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Reflections on inclusion
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Linda Brehaut
International President
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By Linda Brehaut, International President
I'm taking a moment here to send my thanks to the team (led by our HI Note editor, Roxanne Powell) for the great work they do to ensure the HI Note gets out to everyone every two weeks. Did you know that Kelly Peterson in the Corporate Office sends a paper copy each month to our members who do not have email?
Inclusion Town Hall meetings
Thank you to those who attended the recent town hall discussions on inclusion. These sessions were meant to be informational as well as an open forum for questions and comments. As I shared at the meetings, questions prompt discussion, discussion prompts ideas, and ideas often prompt action.
I wanted to take the time to help us all understand that inclusion conversations are bigger than just addressing diversity and gender concerns. Inclusion is an opportunity to think intentionally about the needs of our members, your members. We all have needs – are there things we can do to address them? Not always, but if we can, we should. Being aware is an important step. I will send out a little overview of my notes for those that were not able to attend. As much as we want to do everything we can to welcome everyone, sometimes our hands are tied by legalities and human rights requirements. As an inclusive women’s organization, we promise to do what we can to help our members feel valued and respected.
IC&C
I expect many of you are getting ready for IC&C! Together Again - what a great visual! On Wednesday evening after opening ceremonies, we invite everyone to an open reception. Please take a moment to stop in and say hello to those you haven’t seen in two years! Remember, masking is always an option if you are feeling a little insecure about being in a crowded room.
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| Convention Corner: IC&C in Verona, NY |
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CONVENTION CORNER
Six weeks until IC&C!
Everything you need to know about convention
By Allison Thompson, ICC Manager
It is hard to believe that IC&C is only SIX weeks away! Can you feel the excitement building? Not only is it the first time we will be together in two years, but we have so many exciting NEW programs to tell you about along with some old favorites.
Mass Sings
We’ve all missed singing together, so we want to give you as many opportunities as possible to sing at IC&C. We have scheduled two mass sings and hope you will join us! We’ll share the music closer to IC&C so you can prepare in advance!
- Wednesday, November 2 @ 6:30 pm ET – Song of Friendship, led by Tessa Walker
- Saturday, November 5 @ 5:30 pm ET – Rockin Robin, led by Theresa Weatherbee
Opening Ceremonies
Be sure to join us at the opening ceremonies for your chance to win ONE FREE night at the hotel. That’s right. Everyone who attends the opening ceremonies will be entered into a drawing and one lucky winner will have one night’s hotel room comped, courtesy of Turning Stone Resort.
Welcome Reception
To celebrate being TOGETHER AGAIN, we will be hosting a Welcome Reception following the opening ceremonies on Wednesday night. What a great way to catch up with all of your Harmony friends! A cash bar and light snacks will be provided. And I bet there will be some singing going on, too!
Harmony Hub
We encourage you to visit the Harmony Hub in the Oneida/Mohawk Rooms (anytime registration is open). This inclusive space is a great spot to meet up with friends, make new friends and have enlightening conversations. There will be activities, water stations, and you can see the score sheets. This space is being sponsored by the Equity and Diversity Committee to celebrate Harmony, Inc.’s diversity and will include conversation starters about inclusion.
Zen Zone
Take a break in the Zen Zone, found in the Saranac Room on the second floor and open 24 hours/day. This space is there when you need a quiet place to relax or to get away from the noise and fast pace of the convention. Respecting this space means no singing or loud conversations. Sponsored by the Equity and Diversity Committee.
Parade of Champions
The Association of Harmony Queens is inviting you to come to a dessert social in the Atrium on Friday at 8:30 p.m. You will get to hear some great singing from Hot Pursuit, For Heaven's Sake, Change of Heart, After Hours, Showcase, LiveWire, and Taken 4 Granite in a more casual atmosphere. A cash bar and desserts for purchase will be available.
Mobile App
This year’s event has gone paperless. We will not be providing printed programs at IC&C and encourage you to take advantage of our mobile app. You will have access to the entire agenda, music, attendees, and more! For those of you who still like to have a printed agenda, we will be sending everyone a PDF version for you to download, print and bring with you.
Webcast Interviews
Acaville Radio will be providing our live-stream services this year, and they want to interview all of our contestants. As part of this year’s pattern, we will ask all members of each competing quartet and two representatives of each competing chorus to stop by the interview room after you compete to share your experience with all of our viewers. More information will be shared with all contestants.
Celebration Room
The Celebration Room is back. We invite all competing quartets to stop by the Celebration Room after you compete. It’s a place to catch your breath, share a few hugs, and re-group before going out onto the contest floor and into the audience.
Food Sales
With so many competitors this year, it is going to be a super busy contest and we don’t want you to miss a beat. We will have food for sale in the Atrium of the Event Center on Thursday and Friday, with a monitor showing the contest so that you can continue to watch while you eat.
Volunteers Still Needed!
By Anne Leinen, Convention Volunteer Manager
Hello Harmony – The days are getting shorter and cooler, and IC&C is closer and closer. There are still many IC&C volunteer jobs which need to be filled. For example:
Chorus Contest (particularly Session 1): Door monitors, ticket sellers, and backstage pattern workers (photo room, warm-up room, stage doors) are needed.
Quartet Semis and Finals: People are needed to work the pattern backstage. Our quartets depend on these important volunteers to provide direction and a calm setting before going on stage.
Personal Belongings Monitor: Watch over contestants’ belongings while they are on stage.
Pattern Guides and Lobby Direction Guides: The Event Center at Turning Stone is an awesome, and very large contest venue. We need these guides for all the contests sessions to help direct contestants in and around the Event Center.
Visit https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f45aaaa2fa6f85-quartet7, tab over to the event you’re interested in working, and sign up today.
You can also access the signup by clicking the “Sign Me Up! I Want to Volunteer!” button on the IC&C page on our website, https://www.harmonyinc.org/icc2022/. If you prefer to sign up through me, feel free to contact me at iccvolunteermanager@harmonyinc.org.
Open position
Have you always wanted to be behind the scenes at IC&C? Do you have great organization and people skills? If so, we have an open position on our Convention Team. Carolyn Pellow has decided to step down as On-site Manager after this year’s event. We thank her for her many years of service and hope to find a replacement who can shadow her at this year’s IC&C. If you are interested in learning more; send a note to ICCmanager@harmonyinc.org
Get your convention lapel pin!
Sisters of Sound fund-raiser is a winner
By Lindsay Fontana, Sisters of Sound
Ensure that you and your chorus members can proudly display the 2022 “Together Again” commemorative lapel pin on your lanyard during this year’s convention.
Each pin measures 1.5 inches across and is adorned with the colorful enameling shown here, for only $15 US.
We ask that you place one order for the entire chorus in order to make shipping feasible! Please email with the number of pins your chorus members would like and you will be sent a PayPal link or an address to send a check for payment. Once your payment is received, pins will be bundled and shipped to the member you designate as your chorus contact.
Due to shipping costs from Florida, orders of less than 10 pins as well as orders from our Canadian members will be distributed in person in Verona. We will be happy to work out those details via email.
PINS ARE LIMITED!
Sisters of Sound will accept orders through October 1.
Is your chorus ready to submit their order? Email Ann Kem annlkem@yahoo.com
LAST CHANCE HARMONY SHOPPE SALES!
All items in the Harmony Shoppe are on sale – both regular stock with the Harmony, Inc. logo and three items with the IC&C logo – a fanny pack and both women’s and men’s T-shirts. There will be no additional shipping charges on any items on the site - masks, totes, water bottles, and magnets! Everything. All items will be delivered to you at IC&C at Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY.
Items must be ordered on the Harmony Shoppe website and the sale closes on September 20. Remember that you can choose a Canadian or US webpage to get CAD or USD prices.
This is a special sale - no sales will be accepted for home delivery – IC&C delivery only.
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QUARTET CORNER
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Jess Leigh
Quartet Development Coordinator
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Another chance to serve
By Gaye LaCasce, Executive Vice-President
Quartet Development Coordinator Jess Leigh is stepping down from her position, effective November 2022. Jess has done a brilliant job, including highlighting our many quartets and the importance of quartet participation at the chapter level. Thank you, Jess, for all your hard work. You will be missed on the Membership Team!
We are now open to expressions of interest from our members. The job description can be found in Section 4, page 4.95 of the Corporate Manual. Some responsibilities include maintaining accurate records of quartets, processing registrations, chairing the Susan C. Trenchard Service Award Selection Committee, and encouraging quartet development throughout the organization. For detailed information, please refer to the Corporate Manual. If interested in this position, please contact Kim Meechan, Director of Membership.
By Design reaches out to youth
By Marianne Cooke, Quartet Contact
By Design quartet (members of Sound Celebration chorus) recently conducted a learning session for Girl Scouts at Camp Evelyn, near Plymouth, Wisconsin. Girls attending ranged in age from 8 to 13.
The quartet taught the girls tags and explained the four voice parts. They also sang a couple of short songs. Since most of the scouts were unfamiliar with barbershop singing (even though they do a lot of singing at camp), By Design explained the unique characteristics of the barbershop style.
At the conclusion, the quartet invited small groups to them in singing the tags, after which the quartet presented all attendees with a sticker that said, “I sang with By Design quartet.”
The Girl Scouts of the USA offers a badge for barbershop singing. The Camp Director and CEO of the local Girl Scout Council were provided with information about the badge.
The girls were very receptive to the presentation and By Design was invited to return next summer.
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| Membership Adventures: New Chapter! |
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MEMBERSHIP ADVENTURES
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Kim Meechan
Director of Membership
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New & prospective chapters popping up all over!
By Kim Meechan, Director of Membership
There was no summer vacation for Harmony, Inc. board members and assistants. You won’t believe what’s been growing in our garden! We have chapters! Lots and lots of chapters!
VOCAL MOXIE is our newest chartered chapter, as of August 26, 2022, with their home base in Sun City West, Arizona. That makes another GOC (Geographically Outlying Chapter) in our Expansion Area! Congratulations to director Brent Graham and all the members of Vocal Moxie!
Prospective chapters are everywhere including:
AREA 2 with Greater Montreal Chorus and Area 4 with A Cappella Project
AREA 6 has been planting seeds, watering and nurturing a number of prospective chapters, including:
Gulf Coast Sirens
Music City Sound
Sunshine Harmony Chorus
White Sands A Cappella
Many thanks to Bev Jackson, Harmony, Inc’s New Chapter Development Coordinator, for guiding our prospective chapters along the way to chartering. A big shout out to Angie Beatty, Area 6 Director, who has been working overtime to fulfill her promise of growing her area!
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| Donor Profile: Linda Muise |
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DONOR PROFILE
Super volunteer is also generous donor
By Gaye LaCasce, EVP
Linda Muise
Harmony, Inc. Donor
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As with all non-profit organizations, Harmony, Inc. thrives because of members and friends who generously support us. That generosity can take many forms, but it is a special combination when a “super-volunteer” is also a generous donor. Read about Linda Muise, a long-time Harmony member who fits that description.
Tell us a little about you. How did you first get involved in Harmony, and how have you been most involved over the last few years?
I answered an ad in the paper asking, "Ladies, Do You Like to Sing?" and I've been here ever since (43 years). I am a charter member of my chapter and have been the Chorus Manager since day one. I've also served on the Area Council, the International Board, and most recently as Administrative Judge Category Specialist.
What has motivated you to stay with Harmony, Inc. and with barbershop?
I've sung all my life, and this is the perfect vehicle for someone who doesn't want to be a professional but wants more than to sing in the shower. The tight harmonies had me hooked from the beginning. I've found life-long friends in barbershop. And the principles which guide Harmony, Inc. are as important to me as the music.
As in-person events return, what are you looking forward to most within the Harmony, Inc., community?
Seeing everyone again, watching live performances, and refreshing my ADM Judging skills.
Why do you donate to Harmony, Inc., and what do you hope we can accomplish with your donations?
I've always felt compelled to donate at least part of what little discretionary funds I have to causes and organizations I strongly believe in and which have given me so much - Harmony, Inc. tops the list. I trust our leadership to determine where the donation can best be used for the good of the whole membership.
Consider making a gift to Harmony, Inc! https://www.harmonyinc.org/donate/
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For Love of Harmony
Your donations to the For Love of Harmony program enable you to identify individuals or groups to receive special recognition, while at the same time providing a monetary gift to Harmony, Inc.
- from Island A Cappella in memory of Mike Francis Carson, father of Jennifer Carson
Condolences from the Membership
- to the Sea Belles (Area 1) on the death of lifetime member, retired nurse, and friend to all, Nancy Kirkpatrick.
- to Cheryl Sweeney (Sea Belles, Area 1), on the death of her long-time partner, John Drury.
- to Cathy Hunter, ScotianAires (Area 1), on the death of her father-in-law, Maurice Allen Harquail, who passed away on 13 August 2022
- to Marion Fraser-Pritchard, ScotianAires (Area 1), on the death of her sister-in-law Janet Conners, who passed away on 20 August 2022
- to Denise Corrigan, former member of Nickel City Sound (Area 5), on the passing of her husband, Chris Corrigan.
Need to post a condolence notice? Please have the information sent to the Corporate Office, corporateoffice@harmonyinc.org to be recorded. Thank you.
CLARIFICATIONS
In the photo of Kindred Spirts quartet in the September 5 issue of the HI Note, Lise Anne Boissonneault is mistakenly identified. The caption should read: Sandy Dazé (Baritone), Penny Earley (Bass), Jennifer Huss (Lead, holding her fiancé), and Lise Ann Boissonneault (Tenor) entertain at Area 5 AC&C.
In the Nickel City Sound anniversary article, the author wishes to also recognize one of the key organizers of the anniversary party, Barbara Hamilton.
Deadlines approaching!
SEPTEMBER 30: Canadian Chapters file T2 with Revenue Canada.
OCTOBER 1:
IC&C Hotel Room Reservations
Convention lapel pins
Dinner Reservations (extended from Sept. 15)
visit the convention page for info on all of the above
SEPTEMBER 30: Deadline to submit agenda items for IBOD consideration
OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 2: Annual IBOD Meeting
NOVEMBER 2-6: IC&C, Verona, N.Y.
NOVEMBER 12: Complete Form HAR-029 to receive the link to the Delegates/Associates meeting.
NOVEMBER 13: Delegates/Associates Meeting
Copyright © 2022 Harmony, Inc., All rights reserved.
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