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From: Busch, Greg [mailto:Greg.Busch@...]
Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2008 8:27 AM
To: Greg Busch
Subject: FW: District-Wide Message - Spring Convention in Louisville
From: gary.a.garitson@... [mailto:gary.a.garitson@...]
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 7:44 PM
To: Busch, Greg; Brad McAlexander; bgeesa@...
Subject: Fw: District-Wide Message - Spring Convention in Louisville
Greg / Brad / Ben,
Attached is the e-mail I hope you can forward to our district membership lists regarding the convention. Thanks for your help. Please send this out as soon as you can.
Gary
----- Forwarded by Gary A Garitson/Ind/Cummins on 03/05/2008 11:11 AM -----
| Gary A Garitson/Ind/Cummins
03/03/2008 01:05 PM |
|
To All Cardinal District Barbershoppers,
As you know, the Cardinal District Spring Convention and Contests will be held April 4-6, 2008 at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center in Louisville, KY. WOW - just a month from now! My primary motivation for this letter is to encourage all of you...each of you...to attend the convention this Spring, either as a competitor or an enthusiastic supporter of our quartets and choruses.
As District Director of Events, I coordinate all aspects of convention weekends. I negotiate the best rates I can with the hotels we use. Sometimes, as we have in Louisville this year, the convention and the contest venue are in one location. The room rate is $89.95 per night. While we believe that to be a competitive rate, there may be less expensive places to stay in the area. I STRONGLY encourage you to stay at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center. Be there to mingle and sing with your buddies. Be there to provide encouragement to all our competitors while you root for your favorites!
While I hate to put this in monetary terms, the fact is, money is a factor here. The district derives the majority of its income from our convention weekends. The cost of registration helps pay the expenses associated with putting on a convention and contests (auditorium fees, lighting, sound, judges expenses, etc.). Revenue from conventions are also put into the district travel fund to help offset some of the competitors' expenses to go to International. The remainder is available to support other district programs and expenses. I negotiate with the hotel for competitive rates, with the plan that our folks will stay there. The hotel, in return, doesn't charge us for all the function space we use. If our barbershoppers use other hotels, which we understand is happening this spring in Louisville, then we're in trouble! The Clarion needs to recoup its expenses. If they then charge the district for all the space we use, the district loses money on the convention. What do we do....raise convention registrations fees and/or district dues? None of us want this to happen.
If you booked a room in Louisville, but not at the Clarion Hotel, I respectfully request you cancel that room and join us at the Clarion. Help us fulfill the block of rooms we committed to the Hotel. Be there with us; have fun with us!
District conventions are a great time for us to get together with our barbershop buddies, and share our love for this hobby. It's also a time to compete. In the spring contests, quartets vie for the opportunity to qualify for the International Quartet Contest (this year to be held in Nashville, TN). Collegiate quartets hope for their chance to compete at the next level (also in Nashville in July). Senior quartets will be battling it out for the title as District Senior Quartet Champions. But the majority of men in the contest will likely come from choruses trying to win one of the coveted Plateau Championship trophies. In this contest, choruses are grouped in plateaus based on their prior contest scores; choruses are competing with others in their plateau. It has nothing to do with size of the chorus, but with how well they've sung in the past! We have four plateaus, and therefore, four possible champions to crown on Saturday afternoon.
During the weekend, the District will present several awards. Bulletin Editor of the Year, Chapter of the Year, and District Barbershopper of the Year are some that are on the docket for this spring!
Saturday evening, after the quartet finals are over, we'll have an opportunity to hear the Kentucky Vocal Union (our representatives to the International Chorus Contest in July), plus current and past champion quartets. We'll also hear from our qualifying quartets this year, plus the Collegiate qualifiers and the District Senior Champs. All of this is included in your convention registration fee.
I apologize for the length of this message, but I have a couple more details that need to be addressed regarding this convention and contests. There are a limited number of Hospitality Rooms available for our chapters to use. They are available at NO CHARGE if a member of the chapter rents the adjoining sleeping room. This is a great deal, and one we have been able to negotiate ONLY with the Clarion. If your chapter wants one of these Hospitality Rooms at no charge, contact the Clarion at once. They will be given on a first-come, first-serve basis. When they're gone, they're gone! But, please, identify who from your chapter will be in the adjoining room.
The stage in the contest venue is raised above the floor. We have steps on and off the stage. If you're competing in a quartet or chorus in this contest, and need assistance getting on stage (or know someone who does), please let me know as soon as possible so we can make the appropriate arrangements.
Attached with this e-mail are copies of the Housing and Convention Registration Forms for the Spring Convention. Please note the March 20 deadline for securing rooms at the convention rate and getting your convention registration discount. If you prefer, you can also find the forms on the Cardinal District website at <www.cardinaldisttrict.org>. Either way, fill them out and send them at once.
I look forward to seeing you at the Spring Convention, April 4-6, 2008 at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center in Louisville, KY!!!!
Gary Garitson
Cardinal District Director of Events
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