I received this animated, musical Christmas Card over the internet from one of my regular Sharp Notes contributors and former Golden Harvest chorus member Tom Harris. The printed format doesn't quite do the card justice -- the figures on the original are animated and move in time to the playing of Silver Bells. Thanks, Tom, on behalf of the entire Golden Harvest Chapter.

John Leitch for bringing out Brian Leitch.

A special welcome back to John Stecyk. Great to have you back singing with us!

As of November 30, 1997, Society membership is 33,592. As of December 9, 1997, 17,334 of these members have recruited at least one member. That means that 51.6% of our active members are also recruiters. Well done, and congratulations to each of you! Here's how the numbers break down, including names and states of the Society's top 10 recruiters.

A tall weather-worn cowboy walked into the saloon and ordered a beer. The regulars quietly observed the drifter through half-closed eyelids. No one spoke, but they all noticed that the stranger's hat was made of brown wrapping paper. Less obvious was the fact that his shirt and vest were also made of paper, as were his chaps, pants, and even his boots, including the paper spurs. Truth be told, even the saddle, blanket and bridle on his horse were made entirely of paper. Of course, he was soon arrested for rustlin'....

On Dec 15/97, we held our Annual Christmas Party at Lynn Lowes Condo Party Room. This year all partners were invited and it was a "bring your own refreshments" affair with lunch and goodies provided by the Chorus. A special thanks goes out to Carol Lowes for arranging all of the food and providing the little things necessary to make the party a success.

This was also our new officer installation night and the naming of our "Barbershopper of the Year" <well maybe -- I'm writing this in advance, and at this point, it looks like we may be keeping you in suspense a little longer -Bruce>. Following the installation of officers and the awarding of the Presidents and Past Presidents pins, the "BOTY" winner was announced. This years winner is … <well, you know I still can't tell you now or that would ruin the surprise>. Congratulations, you are a deserving winner and have earned this recognition from your fellow barbershoppers.

A panda walks into a bar, sits down and orders a sandwich. He eats the sandwich, pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter dead. As the panda stands up to go, the bartender shouts, "Hey! where are you going? You just shot my waiter and you didn't pay for your sandwich!" The panda yells back at the bartender, "Hey man, I'm a PANDA! Look it up!" The bartender opens his dictionary and sees the following definition for panda: "A tree dwelling animal of Asian origin, characterized by distinct black and white colouring. Eats shoots and leaves."

Knock, Knock. Who's there?
Dexter Dexter who?

Dexter halls with boughs of holly...

Bruce,

Thanks for your attention to my request for learning tapes. You can bet we will sing a few when I get a chance to meet you. I will be sure to let you know when I am going to be in town. Thanks again, talk with you again soon.

Bruce put this in your next bulletin if you think it is worthwhile. The poem
that is, not my senseless patter. Bye for now.

Moved and approved that the chapter purchase some of the available videos -- competition tapes and others -- for viewing at meetings or by individual members.

Friday, December 5^th was a beautiful day for flying. Ron, Dave and I met at the Regina airport for our 3:15 flight to Minneapolis. It was a short weekend trip, so none of us packed too heavily -- 1 carryon bag each. We checked in, cleared security, and waited our turn to board -- then we waited for everyone else's baggage to get put on the plane, then we waited for de-icing. 4:00 we were finally airborne and a few minutes later broke through the overcast skies into sunlight. We were scheduled for arrival in Minneapolis for 5:00 -- then 5:30 due to take-off delays -- but it was closer to 6:00 by the time we circled in around the far side of the city, touched down and finally disembarked. Next up was customs -- must have been a long day for our guy -- he definitely wasn't a happy camper -- growled at me for not having my birth certificate out before he asked -- made Dave go back in line while he dug out his paperwork. Ron and I made sure we let Dave go last so that he wouldn't annoy the officials before we got through. Next stop, find our hotel and the complimentary shuttle bus ("It's on its way; be there any minute"). The trip from the airport to the hotel was only about 5 minutes -- just long enough to find out what part one of our co-riders sang and to sing a song. The entire weekend was held at the Thunderbird Hotel and Convention Centre -- "convenient to the airport, Minneapolis, St. Paul and the Mall of the America". Officially it's in Bloomington which is a suburb of sorts of Minneapolis / St. Paul. We checked in, shuffled rooms (Dave had hoped to share a room with a pres. from another chapter, but that didn't happen so we ordered up a cot and we all bunked in one room) then walked over to Mall of the America for supper (sandwich on the plane didn't quite fill the spot). Everything there was fairly busy so we ended up in the food court. Then back to the hotel, check out the local music talent, sing a bit, and pack it in for the night.

Registration and the Barbershopper-Shop were open so we hit them on the way down to breakfast -- sang a little with other barbershoppers while waiting for breakfast, and finished just in time for opening welcome address -- and lunch (not that any of us were really ready to eat again already). Heard messages from district, and were entertained by Excalibur during salad, watched a video during main course, more speaking during dessert and coffee. There were general Joe-barbershopper classes, Top Gun music sessions, official Society classes (pres., treasurer, secretary, etc.), specific district classes (bulletin editor, music) as well as general sessions where we all got together. Lots of information on UCMS and Chapter Coaches (articled on these elsewhere in this bulletin). There were lots of opportunities for singing, sharing info and ideas with barbershoppers from other chapters, and singing, as well as the more formal class-room presentations (and singing). Dave was in charge of our Regina flagpole but he kept 'losing' it. Saturday night wound up with an afterglow with all the quartets and directors from the weekend participating. There didn't seem to be as much after-afterglow singing as I would have expected, but we ended up packing it in anyway -- morning classes started early again on Sunday. (I've attended COTS in Ontario in one role or another every year since I joined barbershop -- and few barbershoppers there took time out from classes and singing to ever see their beds. The friendly camaraderie and the Parade of Checks (sic) were unmistakable signs of COTS though -- exactly what I recall from my first COTS 'back east'.)

I attended the Chapter Development VP class. About 40 or so barbershoppers in that class -- only one other from north of the border (Winnipeg) -- and I also bopped down to the Bulletin Editor's class whenever I could to pick up stuff down there. Overall, it was a great barbershop weekend -- how could it be anything else when you get that many barbershoppers together in one place. Each of us learned a lot, brought back materials and new ideas to share with our chapters -- and had an opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with old friends, put faces to names, and to make new 'old friends'. Thanks to the chapter for giving us this opportunity.

This is it! A dramatic change in chapter operations thoughout the society is coming. Yours will be the first chapter board of directors to systematically function as a Society Chapter under the new management structure, which is now fully operational at all other levels except the chapter board. A lot more has changed than you may realize. The entire Society management structure has been redesigned with support for chapters first and foremost in mind. The chapter is where nearly all barbershopping occurs. Virtually the entire effort in managing the society is now directed at supporting the local chapter and its unique mission.

All chapters have some common elements, common purposes, and common obligations as a result of membership in the Society. These minimum requirements are clearly spelled out in the Unified Chapter Mission Statement which is excerpted from the new Society Bylaws, revised in January 1997. The new bylaws are designed to promote healthy chapters and a healthy Society, and are much less prescriptive that the previous bylaws.

While all chapters have some common purposes, they differ enormously from one another in their styles, membership interests and goals. Sections of the old bylaws told chapters the officers they must have, the committees they must have and many procedures they must follow. The new bylaws eliminate most of those requirements and, instead, encourage chapter leaders to take control of their chapter's destiny by:

• Defining the chapter's own mission
• Designing the chapter Board of Directors' structure as they wish. Really!
• Designing the chapter's committee structure as they see fit.

Your chapter is free to design its own chapter board of directors to meet its own needs. The minimum structure described in the bylaws is probably suitable for only the very smallest of chapters. Chapter leaders are challenged to examine the chapter's mission and to design their board of directors to match. No more "one-size-fits-all!" During the early part of 1998, chapter leaders will be challenged to design their boards of directors for 1999.

Having a charter as a barbershop chapter is like owning a franchise of a business. While there is tremendous variation in how chapters operate, there are several unifying themes that represent the core mission of all barbershop chapters, and they are defined in our Society's Standard Chapter Bylaws, Section 2.01 and 2.02:

1. To perpetuate the old American institution, the Barbershop Quartet, and to promote and encourage vocal harmony and good fellowship among its members;
2. To strive to serve the musical needs of all current and potential members by providing and actively supporting a wide variety of barbershopping opportunities which may include organized quartetting, pick-up quartetting, chorus singing, and group or "gang" singing;
3. To encourage and promote the education of its members and the public in music appreciation;
4. To initiate, promote and participate in charitable projects;
5. To promote public appreciation of barbershop harmony;
6. Every chapter shall have a mission statement reflecting its own place in the community, and in the Barbershop Society.

This Unified Chapter Mission Statement (UCMS) is not a set of rules. It is a starting point for generating ideas and initiatives that will fully engage any chapter in barbershopping and the Society. The UCMS has the power to generate discussion and debate that promote a rich and diverse barbershopping experience for chapter members. It has the power to place the chapter in its community in a productive and mutually nurturing relationship. The UCMS actually defines what a chapter is.

Your Chapter Coach: A Whole New Animal! The main function of the Chapter Coach is to support your chapter in staying true to its own mission as you go through the year: i.e. to keep your own purposes and vision for your chapter alive and vibrant while you go through the day-to-day tasks of running the chapter.

Every phase of chapter operation is supported by: a Chapter Coach, a District Officer, a Society Committee, the Society Staff and the Society Board of Directors. Each of these supports the chapter in the following ways:

1. Your Chapter Coach (Ken Stephenson) will get to know your chapter well, and will help you find what you need quickly and easily. He is the "generalist" assisting you in identifying Society resources you may need and want.
2. Five of the seven District Vice Presidents support each of the following chapter functions:

• Chapter Support and Leadership Training (CSLT)
  The DVP of CSLT (Frank Rice) manages the Chapter Coaches, and assists in COTS-Plus training.
• Chorus Director Development (CDC)
  The DVP of CDC (Pat Rydberg) schedules workshops and schools for your director.
• Music and Performance (M&P)
  The DVP of M&P (John Plazek) deals with music selection, quartet development and design of shows.
• Member Services (MS)
  The DVP of MS (Robert Brutsman) oversees recruitment campaigns and member retention.
• Marketing and Public Relations (M&PR)
  The DVP of M&PR (Thomas Arneberg) works with marketing and public relations campaigns.

1. A Society committee with the same name matches each district vice-president and is responsible for training and developing the district vice-presidents to serve their chapters.
2. The Society Staff has been re-aligned to support each committee and each district vice-president. There is now a direct line of communication from the chapter to district vice-president to the Society committee to the staff liaison for each area of chapter operation and ultimately to the Society Board of Directors.
3. The Society Board of Directors is divided into two working grous:

• The Planning and Program Development Group proposes what is needed and wanted in the chapters and assignment of money and people to make it happen
• The Operations Group follows up and reports to the Society Board of directors how it is working.

Those of you who want to know more about the Society structure can consult the Society's new Operations Manual, revised January 1997. Just know that you will get what you need and want, locally, from people who know you well. If you get to know your Chapter Coach, the rest will take care of itself!

It was an honour for me to be asked to assume the role of Chapter Coach for Swan River, Dauphin, Regina and Saskatoon. I certainly do not know all the answers to Chapter problems, but I can assure you that I am more than willing to lend an ear, listen, and help wherever I can.

Yours to help,

P.S. Because of the distances in our area, communications will have to be mostly by telephone or regular mail.

Articles in this bulletin do not necessarily reflect the views of the chapter. Unless carrying a byline, they are those of the editor. Items received may be referred to the executive before publication. All chapter officers and members are encouraged to submit articles to the Sharp Notes. Submissions will be credited to the author. Please address any comments, suggestions or submissions to the editor -- Bruce Fish.

After intensive investigation on both the Soviet and US parts, both space agencies have determined the cause for the accident which has placed the station and its resident personnel in jeopardy. In terse statements at a recent press conference, Soviet and US space agency spokespersons said Thursday: We have concluded joint investigations concerning this potentially tragic accident and each nation's team, separately, has arrived at identical conclusions for this incident. The accident was caused by one thing and one thing only... OBJECTS IN MIR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR!