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Virginia Gentlemen Hold Installation Banquet

     The Virginia Gentlemen Barbershop Harmony Chorus held its annual installation banquet at the Roanoker Restaurant in late-January. Sam McFarland, District Vice President for Membership from the International Barbershop Harmony Society, was on hand to administer the oath to the incoming officers:

Ed Burke with Ray Bishop,
Barbershopper of the year.

Jim Karl - President
Ed Burke - VP Chapter Development
Larry Arrington - VP Music and Performance
Tom Calhoun - VP Public Relations
Hugh Van Landingham - VP Programs
Andy Shumate - Secretary
Phil Sterner - Treasurer
Ray Bishop, Dave Davis and Bert Hubbard -
      Directors-At-Large
Ron Nicely - Immediate Past President

Ray Bishop was named Barbershopper of the Year for 2006 at the banquet. In his fourteen years with the Chorus, Ray has been one of its most hard-working members. The chorus had seven fund raising projects in 2007, and Ray was an active participant in all seven.  Most notably, Ray was afterglow and door prize chairman for the Chorus' 2006 annual show,

as he has been for several years. In addition, Ray sold 63 display ads for the show program. In another major fundraiser for the Chorus, Ray was co-chairman for the Singing Valentines program for the third consecutive year. He has been in charge of selecting and procuring uniforms for the Chorus for the past 13 years. Ray has served on the Chorus' board of directors for the past three years. He is an active singer in a quartet called "Four 4 U" that performs for civic groups, at birthday and anniversary celebrations and other events around the Valley. "Four 4 U" is a group of ten Chorus members who take turns performing in the quartet.

Men who like to sing are invited to attend one of the Chorus' weekly meetings at 7:30 p.m. on Monday evening at 3807 Brandon Avenue in Roanoke, across from Brandon Oaks. Ed Burke, at (540) 977-0472, can provide further information.

Those seeking information concerning booking a chorus or quartet performance may contact Chorus Manager Bill Clark at (540) 721-3340 or go to www.vagents.org.

The Virginia Gentlemen Barbershop Harmony Chorus is a 501(c)(3) organization.

The official press release document and a higher resolution jpeg of the above photo are available for download below:  For most browsers, a right mouse click provides the "save to disk" option.

Press Release (Word 6 document - 10K)

Photo of Ed Burke and Ray Bishop - jpeg - 154K