Contents
2006 Contest
Calendar
Chorus and Quartet Chatter
Classified Ads
From the RMT
IES Scholarships
International Update
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Please make a couple of extra copies for your chorus members without email. The Text Only version will probably print best!

From the RMT:
Chapter Coordinator

Looking out the window this morning at all the fresh snow makes me realize winter is still with us.  However, spring is in the offing, and I'm sure all of you are working hard at each rehearsal in preparation for contest in April.   Now is the time to fine tune all the skills needed to improve our scores and impress those judges, and what better way to distract us from the soggy and inclement weather?

Both the Regional Management Team and the Steering Committee are busy attending to all the details that make our Region 13 Convention run so smoothly every year.  It may look easy, but there are at least a million things to be done before we meet every year, and forgetting just one of them can cause a major glitch.  So, if you run into any of these dedicated ladies at convention, give them a high five - they have earned it!

See you in April.

Mary Ann Milette
509.292.8286 / MMilette@aol.com

This was my first time as the CTC through the election/ nomination process for Region 13, and it is quite the process!  In this election cycle, two positions are appointed by International: Marketing/ Membership Coordinator and Education Coordinator.  One position (Events) is appointed by the incoming RMT and the Region 13 membership elects a new Chapter Coordinator. Because there was only one candidate for this position, we did not hold formal elections and she was elected by acclamation. 

The members for the 2006-2007 Region 13 Management Team are Gayle Robinson (Pacific Sound) as Marketing/ Membership Coordinator (Gayle is continuing in this position and will be assisted by Susan Soderberg (Pacific Sound), who will be helping with the huge job of Marketing;  Patty Martin (Olympia) as Education Coordinator; Jan Matthews (Top of the World) as Chapter Coordinator, and Sue Hahn (Anchorage Sourdough) as Events Coordinator. You’ll have a chance to get to know them better in the next InTune. When you see them at Convention, please extend your thanks for being willing to devote time to the Region. They will take office in May, 2006, and until then will be working with the current RMT. Congratulations to Gayle, Patty, Jan, and Sue, and thanks to Susan for helping out!

Chera Boom
907.688.3434 / cherab@mtaonline.
net
 

Karen Leet
907.745.8371 / ckleet@gci.net
 

I find it rather bittersweet to write this last InTune article as your Education Coordinator.  It has been an engrossing three years full of accomplishments, with vital education programs fitted to the needs of our members.  For SET, we've brought people who helped us grow in new and different ways. We've worked to develop quartet opportunities and I'm grateful to Unplugged for the work they've done, especially with the Sea Adelines Education Endowment Fund. We're working to develop training for directors and the faculty, and have scheduled a workshop to serve both groups with Sandie Nason, director of the Canadian Showtime Chorus, on March 3-4, 2007 in the Puget Sound area.

I think I'm proudest of our TAG program with its chorus visits and area school components and am very grateful to Sally Wallace who administers it. I'm also indebted to the members of the Regional Faculty who found a way to be "up close and personal" with our choruses and who make the program such a success.

I have had a marvelous team of women who have been the driving force behind our education programs and I am so appreciative of them.  Sally Wallace, Cris Turner, Joan Levitin and Lea Beverley are the visionaries behind what has happened educationally in this region during my tenure.  I couldn't have done it without them.

As I leave this position I know it will be in good hands with Patty Martin, from the Olympia Chorus, replacing me.  She has shadowed me all year and has the skills to carry on with great success. I know I'm leaving the region in good hands.

Dottie Dedrick
253.752.7402 / ddedrick@nventure.
com
 

Kathy Domkoski
253.318.8460 / kdomkoski@harbornet.com
 

Finance Coordinator

From the Finance Corner…or is it Marketing???

At the Fall RMT meeting, the Team made the decision to make We Are Family--the Regional CDs we use as a marketing tool--available at no charge to our choruses and quartets. Part of the original intent of these CDs was to market our craft, particularly to schools, and to introduce younger audiences to the joys of barbershop!
 
The RMT is proposing that if you give the CDs away in order to promote your chorus or quartet, there will be no charge to you. However, if you sell the CDs, then 50 percent of the sale price should come back to Region 13 to help support our continued educational efforts.
 
The process is very simple: Please send me the name of the person to whom I should mail the CDs and a requested quantity, and I will send them off. 
 
I can be reached at the email address below, or you can snail mail me at:

Janice McKenna
19706 41st Ave NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155

Janice McKenna
206.368.5499 /  brucejan@drizzle.com

IES Scholarships Available

Calling all chorus and regional leaders! Have you always wanted to attend the International Education Symposium (IES), our organization's fabulous opportunity for members to gain education and insight into the barbershop style of singing while making new friends and networking with others who have similar interests? Has your empty wallet prevented you from venturing beyond wishful thinking?!?

Again this year, your Regional Management Team has come up with a way to help out. We are offering a $500 scholarship for a regional or chapter leader to attend IES 2006, scheduled for July 12-15  in San Antonio, TX. All you have to do is send a letter explaining why you think you deserve to receive this scholarship. The RMT will then choose a deserving recipient and announce the winner by March 6, just in time for you to squeak in for Early Bird Registration.

Send your letter to Dottie Dedrick, Education Coordinator, via e-mail at ddedrick@nventure.com, or by snail mail at 6117 North 30 Street, Tacoma, WA 98407. The deadline for receipt of your letter is February 28.

If you do receive a scholarship from the region, this is what we expect in return: share your experience and newfound knowledge via the submission of an article to the InTune and a class at SET.

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Convention 2006

It Starts With One DIVA!

Have you ever wondered who the most important people are in our Sweet Adeline universe? Are they the Quartet Competition award winners? The mega choruses each region sends to International Competition every year?
 
Nope! Not even close.... it is you, the individual chorus member! The good singer, good friend, good administrator, section leader; the one who keeps coming to rehearsal week after week, year after year. You sing at senior centers, schools, county fairs, community shows and funerals. Your music, your friends and family are your life. And YOU are the life blood of Sweet Adelines. Without you, we wouldn't exist.
 
Region 13 knows this and we have flipped our convention weekend on its end to meet your needs and wants. We’ll start with the Thursday Showcase, where not only will we feature our 2004 champions, but we will be celebrating the Region 13 membership and volunteers.
 
Friday morning? Forget the RAMM! We are celebrating the divas of Region 13 with our first DIVA Breakfast! We will be handing out Longevity Awards as in the past, but immediately following breakfast all attendees will be able to join us for a unique learning experience as Inland Harmony and Kitsap Pines Choruses participate in interactive coaching. There will be an opportunity for audience questions, but most importantly the session will be tailored to small choruses. What little adjustments will yield big performance results? Everyone will want to attend to learn how they can improve their performances.
 
Saturday evening, be sure to attend our Festival of Champions and celebrate with all of your friends! Later that night, we plan to shake things up again with opportunities to hear each other and to sing into the night with Open Mic and Tag-Quartetting rooms. If you're tired of singing (as if that were possible!), we will be setting aside a part of the ballroom for line dancing! All rooms will be hosted to make sure things keep moving.

See more convention information by clicking here.
 
submitted by Kathy Domkoski, Events Coordinator

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Chorus and Quartet Chatter

Anchorage Sourdough Chorus

The Mt. Augustine volcano is not the only thing flaring up to explode with its red-hot flow of talent.  The Anchorage Sourdough Chorus is about to discharge its performance experience (sixteen years) at the annual Fur Rendezvous melodrama sponsored jointly by the City of Anchorage and the ASC. The two hour show,"The Lost Billiken of Bethel", written by the indefatigable Sue Hahn, is a story about Heroine Betty Bettles who is given a jewel-encrusted billiken (an Alaskan good luck charm) by an anonymous Chinaman with a priceless treasure map inside.  Hero Sam Shovel (Spade) is charged with protecting all women and finding the billiken.  Villain Al Kaput (Capone) and his sidekick, Lawyer Johnny Cockroach (Cochran) together with Femme Fatale Francesca Fakenoff try to foil everyone's plans.  Bumbling detective assistants, Frick and Frack, further confuse the plot!   The Sourdough Chorus provides appropriate sound effects and barbershop music (cleverly "twisted" to fit the show) as well as playing the female roles in the show.  A total of fourteen shows are planned between Feb. 17th and March 4th.

Sandy Robinson, tenor of International Champion Brava and Master Director of Lion's Gate Chorus, again spent a January weekend shaping and sharpening our singing abilities and leaving us with enhanced vocal skills. We are very grateful. Too bad we didn't have a camera handy to capture Sandy's startled look of surprise and alarm when she heard that flights were being cancelled due to volcanic ash in the air. Her busy schedule had no wiggle room. We would have been delighted to have her stay longer.

We were fortunate to receive an evening of instruction from Robyn Avalon, Director of the Alexander Alliance Southwest. This multi-talented teacher shared with us benefits from over 25 years experience of Alexander's principles for teaching performing artists, athletes and professionals of many disciplines worldwide.

Our own Sue Hahn has been appointed to Region 13's Regional Management Team. Her position will be Events Coordinator. Congratulations, Sue! She joins another Sourdough member on the RMT, Chera Boom (Communications & Technology Coordinator), and six other regional folks. 

Oh, by the way, perhaps you've heard the rumor of the possibility of a new chorus in Anchorage.  Hummmm!  It's being talked about - too soon to do more than speculate.

submitted by Mona Hendrickson
 

Coeur d'Alene Chorus

What is light, bubbly, and sparkling with life?  No, it's not the champagne toast you had to welcome in the New Year. It is Bianca Perry, the new director of the Coeur d'Alene Chorus. As of January 1, 2006 Bianca has stepped up with enthusiasm to lead our chorus into the new year.

Bianca is not new to Coeur d'Alene or barbershop. She has lived in the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area all of her life and is presently raising her 16 year old son in Spokane, Washington. On top of being a new director, Bianca is an entrepreneur who owns Northwest Gourmet Mochachinos (I wonder if we are going to get coffee breaks during rehearsals now!). She also teaches voice lessons for youth and adults at the Creative Learning Center in Spokane. For the past thirteen years she has enjoyed singing with the Spirit of Spokane Chorus. Since 1994, Bianca has been a part of several quartets.  She is presently the lead in Moxie. Wrap up all that in a wide smile, an easy laugh and a warm heart, and you have a picture of our new director.

Bianca is a product of our Sweet Adeline educational system. Through the ongoing training at SET and International each year she has gleaned much and has a burning desire to share what she loves. "My vision for the chorus is to share my passion for barbershop and to feel that passion in return," stated Bianca. "My goal is to help each woman develop into the best singer she can be." Through quartteting Bianca learned ear training, independence as a singer holding her own part, and interdependence in how all the parts interrelate in the chord. The chorus is excited to see where Bianca's direction will take us.

The new year is also bringing new potential members through the Divas Wanted program. Our former director, Sally Wallace, is graciously teaching the vocal classes, while a group of other members put all the details together. We had 20 women show up January 9 for the first session! Three of them were teenagers. Our chorus is getting younger all the time. Youth definitely add a spice to life.

All of us in the Coeur d'Alene Chorus wish you a sparkling New Year!

submitted by May Dooley
 

Jet Cities

A lot has happened in Jet Cities since fall. We spent the end of 2005 getting acquainted with our new director, Teresa McCafferty (and she, we're sure, getting acquainted with us!). There is always a mix of excitement and sadness when one director leaves and a new one comes, but Teresa is a wonderful blend of singer and educator, so it has been a painless experience. Together we have learned new songs and tweaked repertoire, had several performances, run a successful Ready, Set, Grow campaign, and stretched our skills with new coaches.
 
Jet Cities hit the new year with our collective feet flying! Our retreat January 13-15 was fantastic, with Darlene Rogers and Judy Pozsgay working their magic on us. And on Sunday, February 12, we will have our second annual Sweetie Pie Social. A fun combination of Valentine love songs and an old-fashioned pie social, the show promises music, fellowship and home-baked pie...for only $10! We'd love to have any of you who might be in the Federal Way area stop by. You can get more information at jetcities.org.
 
See you all in Spokane!
 
submitted by Sue Middleton

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JULY 2006
July 22: InTune Newsletter deadline for Summer issue; questions and articles should go to Nancy Gott.

AUGUST 2006
4-6: SET with guest faculty Debbie Connelly; Yakima, WA.

OCTOBER 2006
10-14: SAI International Convention; Las Vegas, NV
21: InTune Newsletter deadline for Fall issue;  questions and articles should go to Nancy Gott.

International Updates
Elected International Board of Directors

Congratulations to Kathy Carmody, Diane Huber, Carole Kirkpatrick (Pacific Sound Chorus) and Tori Postma. These four members were elected to a three-year term on the International Board of Directors commencing May 1, 2006.
 

Register Now for IES

The convenience of registering online is now available for the 2006 International Education Symposium.

For daily schedules, highlights, track offerings, program advertising, online registration and more, click here. Also available: IES 2006 Registration Forms and IES 2006 Syllabus.
 

International Competition 2006

Registration for the 60th Annual Convention and Competition in Las Vegas, Nevada, is available online now. For more information about Las Vegas, visit the Convention Web page. Representing Region 13 in Las Vegas will be Pacific Sound Chorus, Unplugged, and the winning quartet from our April competition.

Members are also invited to participate in a special Sweet Adelines International Family chorus performance during the 2006 International Convention and Competition in Las Vegas, Nev.

Click here for more details.

Gift Cards Now Available

Order your Sweet Adelines International Gift Card loaded with $10 (minimum) or more, then load up on all the goodies your chorus, quartet or chapter needs. Sheet music, song books, educational and performance CDs and DVDs, jewelry, novelties, stationery and more!

Balance running low? All gift cards are easy to reload with the dollar amount of your choice. Whether you spend a little, or spend a lot, the Sweet Adelines International Gift Card is an excellent resource for your Regional Management Team, chorus librarian, and membership director. Even as a gift for your charter or cherished Sweet Adeline member.

The Sweet Adelines International Gift Card can be used toward any International Sales purchase including brochures, manuals and new member marketing materials. Click here for the order form.

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Classified Ad Prairie Winds Chorus (R25), has 65 fuchsia and pink dresses (costumes) we want (AND NEED) to sell. We don't have any more storage room, so we're letting these go for a bargain...just $5.00 each!  Make us any offer, and they're yours (buyer pays shipping, please). You can view these costumes on our website; it's second from the bottom on "The Many Faces of Prairie Winds" page. The bodice of the dress is fuchsia and pink lame with beaded embellishment.  The skirt is a two-layer light pink over dark pink with a fishline hem skirt.  The beaded embellishment alone costs $18.00. The skirt would be great with any beaded or sequin top, so there are lots of "remake" possibilities. Please e-mail Annette Gary if you're interested.

 

 

Check us out on the web:

North Pacific Region 13