Jeanne Lundberg Education Coordinator Nancy Liedel Events Coordinator Nan Wardin Finance Coordinator Judy Sirut Marketing Coordinator Susan Casey Membership Coordinator Melissa Wright BORDER LAKES REGION REGIONAL MANAGEMENT TEAM M Team Coordinator MARY PATRICK M Communications MARTHA DELARGEY delargey.mrw@sbcglobal.net M Directors JEANNE LUNDBERG jeannelundberg@msn.com M Education NANCY LIEDEL magicbari2000@yahoo.com M Events NAN WARDIN nan.wardin@gmail.com M Finance JUDY SIRUT sirutj@dteenergy.com M Marketing SUSAN CASEY suezavon@sympatico.ca M Membership MELISSA WRIGHT Border Lakes Region 2 newsletter "Border Lights" is posted on the regional website and distributed via winter, spring and fall. NEXT deadline September 20 Send copy and photos to Linda May lindamay@ameritech.net Glenwood Street Clinton Township MI Send articles by the deadline as a plain message or as an attachment (avoid pdf). Send photos as attachments rather than embedded in the document. Please put the chorus name in the subject line of your . No more than 600 words. Sign your articles. Send ONLY ONE final and complete article. (Late corrections not accepted.) Send photos by as a common photo file or send a photo to scan. Attach photo information. Mailed photos will be returned if accompanied by a stamped self-addressed envelope. CAMERA-READY ADS full page 10" x 7" $110; ½ page 5" x 7" $55; 1/4 page 3.5" x 5" $35; checks payable to Border Lakes Region 2 and mailed to Judy Sirut, 4353 Charing Way, Bloomfield Hills MI Sweet Adelines International 9110 S. Toledo Tulsa OK or (fax) sweetadelineintl.org Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 2

3 Team Coordinator # Mary A. Patrick Education Coordinator # Nancy Liedel T hank you Region 2 for allowing me to serve you during the past six years on the Regional Management Team. I have had the opportunity to meet so many of our members over the years and have made friends I will treasure in the future. We are so pleased that Diane Porsch accepted our invitation to be the installing officer for our incoming team. The Regional Management Team is: Communication Coordinator Leslie Lennon Directors Coordinator Jill Watson Education Coordinator Brook Tucker Events Coordinator Nan Wardin Finance Coordinator Judy Sirut Marketing Coordinator Susan Casey Membership Coordinator Melissa Wright Team Coordinator Lois Kelly Everyone is invited to attend the installation at 10 a.m. Sunday, April 29 in the Desoto Room at the Edward Hotel Upcoming events to put on your calendar include: Harmony Day, on May 5 sponsored by The Carillon Belles Chorus, Region 2, and the Municipality of Norfolk County, to be held in Simco, Ontario Harmony Camp on June 23, sponsored by Region 2, to be held in Fenton Further information can be found on the Region 2 website W ell, this will be my last article as Education Coordinator for Region 2. It has been an amazing six years as your Education Coordinator. I can only hope that my time in this position has brought much needed musical education to our region. I am excited about the new grant program that is in place now. I know it will reach so many more members than we have with past programs. Thank you all so much for all your suggestions and support. It really does take a village. Your RMT can t do their job without all of you! And YOU are the reason we work so hard. The people I have met and gotten to know in my time on the RMT are the most incredible women. The friendships I have made through this journey are ones I will always cherish. Best group of women ever! I leave this position in very capable hands. I m very confident that Brook Tucker will do a spectacular job as your new Education Coordinator. We have some very exciting education coming up! All the details can be found at the regional website, in the Border Lights, and on the region s Facebook page. Once again, I am humbled to have had this opportunity to serve you all. I love my region. Thank you. #IamSweetAdelines Communications Coordinator # Martha Delargey I have enjoyed being the Communications Coordinator for the past six years. Many s have been sent to your administrative leaders and your directors. Lots of information is sent out ahead of upcoming events. Most of this information can be found on the regional website. As a member of Region 2, I hope that you use this website. As of May 1, Leslie Lennon will be your new Communications Coordinator. Please welcome her at the RMT installation on Sunday, April 29. Directors Coordinator # Jeanne Lundberg H eeeeeeeeere s JILL! With a song in my heart, and with sincere gratitude, I m excited to introduce Jill Watson as our next Region 2 Directors Coordinator! She will be installed at RMT installation. You may know Jill as Master Director of Grand Traverse Show Chorus, of Traverse City, Michigan appearing at Harmony Classic in Vegas last fall. Jill sings bass with the ever-popular Sashay quartet. She brings smarts, savvy and style to the job of Directors Coordinator. If you don t know her already, directors, you will enjoy your interaction with Jill! How can you resist someone who signs her correspondence Luuuuuv, Jill? Reminders for Region 2 Directors of life after contest events: Directors Retreat with Dale Syverson, June 15-16, Bluewater Convention Center, Port Huron; Directors Forum, Friday evening of Fall Regional with guest International faculty, Diane Porsch. All the best to Region 2 directors as you step on regional contest stage! Your time to shine can't wait to cheer for YOU! Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 3

4 Got Harmony? Day Camp # Peggy Silver O ur Region 2 Got Harmony? Day Camp is fast approaching! It is Saturday, June 23 in Fenton, Michigan. The registration deadline before late fees is set for May 26. Send your completed forms to: Keane Michelin 2296 Northfield St. Trenton, MI Students will be sent music and learning tracts. Make sure you select a T-shirt size. We have an awesome director and experienced quartet folks ready to help our students learn and prepare for a terrific show that night at 7 p.m. The show is open to the public. Tickets are $10. Region 2 S.A.S.S.I.E. SONGS T he following songs can be purchased through Sweet Adelines International. The item number and member price are listed. You need to log in to the International site before purchasing an item. You will be charged a standard shipping and handling charge unless you choose electronic method. For example: if your order total is $0 - $30, shipping is $6.50. Sales Direct Toll Free: or Sales@sweetadelineintl.org Ain t-a That Good News - Bev Sellers $1.65 MS 0101 Battle Hymn of the Republic - Judy West $1.65 MS 0406 Blue Skies - Renee Craig $1.65 MS 0412 Harmonize the World - Nancy Bergman $1.65 MS 2201 How We Sang Today - Vicki J. Uhr $1.65 MS 2215 I d Like To Teach the World To Sing - Joey Minshall $1.65 MS 2602 I m All Alone - Floyd Connett $1.65 MS 2511 Let There Be Peace On Earth - Sylvia Albury $1.65 MS 3416 San Francisco Bay Blues - Dave Stevens $1.65 MS 5202 Send Your Love - Renee Craig $1.65 MS 5499 Thank You Dear Lord For Music - Mary K. Coffman $1.65 MS 5606 That s What Friends Are For - Bev Sellers $1.65 MS 5613 We ll Meet Again - Carolyn Healey $1.65 MS 6527 The following songs can be purchased through Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) at : Friends - David Wright Let s Sing Again - David Wright Questions? Peggy Silver hpsilver01@sympatico.ca See you there! In Memoriam ~ submitted by Nan Wardin Gloria King We lost Gloria in the summer of (She and her husband Levon died in the crash of a plane in which they were the only occupants.) Gloria s enthusiasm to our barbershop craft was infectious, to say the least. She was a constant promoter of our chorus and of barbershop singing, including promoting barbershop with students. To honor her spirit of promoting our craft, the Motor City Blend Chorus has donated to the Got Harmony? Day Camp in Loving Memory of Gloria King. May we all strive to follow Gloria s example to Harmonize the World. Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 4

5 Region 2 and Motor City Blend Chorus Presents A Barbershop Seminar with Betty Clipman Join in on this fun and educational day of classes and coaching! The Woodland Show Chorus Master Director Certified Judge in Expressions and Sound Former International President International Quartet Champion Master Faculty Member Saturday May 12, 2018 Orchard United Methodist Church Farmington Road Farmington Hills, MI Registration 9:00 9:30 am Classes 9:30 12:00 pm Lunch 12:00 1:00 pm Coaching 1:00 4:00 pm $10 Registration Fee includes a boxed lunch with a sandwich and sides. Coffee, water and ice tea provided. Please indicate your lunch choice when you register turkey, roast beef, ham or veggie wrap Register by May 6th with Brook Tucker at (734) or brooktucker10@wowway.com

6 Got Harmony? Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International DAY CAMP 2018 Saturday, June 23 The Got Harmony? Day Camp is a day-long event with an evening performance for male and female singers ages 10 to 25. Young singers receive vocal training from a cappella music specialists, and learn choreography with experienced choreographers, and performance techniques. FENTON COMMUNITY & CULTURAL CENTER 150 S. LEROY STREET FENTON, MI DAY Saturday, June 23 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lunch, snacks, dinner and Camp T-shirt provided Campers will perform at the 7 p.m. show - $10 per ticket COST $40 (scholarships available) $30 per student in a family or group Campers will be sent sheet music and learning CDs REGISTRATION Deadline Saturday, May 26 Male & Female singers, age Come sing, dance & have fun! CONTACT Peggy Silver or hpsilver01@sympatico.ca

7 GOT HARMONY? DAY CAMP 2018 REGISTRATION For young men and women years of age June 23, 2018 Fenton Community & Cultural Center, 150 S. Leroy Street, Fenton MI Sponsor: Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International Student Name: Age: Grade: Male: Female: Voice Part (Circle one) Lead Tenor Baritone Bass Alto Unknown Mother s Name/Legal Guardian: Father s Name/Legal Guardian: Home Address: City ZIP Cod e Home Phone Work Phone: Cell Phone: This will be used to send music, learning track MP3 files and additional information for the camp. If you cannot receive these files electronically and print them out, please indicate below: I need music, learning tracks and additional information mailed to me, not sent electronically T-SHIRT SIZE Circle one: S M L XL (adult size) Participants will receive day of the camp School: Music Teacher: How did you hear about us? Tuition $40 U.S. funds. Make checks payable to Border Lakes Region 2" If more than one participant from a family, tuition is $30 per participant. Complete separate registration and parental permission forms for each participant. Send completed registration and parental permission form to: Keane Michelin 2296 Northfield St. Trenton MI 48183

8 SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL Dear Music Educator: An exciting one-day vocal music camp open to girls and guys ages is being held. Students will learn fourpart a cappella music for girls, guys, and mixed chorus, learn how to enhance performance with choreography, and experience quartet singing. The camp is sponsored by Sweet Adelines International s Border Lakes Region 2 and it features renowned director, Chris Arnold whose men s chorus performed in Russia sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Students will be taught by Region 2 quartet champion, The VIBE. Group rates and scholarships are available. This is a great way to build excitement for your vocal music program. A Cappella Music Day Camp is June 23 The Got Harmony? Day Camp 2018 is a day-long event for male and female singers ages 10 to 25 on June 23 at the Fenton Community & Cultural Center, 150 S. Leroy Street, Fenton MI It is sponsored by Border Lakes Region 2 of Sweet Adelines International, a nonprofit a cappella music education organization for women. The camp is 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Participants perform on a show that begins at 7 p.m. at the center that is open to the public. Tickets for the show are $10. Young singers receive vocal training from a cappella music specialists, and learn choreography with experienced choreographers, and performance techniques. The fee is $40, and scholarships are available. The fee per student is $30 if there is more than one participant in a family or group. The fee includes a T-shirt, lunch, snack and dinner, sheet music and a learning CD. Contact Peggy Silver at or hpsilver01@sympatico.ca for information about the day camp and show. * * * As a former music educator in upstate New York and Toronto, I know how hard you work to give students valuable learning experiences. If you are interested in having a quartet demonstrate in your school please let me know. Yours in Harmony, Peggy Silver hpsilver01@sympatico.ca

9 Parental Consent Form Region 2 Got Harmony Day Camp June 23, 2018 I, the legal parent or guardian of do hereby give YWIH Coordinator of Region 2 Peggy Silver, permission to take prudent emergency action for medical welfare of my child, or disciplinary action, if and when needed. Signed: (Parent or Guardian) Are there medical conditions, allergies, or medicines of which we should be aware? I, the registering participant student, agree to abide by the laws of the State of Michigan and the staff of the Got Harmony Day Camp; to respect the property and persons I encounter, and to conduct myself honorably. (If violated, parents may be called to pick up their child and remove them from Got Harmony Day Camp). Signed: Student You will perform on a show Saturday, June 23, 2018, at 7 p.m. The show will be at the Fenton Community & Cultural Center, 150 S. Leroy Street, Fenton, MI and will finish about 9 p.m. Tickets for the show are $10. Student Parent/Guardian *Emergency Contact Information: Name: Number(s): Submit the parental consent form with all the necessary signatures, your registration form, and tuition to: Keane Michelin, 2296 Northfield St, Trenton, MI *Mandatory emergency contract number for campers of all ages.

10 Border Lakes Region 2 of Sweet Adelines International Presents Regional Competition & Convention April 26-29, 2018 Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, Michigan Avenue, Dearborn MI :30 p.m. Friday, April 27 MASS SING foot of stairs at the PAC Order of Appearance Quartets 6-9:30 p.m. Friday, April 27 Mic Testers Fusion (Region 17) Contestant #1 Novelty Shop Quartet, OPEN DIVISION Contestant #2 Contour Quartet Contestant #3 Serenity Quartet Contestant #4 Vocal Mojo Quartet Contestant #5 Dream On! Quartet, OPEN DIVISION Contestant #6 Imagine That Quartet Contestant #7 Cantina Vocal Project Quartet INTERMISSION 25 Minutes Contestant #8 Spectrum Quartet Contestant #9 Riot Act Quartet Contestant #10 Dare Quartet Contestant #11 The Vibe Quartet Contestant #12 Sashay Quartet Contestant #13 Key of She Quartet Contestant #14 Rezonation Quartet Stretch Break 10 Minutes The Vibe Quartet Outgoing Performance Purple Ribbon Gang Performance Awards and Harmonize the World WEBCAST Webcast links: Quartet: Chorus: Webcast will be available for four weeks afterward! Please encourage your family and friends to make a donation. ******************************************************************* Single tickets will be sold in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center 45 minutes prior to the beginning of each competition. The region provides up to 10 additional seats for your guests with your chorus. Order of Appearance Choruses Saturday, April 28 Contestant #1 Pros. A Cappella Bella, EVALUATION ONLY Contestant #2 London Chapter EVALUATION ONLY Contestant #3 Fenton Lakes Chapter Contestant #4 Water Wonderland Chapter Contestant #5 Grand Traverse Show Chorus Contestant #6 Northern Blend Chapter Contestant #7 Festival Sounds Chapter, OPEN DIVISION Contestant #8 Heart of Essex Chapter Contestant #9 Carillon Belles Chapter INTERMISSION 25 Minutes Contestant #10 Tri City Chapter Contestant #11 Crossroads Harmony Chapter Contestant #12 Shoreline Sound Chapter Contestant #13 Song of the Lakes Chapter Contestant #14 Heart of Michigan Chapter Contestant #15 Seaway Sounds Chapter Contestant #16 Grand Harmony Chapter Stretch Break 15 Minutes Motor City Blend Chorus Outgoing Performance Awards and Salute to Winners How We Sang Today Lodging/Headquarters: The Edward Hotel 600 Town Center Drive, Dearborn MI Check-in is 3 p.m. Friday, April 27, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Boutique / Information - Vendor Area Great Lakes Ballroom 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Registration Great Lakes Ballroom Saturday April 28, 9 a.m. 11 a.m. Registration / Information Great Lakes Ballroom 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Information / Boutique Vendor Area Great Lakes Ballroom 6-11 p.m. Information / Boutique Vendor Area Great Lakes Ballroom Sunday, April 29, 10 a.m.-noon Regional Management Team installation and awards for Novice Chorus, Novice Director and Novice Quartet, as applicable, in The Desoto room. Busing will be supplied to contestants only. Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 10

11 PROSPECTIVE A CAPPELLA BELLA CHORUS Muskegon, Michigan ~~ Kathy Niergarth G reetings from the West Michigan shoreline. The Prospective A Cappella Bella Chorus, based in Muskegon, continues to prepare for the Region 2 contest later this month. We have worked with coach Michael Oonk to refine and polish our contest package, adding some needed dynamics to our selections. The Bellas are excited to bring two new members to contest this year, baritone Cathryn and lead DeLinda. Cathryn was a Sweet Adeline in Wisconsin, and she is eager to experience the Region 2 contest. She overheard a conversation between our director, Marilee Wexstaff, and another woman in Hobby Lobby and asked if she could visit us. DeLinda found out about us online, came to rehearsal, introduced herself and was hooked after that first visit. Dee learned all of our music in three months so she could sing in our Christmas concert as well as two sing-outs in January. The addition of these lovely ladies will make us 16 strong on stage. The Bellas were honored to sing the National Anthem for a Muskegon Lumberjacks hockey game in March. We were treated to a great game with four of the six goals scored right in front of our seats. We watched as a Lumberjack player shot the puck over everyone from the side of his net and scored an empty net goal to ice the game. Needless to say, the arena crowd went crazy. As soon as we return from the regional contest, we have one week to prepare for an appearance at Tulip Time in Holland. The Bellas have been invited to sing at a barbershop show hosted by the Holland Windmill Chorus on May 5. The show, The Three Faces of Steve, promises to be a lot of fun. We ve been practicing our tags, as we hear there will be a tag-off at the afterglow. See you in Dearborn! TRI CITY CHORUS Auburn, Michigan ~~ Nancy Nieschulz G reetings from Tri City Chorus. We had our annual retreat at the Holiday Inn in Midland in February with Jim Whitten coaching. Last month: we had a performance at Christopher & Banks in Midland; Maria Christian came to rehearsal to do coaching; and we had a performance at New Hope Nursing Home in Essexville. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the 2018 regional convention. BLUEWATER CHORUS Owen Sound, Ontario ~~ Susan Long G reetings! The Bluewater Chorus gals hope you're all having an awesome 2018! Mother Nature doesn't want to let winter go up here in Owen Sound so we have fresh snow as I type. Some kind of April Fools joke I guess because March wasn't too bad. Well, since we've last written, there have been a few changes around here! I am the new secretary and missed the memo about Border Lights! Oops! Hope I can make it up to you all! After 20 years as director, Sue Murdoch has stepped down so she and her husband Bill can spend the winter in Florida. Sounds like a good idea to me! Rumour has it they've just got back into town but instead of warm weather we are giving them a taste of the snow they missed. Sorry about that Sue! Thankfully Sue's co-director at last year s competition has stepped in to take her spot. We would like to introduce the wonderfully talented Diane Hingston. Diane has been a Sweet Adeline member since Her amazing voice can almost sing all four parts (she can't quite hit the lowest bass notes and sometimes the basses can't either.) She can sing any note without a pitch pipe and she is proof that good things come in small packages! (Shortest Chorus Member Award.) Her day job is being full-time piano teacher of children and adults, so music is her life! We look forward to working with Diane for many years to come. We had a busy month of December. We had a very successful Christmas show written by director Diane titled Twas the Night Before. We sang most of our Christmas songs while Santa told the story of a Christmas concert rehearsal many years ago. There was even a surprise visit by Mrs. Claus (Past member Donna Fisher Potter) who brought us new music and sang a few songs. In addition, we performed our Christmas songs at two local retirement homes in Owen Sound, Kelso Pines and Central Place. Somehow we managed to fit in a coaching session in the fall with Karen Romanson and Lee Davison braved driving up in the winter to coach us. Unfortunately we won't be seeing you at competition in Dearborn this year. We have been struggling with low numbers due to illness, relocation, travel and are trying to rebuild for next year. However, one or two carloads of us will be going to watch and cheer you all on. Wishing all the competitors the best of luck and we hope you have lots of fun while you are there! Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 11

12 FENTON LAKES CHORUS Fenton, Michigan ~~ Nancy Liedel I t s the most wonderful time of the year! Contest time! We tried something new this year. We had a chorus day. A day spent with the amazing Karen Sweeters! She spent the evening prior with our music team. We must say there are a lot of lightbulbs going on! Along with Karen, our contest season has seen coaching sessions with Renee Porzel and Jim Arns. Both are so great to work with! We welcomed a new member to our Tenor section! Kaitlyn Cool is now a card-carrying member of Fenton Lakes. We re very excited to add this young lady to our family. We only have her for a year as she will be following her soon to be Air Force husband to a tour of duty in Italy. Maybe we can have her back when she returns home. Keep your fingers crossed! We are also very excited that we have three quartets representing Fenton Lakes Chorus in two regions during this spring contest season. The Vibe and Riot Act in Region 2 and Sublime in Region 17. Some of us are even planning a road trip to support Sublime when they compete in May! To all of our friends competing this spring, we wish all the magic and joy that comes with this time of year! Bust a chord! Riot Act singing for Fenton Lakes Chorus Sublime Quartet singing for Fenton Lakes Chorus Director, Jeanne Lundberg; New member Kaitlyn Cool; Team Leader, Kim Kennedy; Associate Director, Nancy Liedel Chorus Day with Karen Sweeters Jeanne Lundberg and Karen Sweeters Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 12

13 FESTIVAL SOUNDS CHORUS Stratford, Ontario ~~ Brenda Atchison A - One-Two-Three! Smile! Take a Pitch! Sing! Move! Cut! Do it again! Choreo! No Choreo! All familiar instructions these days! We all know the routine Practice, Practice, Practice! As I write this, we have only a little more than three weeks left, or only 23 more sleeps according to our Melissa. The excitement is building! While we all love competition and look forward to it every spring, let's be honest ladies! It will be such a relief to finally be able to sing something else for a change won't it? This year we welcome two new chorus members to the risers for their Dearborn initiation! Maggie Murray (daughter of our Annamarie) and Karen Zwakenburg are bringing their wonderful lead voices along with them as they join us on stage for the first time! It s always exciting to introduce new singing sisters to the wider world of Sweet Adelines! This chorus has once again had the privilege of being the recipient of virtual coaching. Beth Bruce has given us some very worthwhile tips and instructions. We also enjoyed a coaching session with Ruth Carmichael, who helped us tweak and polish up some notes and choreo moves! Thanks Ruth! In February, our chorus was forced to leave our longtime practice venue, for a new location to hold our regular weekly practices. Although we knew well in advance that the move would be necessary, we did not anticipate how difficult it would be to find a suitable location. We needed a venue that would be available every Wednesday evening as well as provide us with some storage space for risers etc. and still be in our budget! Although it is not the most ideal venue, we are happy to say that we did manage to find a new home and have made the move and seem to be adjusting well. So in just a few weeks we will Meet you in St. Louis and enjoy another wonderful weekend of beautiful harmony while we all strut our stuff! LONDON CHORUS London, Ontario ~~ Jo Kulik A s we reach the end of this long cold winter we can reflect on how much work we have done and how much we have accomplished in learning two new songs for competition while keeping our current repertoire sharp for local performances. We are looking forward to singing our St. Louis package in Dearborn in April. The evaluation will help us to polish it up for International in October. June Dale and Erin Howden have been our coaches and working with these powerhouses has upped our game. Adding seven new members who are so dedicated has been an added bonus. June and chorus London Chorus is proud to host another Education Seminar on Saturday May 26 from 9 til 4 at Riverside United Church in London. Our coach will once again be Erin Howden. Further details will be available on the Region 2 website as they become available. Hope to have a good attendance again as we anticipate an energy filled experience with Erin. June, Julia and newbies Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 13

14 GRAND TRAVERSE SHOW CHORUS Traverse City, Michigan ~~ Mandy Gibson The scene was set for romance when Kim Wonders arrived in January to our special place. She was full of coaching secrets and advice to help turn our show package into magic! (Can you guess what song we worked on?) She reminded us that it s all about the sound. Tonal center, relax, lift phrase endings sound familiar? Cindy Hansen followed in February with her own brand of magic, giving our up tune some new smooth moves. She is so much fun to work with and we get energized over and over again with her coaching. She is full of ideas for owning your spot and how to get the character across the footlights. We will be Skyping with her one more time before competition to put the frosting on the cake. March brought Queen Kendra LaPointe to our rehearsal with more encouraging coaching. The word of the evening was focus and review of the points we all KNOW -- staying on top of the pitch, match vowels, turn phrases -- and then she taught us to do the bobble head. We ll add that to our skill set. We, like many of you, went out on Valentine s Day to spread love with songs in our communities. Our singing valentine quartets were Sashay, Tonic and Undivided Attention. It is fun to see new chorus members step up to form or join a quartet to help with this fundraiser as they also raise the bar for their own performance skills. And speaking of expanding our participation and sharing our skills, our own Jill Watson will become part of the Regional Management Team when she is installed as the Director s Coordinator at the spring RMT meeting on Sunday morning following competition in Dearborn. Congratulations, Jill! You keep making us proud. Grand Traverse Show Chorus continues to shift and change. We will be losing three of our members in the near future when they move away from the TC area. You know this is a great place to live, work and play so think about heading north and joining us! You can come see what we re talking about when we host a regional retreat day June 9. We are excited that Molly Huffman will be with us as the international faculty. Watch your for more information. And SERIOUSLY, if you decide to transplant yourself in beautiful Traverse City or surrounding area, we have a spot on the risers for YOU. See you in Dearborn. We are wishing only the best experience ever to all of the competitors in Region 2 as we each cross that stage. We ll be joined on the competition stage with our chorus quartet, Sashay and assistant director Heather Kingham s quartet, The Vibe. Woot, woot! Kendra coaching Coaching with Kim Wonders Undivided attention with retired member Joy and husband Sashay mows em down with Valentine serenade Coaching with Cindy Hansen Ellis Tonic gives the tonic of love in a singing valentine Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 14

15 HEART OF ESSEX Essex, Ontario ~~ Fran Ferguson & Rose Tako NEWS FLASH! Heart of Essex has some great news! Our director Lois Kelly is stuck on us for one more year! We look forward to more performances, more excitement and intensity and lots of fun. We recently had the privilege to perform for a lovely lady 80 years young and her family and friends. They really enjoyed our songs and sang right along with us. She greeted us with tears of gratitude at the end of our performance which warmed our hearts and made us realize why we love belonging to this organization of amazing women. Region 2 competition is just a few weeks away. It promises to be an exhilarating and exciting weekend filled with friendship, harmony and making some wonderful memories with all of you. And of course, those seven minutes on stage that we have worked so hard to prepare for. Now it s up to all of us to step up and put our best dancing feet forward. Sixteen fabulous choruses and 14 quartets will cross the stage and give their very best performance. How lucky we are to have this opportunity. Heart of Essex will have two wonderful new ladies sing with us for their first time on stage. Sian Willard and Linda Palmer are very special to us and have added so much to our chorus family. We welcome all new Region 2 members who will be joining us this year and wish you a weekend to remember. MOTOR CITY BLEND CHORUS Farmington Hills, Michigan ~~ Linda May M otor City Blend Chorus is looking forward to singing for Region 2 later this month and telling you a story in words, song and dance. We wish all the quartets well, but we will especially cheer for our members in Novelty Shop, Dream On!, Spectrum and The Vibe (and Fusion!) Up to Note Good took a short hiatus from competition while baritone Rachel Lunning welcomed baby Oliver, but they will be back. Our new members since the last issue of Border Lights came out include: Gail Ash, Paula Gillespie, Nancy Larson, Takara Yoshida, Elizabeth Jackson, Mary Su, and Susan Heimberger. They come from all over Michigan and from over the Ohio border; one even comes from far-off Farmington Hills! We are keeping our eye on the goal of doing well in St. Louis this fall as contestant #16 and cheering our brains out for contestant #33, London! Coaching with Renee Porzel Leads got together outside of rehearsal to nail down the right notes and pass their audits so that they could all sing for Region 2! Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 15

16 NORTHERN BLEND CHORUS Prescott, Michigan ~~ Brenda Benjamin-Marsh W ell, I am sure most feel the same way I do which is absolutely ready for winter weather to cease. I woke up this am. to about 9" of fresh April snow and I think I have had enough! That being said, I think we all feel the same way about the upcoming convention-contest in Dearborn beginning April 26. We should all be very excited as we fine-tune ourselves and prepare for another fun time sharing our music with one another. Northern Blend Chorus is excited, excited to see friends, excited to introduce our new members to what we love so much, excited to just be there on the stage and ready to go. As in the years past, everyone in our region has been working for weeks or months for our few minutes on that stage, but in the end, it is all worth it. In March, Northern Blend Chorus had a weekend retreat at the Loon Lake Lutheran Retreat Center on Loon Lake in Hale. Traci Martin joined us for coaching. She is wonderful and we wish she could just stay up here but of course that is not possible. It was fun to see how excited she was about getting mud on her cute white Jeep. It's a way of life for most of the Northern Blend ladies. As usual we spent many hours singing, and the leftover hours eating! There are way too many good cooks in this group and everyone loves to share. Just about bedtime on Saturday night (of course it would be then) we had a little scare when all of the fire alarms in one of our cabins went off. After checking it out and doing everything we knew to make them stop we called the caretaker who in turn called the fire department. Thank goodness it wasn't our cooking but rather a faulty fire alarm. We were a touch concerned that many of us may be sleeping on the floor in the second cabin but all turned out well and the incident just added a little more excitement to the weekend. Our girls were at it again making our yummy pies that are well-received. We sell a lot of them and are grateful for the ladies that give their time putting them together. After this pie-making session, about a dozen of us piled into cars and headed to the Motor City Blend Chorus meeting place to observe them while coaching with Jim Arns. What fun that was! They are so good and he is so good! It was a long day of pie-making and traveling, but was well worth it. We are looking forward to another busy summer and fall sharing our craft with the many who attend the Victorian Art Fair as well as the Ogemaw County Fair. We also look forward to another good time in Harrisville in September. Once again, we are ready to be with all of our singing friends in a few short weeks. See you there! Loon Lake Pie-making Rise and shine with Ruth Ann The woodshed Traci and Susan Our Shirley A little excitement Traci s off-road experience Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 16

17 SEAWAY SOUNDS CHORUS Sarnia, Ontario ~~ Diane O Neill S pring is officially here! Now if Mother Nature would cooperate, we would all be grateful. It was a busy fall and winter season for Seaway Sounds Chorus. We had a successful guest night in September, and from that came two wonderful new members that have come to be an awesome addition to our chorus. Full of energy and imagination, they have become special singing sisters. Leslie Lockrey, our new lead, has it all, voice, excitement, stage presence and a love for singing. Katie Payne, our newest bass, is our cheerleader. She is excited and full of ideas and it s hard to keep her still! We love them both and welcome them to their first regional competition later this month. Both of these ladies enjoyed showing off one of the two new banners we purchased to better advertise when are doing sing-outs. Our favorite season is always Christmas. We did numerous sing-outs throughout November and December, but one of our favorites is the Lambton Mall Behind Closed Doors event in Sarnia. Tickets are sold to the public leading up to the event. On a Sunday evening when the mall closes, it reopens to the ticket-holders for four hours. The sales are amazing! Many local organizations display their information, Seaway Sounds included. The entertainment is awesome too! We stroll the mall caroling, passing by the likes of the Blue Water Chordsmen Barbershop Chorus, and a children s choir that stole our hearts when we invited them to sing with us. At one stop, as we sang, a beautiful booming male bass voice joined in. Santa was singing along! He and Mrs. Claus invited us to their castle where we sang and had our picture taken with the famous Christmas couple. Our holiday season was capped off by our annual Christmas party in mid-december before our break. One other note of excitement, we just learned that the Fall Regional with Diane Porsch will be held at the new convention center in Port Huron, Michigan October 5-6! Just one little mile over the Blue Water Bridge from us. We can t wait to have our singing sisters visit our neck of the woods! We have three American members that come across the bridge to sing with us. We live in two beautiful cities that embrace and celebrate Lake Huron and the St. Clair River, part of the St. Lawrence Seaway System. We hope everyone joins us this fall to enjoy the beauty of our area, and the always awesome Fall Regional Weekend. Until then, we work toward contest. We can t wait to see our friends and cheer each other on as we all get together in Dearborn to bust a chord, or two! January came quickly and Seaway Sounds went into contest mode. We are SO fortunate this year to have Jeanne Lundberg, director of Fenton Lakes Chorus, as our coach. Her wonderful smile encourages us and makes the work fun and rewarding. She works well with our awesome director, Michelle St. Onge-Mitchell to help make us the best we can be. Thanks Jeanne, we love and appreciate the time you spend with us. Our choreographer, Emma Crosbie, is full of energy and working to bring us out of our shells. Not every member is a natural performer, but Emma is a pro at getting us to come out of our shells. We are lucky to have her. We are looking forward to contest In May 2018 Seaway Sounds Chorus celebrates our 35th anniversary! Of course we are planning a party for May 27. Dinner, dancing, lots of singing and the installation of our 2018 management team. Details still being worked on, but all information will be on our chorus website soon. seawaysounds.com. Leslie and Katie Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 17

18 SHORELINE SOUND CHORUS Royal Oak, Michigan ~~ Mary Linda Gauche T he eyes of Texas were upon us specifically the all-seeing eyes of the great Dale Syverson. Our long-anticipated retreat, held February at the DoubleTree Hilton brought fun, education, comradeship, and the enriched joy of singing well together. It was the best of times, and Dale had us in the palm of her hand the entire weekend. Resonate, resonate especially ahead of volume at all times. Sound always goes UP, never down. As if we have not heard this before faces always must be ON, and the upper lip should never be rigid, always must be free with movement. Egg-shaped resonance should produce ring/resonance in the front. Chorus choreography NOT front row needs exuberance and extension to add a positive backdrop for front row. Always use fluid phrase delivery. Have breath power at beginning and end of phrases. How TALL can you breathe every time? And then, another divine coach, Renee Porzel, came to coach in mid-march, helping us polish up and fine-tune our competition package. It may have been a Tuesday night (after a work day for several), but we left our rehearsal feeling highly energized and thankful for her talents. Riot Act also benefitted from her stellar coaching earlier that day. Welcome to the world, Olivia Eggerstedt! Momma and Daddy, Sarah and Kyle, have been waiting for you, beautiful, darling baby girl. Shoreline is happy to announce your arrival, just before Easter! Plans were in place for our 40th anniversary party and installation of officers on May 8 at Farina's in Berkley. The guest list was complete, and attendees were adding up to make this a joyful event. Winter held on with a tenacious grip, even when it said spring on the calendar. Shoreline held on too, perfecting our competition set, adding and embellishing all we could to enable us to shine on the Performing Arts Center stage. One more coaching session on April 3 with the Master Jim Arns and we were ready to rock Region 2. Retreat group one Retreat group two Sarah and Olivia Eggerstedt Retreat Vivian Judy Mary Lou JoAnn, Sheila Worthington Renee Porzel coaching Retreat Kay, Ginny, Mary Linda Our mantra Diane our dedicated leader Renee Porzel goofy coaching Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 18

19 SONG OF THE LAKES CHORUS Davison, Michigan ~~ Nancy Sommerville A pril! The month of warm breezes, tulips and daffodils, and CONTEST! Well, I got the contest part right, anyhow! It s also a mighty busy time of year, as you all know! March 17 was show time at the Center for the Arts of Greater Lapeer. We received wonderful feedback and it was such fun seeing so many old friends! We were delighted to have Cantina Vocal Project as our guest quartet! SOTL claims half of them, with our own Maria Christian, bass, and baritone Anna Dean-McDonald. Mary Halsig, lead, and tenor Carrie Marcotte complete the foursome and together they create a fabulous barbershop sound! They are sure to heat up the contest stage! Contest consumes us with costumes, choreography and COACHING; and we are fortunate to have coached with some of the best! Our retreat in February brought us LeAnn Hazlett! She has so much talent to share, and we try hard to be sponges and soak it all up! March brought Cindy Hansen back to town to add polish to our choreography. Her enthusiasm and positive approach makes us believe we can be better! What more can you ask? Our final coach before contest is vocal performance coach Mo Field. We look forward to sharing her creative talents and nonstop energy! Yes, there is life after contest! Don t forget our 8th annual Garden Tea on Saturday, May 12, 1 4 p.m. Come and celebrate Mother s Day early! Pamper yourself with delicious food, fine teas, outstanding entertainment and more! Can t wait to see you all at regional convention! You can t miss us, we ll be the ones with the red lipstick and sequins! RIOT ACT QUARTET ~~ Submitted by Nancy Liedel W ow! Contest season is intense! We ve had some amazing coaching sessions with Diane Catellane, Renee Porzel, and Jim Arns. We re very grateful to our choruses for letting us sing for them. Fenton Lakes and Shoreline Sound Choruses are always so warm and welcoming. We also took advantage of a contact we have at the Oxford Public Library and sang to the patrons who were trying to read. HA! It was a fun experience and we got to meet some new and wonderful people. Not to mention some of our own chorus members traveled to hear us. It really warmed our hearts! So, now on to contest weekend. We can t wait to see everyone and sing for everyone! Wishing our choruses and all the other contestants the best time on stage! See you soon! Border Lakes Region 2 Sweet Adelines International -- Border Lights SPRING Page 19

20 A CAPPELLA BELLA PROSPECTIVE BLUEWATER CARILLON BELLES CROSSROADS HARMONY FENTON LAKES FESTIVAL SOUNDS GRAND HARMONY GRAND TRAVERSE SHOW HEART OF ESSEX HEART OF MICHIGAN LOCK CITIES LONDON MOTOR CITY BLEND NORTHERN BLEND RIVERLIGHTS HARMONY SEAWAY SOUNDS SHORELINE SOUND SONG OF THE LAKES TRI CITY WATER WONDERLAND BORDER LAKES REGION 2 & SWEET ADELINES INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR 2018 APRIL APRIL 29 MAY 5 MAY 12 MAY 12 MAY 26 JUNE 16 JUNE 23 OCT. 5-7 OCT NOV. 17 DEC 15 REGIONAL CONVENTION EDWARD VILLAGE HOTEL, DEARBORN RMT INSTALLATION EDWARD HOTEL, DEARBORN CARILLON BELLES HARMONY DAY CAMP SONG OF THE LAKES 8TH ANNUAL TEA, ST. CHRISTOPHER S CHURCH, GRAND BLANC SEMINAR WITH BETTY CLIPMAN, ORCHARD UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, FARMINGTON HILLS PERFORMANCE SEMINAR WITH ERIN HOWDEN RIVERSIDE UNITED CHURCH LONDON DIRECTORS SEMINAR WITH DALE SYVERSON, DOUBLETREE, PORT HURON (FRONT LINE DIRECTORS ONLY) GOT HARMONY? DAY CAMP AND SHOW, FENTON FALL REGIONAL DIANE PORSCH BLUEWATER CONVENTION CENTER PORT HURON INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI FESTIVAL SOUNDS ANNUAL SHOW, AVONDALE UNITED CHURCH, STRATFORD HOLIDAY HARMONIES CHRISTMAS SHOW - TRI CITY CHORUS, STATE THEATRE, BAY CITY 2019 APRIL APRIL 14 SEPT APRIL 30 MAY 3 REGIONAL CONVENTION THE HENRY AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION DEARBORN RMT INSTALLATION -- THE HENRY -- DEARBORN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA REGIONAL CONVENTION THE HENRY/MARRIOTT DEARBORN OCT TH DIAMOND INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 2021 OCT INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION - ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI REGIONAL COORDINATOR SUPPORT ASSIGNMENTS (COMMUNICATIONS MARTHA DELARGEY): NOMINATING CHAIR JOANN KRAMER; NEWSLETTER LINDA MAY! (DIRECTORS JEANNE LUNDBERG) PRG COORDINATOR LINDA LIDDICOATT, MASTER; DIRECTOR SPECIALIST CHRIS NOTEWARE, CERTIFIED; PAST DIRECTOR COORDINATOR LOIS KELLY! (TEAM MARY PATRICK): 25-YEAR PINS & COACHING GRANTS DIANA GREGG! (EVENTS NAN WARDIN)! REGISTRAR EDUCATION EVENTS KEANE MICHELIN; ASSISTANT REGISTRAR LOIS KELLY! CHAIR REGIONAL CONVENTION MARY PATRICK! (EDUCATION NANCY LIEDEL): DIRECTOR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM PEGGI STARKEY; YWIH PEGGY SILVER; ARRANGERS DR. DIANE CLARK; MUSIC LIBRARIAN POLLY SNIDER! (QUARTET PROMOTION) SUSAN HEIMBURGER AND TRACI MARTIN! (MARKETING COORDINATOR) SUSAN CASEY! PR LIAISON LINDA MAY