QUESTIONS:
1- In terms of the length of time since our charter was granted by the society, what is Teaneck's rank in the state of NJ, the Mid-Atlantic District and the entire society among chapters that have been uninterruptedly active since their charter date?
2- Most barbershoppers know that the first chapter in the Society to be granted a charter, on April 11, 1938, is Tulsa, OK, the home town of society co-founders O.C. Cash and Ruppert Hall. Identify the chapter that is the most recent recipient of a charter.
3- How many currently active chapters are there in NJ, the M-AD and the whole society?
4- Identify the currently active chapter with the largest number of men on its roster.
5- Identify the currently active chapter with the smallest number of men on its roster.
ANSWERS:
1- I spoke to Charlie Davenport, known to many of us as a former president of the M-AD and now as the full-timer in Kenosha in charge of membership, to get the answer to this question. It is effectively unanswerable based on the way in which the society computerized database is set up, or, more accurately I suspect, not set up. I was told that the info is on file somewhere at society headquarters, but only as ink-on-paper. Consequently, where we rank with our 06/22/45 charter date in the society firmament is buried in that paper. With reference to the M-AD and NJ I did a little better. Our chapter number, J-019, signifies that there are only 18 chapters in our district that are older than we. Looking strictly at NJ chapters on the M-AD website, I see that there are only four chapters older than we. They are: Ridgewood, Somerset, Montclair, and the oldest of all in the Garden State, Princeton. Many other NJ chapters, Lodi, Jersey City and Paterson are three that come quickly to mind, are probably older than Princeton, but they don't count because they are all in barbershop chapter heaven; Princeton, on the other hand, is still very much among the living.
2- West Allis, WI (a Milwaukee suburb) on June 2, 2006.
3- NJ currently has 16 active chapters. In the M-AD there are 97 chapters, the largest such tally among the 15 districts, and as of June 2, 2006, there are 808 active chapters society wide.
4- The single largest roster of any chapter, not at all surprisingly, belongs to Dallas Metro. The Vocal Majority keeps its headcount artificially capped at 200, with 150 qualified to compete, and there is always a bunch of guys on their waiting list. The self-imposed upper limit on membership is based on the realities of rehearsal hall size, the size of performance venues, and all variety of logistical considerations. We should all have such problems.
5- Society regulations require a minimum of 12 men for a chapter to be eligible to receive a charter. There are sadly many such dozen-guy chapters throughout the society these days. Technically speaking, Kenosha can pull the charter of any chapter that dips beneath 12 members. As a practical matter, however, headquarters looks the other way, as playing hardball would be entirely self-defeating in this era of diminishing membership.
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