Author: Cavan Potee

This year has been a continuation of our ‘meeting-in-person’ challenges. I have to give a shout-out to our district and society leadership for dealing with the difficult decision. Should we plan and engage in in-person activities yet? Or should we wait? I was faced with this challenge for Leadership Academy, and it turns out that it was better for us this year to be 100% online and virtual again. So, as it happens in our favorite western, when the hero rides out of town there’s always that ‘Last Chance Saloon’. If you missed this year’s Sessions then, well, I’ve got some good news fer ya, pardner:  The sessions are available in our YouTube channel. Due to the online format we are able to have all of the sessions recorded and available for your later use.

Leadership Academy is a great time to come together as chapter leaders to discover the challenges we all face. The interconnections between chapters is still one of the best features of the Academy, regardless if we are virtual or not. Even though we were able to connect in our online sessions, still, there is a lot to be said for sitting down at a breakfast or lunch table with friends from other chapters. I have found that leadership academy affords me a chance to connect with people I do not see at any other time – yes, even district.

Each year is another chance to look over the session materials, update it for another year, and perhaps add or change sessions to freshen up the experience. I believe we have a core set of material, but then there is a need for updated information. Much of our material is derived from Society-level documentation, and some is original from the faculty members. The core is somewhat static.  So how do we incorporate new material without re-writing the entire docket each year? I’d make a strong case that we should curate and maintain the core of material so it can be used by experienced leaders and new leaders alike but then, I think we have a chance to ADD quite a bit of content in the way of expanded content posted in the YouTube channel.

If you are a chapter leader I’d ask that you consider two things: 

1. Please engage in reviewing this year’s Leadership Academy content in the YouTube channel (link below) & subscribe
2. Consider offering your thoughts for additional content or features which would be helpful to you and your chapter. OK, I lied… Three…
3. Consider contributing yourself potentially as faculty, or perhaps as a participant in future leadership initiatives and session.

MAD Chapter Leadership Training YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZxF1KQ83gJkV9SoiXhPs7g

Don’t forget to subscribe so you can be notified when additional videos are available.

Please feel welcomed to share your viewpoint / opinion / ideas with me.  I’m more than willing to listen and take part.

In Harmony,

Rob France
M-AD VP Chapter Support Leadership Training
215-582-1579
franceroo@gmail.com

Your Harmony College East Team (co-deans Sheryl Berlin and Bill Colosimo) are pleased to announce that HCE 2022 will take place in-person at McDaniel College from Thursday, June 16 to Sunday, June 19, 2022!  We are thrilled to be able to see all of you and offer you a plethora of classes from which to choose!

Registration for this annual event (which will be open to any fully vaccinated barbershopper) will go live in early March on the Mid-Atlantic District website.  Further details will be sent via email as registration approaches.

If you have any questions, please email us at hce.midatlantic@gmail.com, and we’ll be happy to get back to you with answers!  We are looking forward to seeing you and singing with you again!

Submitted by: Sheryl Berlin and Bill Colosimo
Co-Deans of HCE

We have been busily preparing to hold two conventions:

• the combined Central and Southern Divisions (which includes Prelims) in Wilmington, DE (Doubletree Downtown) March 24, 25 and
• the Northern Division combined with Prelims (Nazareth Middle School, Nazareth, PA) April 8, 9. 

Registration for both our conventions will stay open for the former until February 25 and for the latter until March 8.

We can’t wait to see everybody! And you’ll all be glad to know that we’ve had 24 quartets and 12 choruses register for the Central/Southern division convention!

Click the links to see housing information for Central, Southern, Northern.

At the Central/Southern convention, we’ll have:

• the MAD Seniors Quartet Championship,
• Division Championships for each of the divisions for both choruses and quartets,
• qualification for the fall District contest for both choruses and quartets,
• quartet qualification for the summer International Convention in Charlotte, and
• Seniors qualification to 2023’s Midwinter.
• And if that were not enough, we’ll also have awards for most improved choruses in each division as well as the plateau winners for each division.

Contact me if you have questions.

Submitted by: Ig Jakovac
VP Contest and Judging

Our first recipient:

Anne Bureau has served as Director of the North Pennsmen Chorus since 2005.  From 2006 to 2019, Anne led the chapter to six Division first place Championships, three second place and two third place titles. Anne is also the musical director and founder of a Harmony, Inc. chapter and has combined the talents of the choruses at multiple concerts, modeling the spirit of Everyone in Harmony.

Our honoree has coached multiple quartets as they prepared for all levels of contests and has coached local high school ensembles at several large high schools including Souderton and North Penn in the greater Philadelphia area.

Anne became the first certified female director in the BHS and has been a strong supporter of MAD youth ensembles, having coached at the Harmony College East (HCE) Youth Camp, and has also given classes and coached adult groups at HCE. She has supported youth adjudications by participating on numerous judging panels. She has sung in two M-AD mixed quartets, Silky Mix who placed 2^nd in 2015 and Serendipity who were the M-AD Mixed Harmony Quartet Champions.  She is currently Director-at-Large on the M-AD Board of Directors.

Anne is a certified Harmony, Inc. Music Judge and has been called upon by the Society multiple times to judge at both Divisional and District Contests across the Society. Her quartet, Spectrum, won the Harmony Inc. International contest in 1993 with Anne on baritone. She has sung bass, lead, tenor, and baritone in top 10 HI quartets over the last 3 decades. She is a member of the Mixed Barbershop Harmony Association (MBHA), and has served as a panelist at MBHA-sponsored workshops and panel discussions.

She can sing all treble voice parts and has been providing high quality vocal learning tracks to barbershop singers in all organizations since 2008.

Our next recipient:

Joe Cerutti has successfully served as the director of the Alexandria Harmonizers chorus for 15+ years, embracing the legacy identity of the chorus and Chapter, while driving change and growth as a regionally recognized community arts organization.  Joe has led the Harmonizers to

multiple M-AD Championships and nine International appearances including four top five medals.

Under Joe’s leadership, the Harmonizers have performed in major professional collaborations with the Music Center at Strathmore, as well as the Kennedy Center.

Joe is among the most sought-after coaches in M-AD.   He has coached dozens of quartets and choruses before and during the pandemic. 

Joe has been a regular faculty member at Harmony College East many years.

As Director of Outreach for the Barbershop Harmony Society, Joe has led the continued successes and growth of the BHS Youth Chorus Festival at Midwinter conventions, providing hundreds of youth a positive and fun exposure to barbershop harmony and lifelong singing.  He has worked tirelessly to build and strengthen relationships with other choral organizations around the world.  

Joe has served on the Faculty of Harmony University (and Virtual Harmony University) for more than a decade and he delivered the keynote address in 2016, one of only a few dozen barbershoppers to have delivered this address in the history of Harmony University.

Joe has served as a Music Judge as part of the C&J program for more than a decade.

Joe is also a prolific coach internationally.  He has travelled around the world to coach in Great Britain, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.

IT IS AN HONOR AND a privilege to recognize Anne Bureau and Joe Cerutti as new members of the MAD Hall of Honor.

_________________________

The Mid-Atlantic Hall of Honor (HoH) recognizes persons who have contributed significantly to the well-being and growth of barbershop harmony in general and have fostered growth among chapters, quartets and choruses, divisions, districts and internationally in the BHS. Each recipient is chosen from nominations sent in by Mid-Atlantic members and must meet certain criteria to be considered.

A committee of MAD HoH members reviews all nominees and meets to determine which (if any) of the nominees merit inclusion in the Hall of Honor.

Each recipient will have their name inscribed on the MAD Hall of Honor plaques and will receive a sterling silver engraved plate which reads:

“Mid-Atlantic District Barbershop Harmony society proudly designates (name 0f individual) as a member of the MAD HOH in recognition of exceptional contributions to the MAD and for encouragement of Barbershop Harmony. “

In additional they will receive a name badge signifying their membership in the MAD HOH.

submitted by Jay Butterfield, D.Ed.

The Mid-Atlantic District Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is much more than a nominating committee, although that is an important part – maybe the most important part – of what we do. But that’s just one of the many functions this committee performs.

A nominating committee is one of the most fundamental board committees because the District Board performs the most essential duties of the District. Board members work together to set policy and to direct the overall operations of the District. The board bears the responsibility for providing essential oversight and strategic planning, with the necessary due diligence. Putting forward qualified, committed and passionate nominees is critical to the health and future of the District.

The LDC appreciates the positive vote of the House of Delegates to approve the following 2022 slate of District officers and Board members we proposed.

President                                 Brian Schreiner (re-elected)
Executive Vice President         Steve Kirsch        (re-elected)
Immediate Past President       Bob Eckman       (non-elected position)
Secretary                                 David Kelly, Jr.    (appointed in 2021, newly elected)
Treasurer                                Dave Welter       (re-elected)
Members at-large                   Sheryl Berlin       (newly elected)
                                                Anne Bureau      (re-elected)
                                                Jay Butterfield    (re-elected)
                                                Rafi Hasib           (newly elected)

What else does the LDC do?

Starting in January of every year, the LDC meets on a regular basis throughout the year to do these things:

• Begin to accumulate names, references and background information on potential nominees to the District Board of Directors;
• Plan a method of self-assessment for the current members of the District Board;
• Identify missing skill sets on the current Board, and strive to identify potential nominees with those skills;
• Strive to incorporate the vision of Everyone in Harmony by identifying candidates from varying genders, ethnicities, backgrounds and constituencies to deepen the Board’s appreciation for under-represented groups;
• Prepare and present a slate of officers and board members-at-large for consideration by the House of Delegates at each Fall Convention;

by John Santora, 2021-2022 chair