NATIONAL SQUARES E-MAGAZINE VOLUME 5 ISSUE 2 September 2013 ROCK N LITTLE ROCK 63rd NATIONAL SQUARE DANCE CONVENTION LITTLE ROCK, AR JUNE 25-28, 2014 www.63nsdc.com ROYCE & CATHY BEESLEY Assistant General Chairman We are Royce and Cathy Beesley, Assistant General Chairman for the 63rd National Square Dance Convention. We live in Newport, Arkansas. Royce was born and raised in Southwest Kansas. He moved to Arkansas in 1988. Cathy was born and raised in Northeast Arkansas. We met in Church and started dating in July 2007. We married in April 2010. Royce started square dance lessons in 2009. Cathy has been square and line dancing since 2001. We are members of the Pistols and Petticoats Square Dance Club in Jonesboro, Arkansas. We are board members of the Arkansas Square Dance Convention, Incorporated. Royce is president and Cathy is secretary. This is the sponsor of the 63rd National Square Dance Convention. Together we have three sons, Marcus, Perry and Tron and two daughters, Elizabeth and Shawna. We also have one granddaughter Laci. We have 6 grandsons, Alexander, Tyler Adrin, Brandon, Daimyan, Seth and Dawson Lee. Royce is a lineman and works in the shipping department for Arkansas Steel Associates in Newport. He has worked there for almost 24 years. Cathy is a CNA and has worked for over 5 years for the State of Arkansas in the In Service Session for Jackson County Health Department. We went to the first 2014 Convention meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas. Wayne Wade asked Royce what we wanted to do to help out in the Convention, since he knew we were interested in helping out. We soon became the Social and Special Events Chairman on October 3, 2010.. We flew to Spokane, Washington In March 2011 for our first Pre-Convention. This is where we learned to jump and run. On May 3, 2011 we accepted the position of Assistant General Chairman. We were very new to everything and went to Detroit, Michigan to our first Convention. We went back to Spokane, Washington for our second Convention. We learned from going to all break-out sessions that we could. Next we went to the Pre-Convention in Oklahoma City. Then it was time for our own Pre-Convention. Ready or not it was here. Boy it sure got here slowly and went by fast. We then returned to Oklahoma City for their Convention.
We have been to lots of special dances, State dances and Conventions since we got involved with this Convention. We have met lots of dancers from all over the world. Our travels have included Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kansas, Branson, Georgia, Memphis, Orlando, Florida. We have met and danced with people from Japan, China, and Germany and other parts of the world. We look forward to helping host our convention in June 2014. We know that everyone will have a great time in Little Rock, Arkansas. Come Rock-n-Little-Rock with us. CALLERS SCHOOL AT THE 63rd NATIONAL SQUARE DANCE CONVENTION ATTENTION CALLERS, did you know there will be a Callers School at the National Convention Square Dance Convention in Little Rock? Now is the time to enroll for the 8th Annual Callers School to be held in the Marriott Hotel beginning Sunday, June 22 at noon and ending on Wednesday, June 25 at 2:00 pm. The school is free to the first 50 that enroll and is hosted by Tony Oxendine and staff members Jerry Story, Ken Ritucci, Bear Miller and Jack Pladdys. It is co-sponsored by Grand Squares, Inc. and the 63rd National Square Dance Convention. Callers are responsible for their own lodging and meals. The Marriott Hotel, the official hotel for the Callers and Cuers, is filling quickly. For housing options, please contact the 63rd NSDC Registration & Housing Chairman by email at registration@63nsdc.com. If you need financial assistance, in order to attend the school, you can contact CallerLab for more information about scholarships that may be available. GSI believes in education and training for square dance callers world-wide. This organization sponsors regular caller schools and clinics, staffed by both nationally known caller coaches and local callers with an interest and aptitude to mentor new and experienced callers. The school covers all experience levels and will be using CallerLab approved curriculum and accredited caller-coaches on staff. The school will highlight modules, singing call techniques, sight calling, showmanship, and much more. You must be registered for the 63rd National Square Dance Convention before you can register for the Callers School. Please send your 63rd NSDC registration number along with your personal information to Tony Oxendine at tony@tonyoxendine.com or call 803-840-0746. More information will be on the GSI website at grandsquareinc.com. THE OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM The Old State House is Arkansas' original state capitol and the oldest surviving state capitol west of the Mississippi River. It now houses a museum of Arkansas history. The building is Greek revival style and houses some great Arkansas history. It also holds special events for families throughout the year. It's located in downtown Little Rock within walking distance of the River Market and the current state capitol. The address is 300 W. Markham, between the Doubletree and the Marriott Hotels.
GHOST RIDERS BAND The Ghost Riders Band will be appearing at the 63rd National Square Dance Convention. They will be performing Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. All dancing during that time will be MAINSTREAM. The Ghost Riders Band is a live band from California. They have been playing for square dance groups and conventions since 1972 and have been featured at fourteen national square dance conventions. The band is made up almost entirely of square dancers turned musicians. Come and experience square dancing to a live band! "FUTURE NATIONAL SQUARE DANCE CONVENTIONS Website Location Date www.63nsdc.com Little Rock, Arkansas June 25-28, 2014 www.64nsdc.com Springfield, Massachusetts June 24-27, 2015 www.65nsdc.com Des Moines, Iowa June 22-25, 2016 www.66nsdc.com Cincinnati, Ohio June 21-24, 2017 Registration Forms can be downloaded from ALL Convention Websites
RV CAMPING AT THE 63rd NATIONAL SQUARE DANCE CONVENTION Welcome to North Little Rock. Our Riverside RV park is located across the Arkansas River from the Statehouse Convention Center in North Little Rock. We will have bussing to and from the park that will also service the Wyndam Hotel located a couple of blocks from the RV Park. Please see our registration form for bussing information. We have over 300 sites available with 30 and 50 amp electric and water. Should the need arise and we require more sites the city of North Little Rock has overflow areas available. There has been some confusion about site availability due to a red line on the current registration form. The strike through is for sites with sewer, they are full but there are plenty of sites available without sewer. There is a dump station. Riverside RV Park also has access to the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge, a pedestrian and cyclist bridge to downtown Little Rock near the Clinton Presidential Center. The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum centered around the submarine USS Razorback (SS-394) is easily accessible without leaving the park area. For an inexpensive tour of downtown Little Rock and North Little Rock catch the Trolley which stops near Riverside RV Park. We are proud of our RV Park and believe you will enjoy your stay. Registration information is available on line at www.63nsdc.com or contact our RV Vice- Chairman, Dan Torvik at 901-853-1317 or e-mail at gtorvik@bellsouth.net for more information. See you in Little Rock.
COMPARATIVE CONVENTION REGISTRATION STATISTICS 2005 Portland 2006 San Antonio 2007 Charlotte 2008 Wichita 2009 Long Beach 2010 Louisville 2011 Detroit 2012 Spokane 2013 Oklahoma City June 30 2398 2661 4301 3256 2419 2540 1956 3298 1930 1978 July 31 3164 3395 4506 3364 2575 2607 1987 3314 1974 2097 August 31 3429 3565 4726 3588 2601 2703 2031 3452 2176 2097 September 30 3663 3673 5005 3724 2821 2912 2111 3659 2261 October 31 3836 3831 5220 3889 2734 3232 2130 3721 2323 November 30 4038 4036 5424 4061 2808 3360 2255 3842 2422 December 31 4278 4313 5585 4297 3071 2829 2470 3920 2575 January 31 4545 4689 6002 4566 3396 4116 2642 4101 2793 February 28 5082 5071 6342 4882 3696 4481 2737 4222 2988 March 31 5827 5582 6714 5110 3698 4936 3105 4343 3265 April 30 6995 6056 7047 5092 3953 5432 3143 4761 3569 May 31 7193 6682 7568 6026 4923 6295 3493 5047 3761 Final Total 8136 7188 8021 6026 4973 6295 3756 5536 4185 2014 Little Rock REGISTRATION UPDATE Location Count Location Count Location Count Arkansas 230 Nebraska 28 Connecticut 3 Texas 204 Kentucky 27 Delaware 3 Kansas 197 Minnesota 27 Montana 3 California 148 Oregon 27 Alaska 2 Oklahoma 117 Mississippi 22 Nevada 2 Tennessee 96 Virginia 22 West Virginia 1 Missouri 88 Pennsylvania 21 North Carolina 60 New Jersey 20 Ohio 56 Arizona 19 Illinois 55 Massachusetts 18 CANADA 11 Indiana 55 New York 17 GERMANY 4 Washington 51 Wisconsin 12 NORWAY 4 Louisiana 47 New Mexico 11 BELGIUM 1 Colorado 46 Vermont 11 PHILIPPINES 1 Alabama 44 Hawaii 11 SWEDEN 1 Florida 44 Idaho 9 UNITED KINGDOM 1 Iowa 43 New Hampshire 9 South Carolina 43 Utah 8 Michigan 37 South Dakota 6 Maryland 33 North Dakota 5 Georgia 31 Maine 4 TOTAL 2097
REGISTRATION & HOUSING INFORMATION It is important to fill out and send in the Long Registration form before the Convention. The NEC requires every dancer to fill it out before picking up their Badge and packet. This will save you time in line. The registration fee is currently adults, $60.00; youth age 5-17 by 6/25/2014, $30.00, under 5 years Free There are a limited number of Program Books printed. The price is currently $10 per book. Daily schedules are included with the Program Book. In the Daily Booklets, the dancer can easily find information on the Callers scheduled in the numerous halls, the Round Dance Showcase of Rounds and their teaching schedule, and the schedule for Clogging, Line dancing, Contra workshops, and the Exhibitions. The Number of Conventions attended will be on your name badge. Only you know the number of Conventions you have attended. The National Square Dance database does not pass this information on to the next Convention. Follow the bright red arrow on the left side of the Long Registration Form and fill in your number of Conventions attended next to your name on the left side of the form. People often overlook the Dance Level area on the lower right side of the form. This information is important to schedule the halls and the callers for the dancers. If you have questions you can contact: Vice Chairman Registration 870-834-5362 or email: registration@63nsdc.com FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE 63rd NSDC, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: 63nsdc.com. ROCK N LITTLE ROCK