| Golden Memories |
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Chapters |
| the Southwestern District Hall of Fame.
1989 found us without a director again. Dave Smotzer was getting married and decided to return to Ohio. Dave resigned right after the division contest, where we finished second (again!). GENTS IN A-CHORD - Charlie Reese (T), Griff Wooten (L), Pat Wells (B), and Keny King (Bs) - won the novice contest. The Chordsmen went on to finish fifth in District with only 41 singers. We were obviously losing momentum. Dave's music staff consisted of John Fosdick (associate director) and Paul Reavis (assistant director). Upon Dave's exit, John was named interim director. Two new quartets sprang up in 1990. The LONE STAR SOUND, Pete Cogswell (T), Rich Evans (L), Darrell Kirby (B), and Mo Rector. VINTAGE 21 quartet was composed of four men born in 1921, Hal Knowles (T), Earl Truax (L), Ken Vradenburg (B), Jack Hardy (Bs). Chordsmen finished third in division and seventh in District. The only fun part of the District was the train ride to New Orleans. Things were not getting better. Mike McCord was elected into the Southwestern District Hall of Fame in 1990, and Perry Baker was president of the Southwestern District for 1990. The result of another Search Committee was the recommendation of Bill Wilkinson for the directorship. Bill had a music degree from Dayton University, taught music in both high school and college, was past director of the Dayton Metro chorus and the Cherry Hills, NJ chorus. Bill slid into the harness of director in January, 1991. Right away, he got his feet wet with the annual show, which was a production of Mac Huff s "Grandpa's Attic". He also joined a new quartet, the WESIWINDS, with Jan Scofield (T), Bill Hogan (L), Bill Wilkinson (B), and Brian Telle (Bs). The WESTWINDS and the LONE STAR SOUND both qualified for International, both eliminated in the quarter-finals. Another new foursome, SThDIO ONE, with Bill Stallknecht (T), Mike Cain (L), Stan Grayson (B), and John Worthington (Bs) took the Novice Championship at Division II in 1991. At the District contest, both the Chordsmen and the LONE STAR SOUND finished fourth. 1992 saw another contending quartet arrive -THE TEXANS, with Ken Litman (T), Pete Cogswell (L), V. J. Lowrance (B), and Brian Telle (Bs). This group went right to the head of the line by winning their division and district contests. Perry Baker was elected district president and Henry Lutz was named to International Convention Management Committee. Deja vu all over again. Bill Wilkinson resigned |
after the division contest in 1993 to pursue a master's
degree, so the Chordsmen were searching again. We finished second in division
and sixth in district, but it was the same old disappointing story. Otherwise,
our members and quartets were doing
OK. The TEXANS had a good year, qualff~g for International but were eliminated in the quarter-finals. John Worthington was named Director of Communications for the Southwestern District. Ted Smith was named Secretary. Best of all, Perry Baker was named District Barbershopper of the year. Late in 1993, Phil Winston, who lived in San Antonio, agreed to take over as director. For a number of reasons, the annual show for 1994 was cancelled. The Chordsmen competed in division, placing 2nd, but elected not to sing at district because Phil Winston had accepted a job in Ft. Wayne, IN, and resigned. As luck would have it, a very qualified potential director had moved to San Antonio a few months before Phil resigned. Artie Dolt had taken a position with the San Antonio Symphony as their flind-raiser and moved here from El Paso. Artie had directed El Paso for several years, and before that, he headed up the Montclair, NJ chorus, that he took to International. The Chordsmen jumped on this opportunity. An agreement was reached, and the new director of the Chordsmen was Artie Dolt! Artie started in September, 1994, and immediately explained his long range plan to rejuvenate the Chordsmen. Other highlights of 1994: John Worthington was named to COTS Faculty for Public Relations. The Chordsmen hosted a German singing group touring the USA. Another entertaining quartet was launched named 4 CARAT GOLD - Charlie Reece (T), Rolland Bek (L), Lloyd McDonald (B), and Jim Hansen (Bs). As we go to press, a new quartet that has great expectations is under development SOUTHWEST EXPRESS with Johhny Denayer (T), B.D. Harrington (L), Dick Jenkins (B) and Jack Feiler (Bs). Also, the LONE STAR SOUND has changed personnel, with Bill Stallknecht on tenor and Paul Reavis on Bass. Sadly, Mac Huff passed away April 9, 1995 50 he didn't see the transformation in progress. The Chordsmen grew by more than 20% last year as the result of renewed enthusiasm inspired by Artie Dolt and a great membership promotion by Rich Evans called "Up With Music". Artie introduced many new songs, and our rehearsals are routinely attended by 90-100 singers. Even though we finished in fourth place at district, the ranking did not concern us, for we are on the upswing. As one judge wrote on his score sheet, "...They're baaaaack!" |
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Contents |
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How It All Began Chapters Chapter Histories International Quartet Champions ChorusesAdministration
Contests and Conventions Registered Quartets Publications Recognitions In Conclusion