Guest Night - Nov. 11, 2003
By; Tom Koch

Greater Pittsburgh held another guest night on Nov. 11th We had 30 some members (I didn't get actual count) present and 4 guests, which included Joe Barbacci, Dick Hammer, Kevin Kolesar and Paolo Malapelle. The guests sat in on chorus rehearsal and then we all participated in refreshments in the school cafeteria. Unfortunately, we did not have any guest quartets or chapter quartets invited to sing. Guys, do you wonder why our officers keep stressing the need for membership and quartet participation? Just for comparison, here are the statistics for a previous guest night (IBH) held back on March 28, 1989:

80 members greeted 34 guests. 6 chapter quartets, consisting of; The Cavaliers, Backward Glance, Sounds Familiar, Circle W Four & Treblemakers sang for the guests. In addition we had a guest quartet, AM & FM Sound from North Hills Chapter perform. The director spent time with all the guests teaching them a tag. The evening concluded with an afterglow at Heatherington's Pub. We need to ask ourselves, "what will a guest night be like in another 10 years?

COTS
Submitted by Bob Parker


For the newer members not familiar with COTS, allow me to elucidate. COTS stands for Chapter Officer Training School. The classes were held at the University Plaza Hotel in Columbus, Ohio on December 6th and 7th. Seven members of the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter braved the elements and an under-sized vehicle to attend. Frank Pagliarulo took classes involving public relations, Ralph Rock - membership and development, Gordon Knapp - treasurer, for informational reasons, Bob Parker - president, Rich Stevens - Young Men in Harmony, Gary Corpora - Secretary, and Joe Veltre - Director.

The instructors at the JAD COTS are excellent and come from a variety of districts. They have particular backgrounds that make them well-suited for giving instruction in each of their respective specialties. All of the members who attended agreed that the instruction, accommodations, food, and quartet entertainment were excellent. Each man that went is coming back with a wealth of good ideas that with the cooperation from all members will make Greater Pittsburgh a better chapter.

Stages in the life of a lucky barbershopper:

· Who's Joe Schner?
· Let's get Joe Schner in our quartet.
· Let's get a Joe Schner type in our quartet.
· Let's get a young Joe Schner in our quartet.
· Who's Joe Schner?

Yes, we have our contests. But, the true soul of barbershopping does not rest in how well you sing it, rather, in how great it makes you feel while you're singing it.


Back to previous page

Forward to next page