Officer Installation 2014!

On Saturday, March 15th, the Rock River Valley Barbershop Chorus had our annual Officer Installation Dinner.  The night was filled with good food, wonderful friendship, some interesting moments and, of course, some great music!  This year our Installation Dinner was held at the Forest Inn in Morrison.  They are very friendly, serve great food and were willing and able to accommodate our unique needs as always.  As we started to set up for the dinner in the back room, we noticed there was a very nice family celebrating a birthday.  Being the musical bunch that we are, and realizing we intruded on their party somewhat, we sang our very own barbershop rendition of Happy Birthday to the appreciative group.  Once they had finished up, we were able to get on with our own festivities.

Will Thorndike installing the 2014 chapter officers.

We jumped right in with the purpose of the evening, the installation of the 2014 chapter officers.  Illinois District representative Will Thorndike led the motley looking crew of officers through the gauntlet of pledges and promises that may prove to be too much to handle.  There were some scoffs and hesitations, but in the end Will was able to get every member of the chapter's board on the right path.


After the installation of officers, we were ready to see who would receive the prestigious Barbershopper of the Year Award.  This is a closely guarded secret that only three people in the chapter know until that night. This year, the secret was particularly difficult to keep.  Since the original Officer Installation Dinner in January had to be cancelled due to snow, those in the know had to keep quiet got an extra six weeks! At last, Art Deem, last year's BOTY recipient, was able to present the award to the highly deserving Ben Dirks!

Art Deem (left) presents the Barbershopper of the Year
Award to Ben Dirks (right).

Ben is an 11-year member of the Rock River Valley Barbershop Chorus, the current president, and a past Membership Vice-President.  He often goes beyond his duties to continually push the chapter to new heights, and we are very pleased to see him receive this high honor.

RRVBC chapter quartet 74 and a quarter

After officers were installed, and awards were presented, we got to the most important part of the night...the music.  First up, the sweet sounds of one of our very own chapter quartets, 74 and a quarter. Then we had the privilege to hear our special guest quartet Synergy, the current Illinois District 3rd place quartet.  Their ringing chords and heartfelt ballads were beautiful and a treat to hear.  We thank them for joining us that evening and wish them the best of luck on their musical journey.

Synergy, Illinois District 3rd place quartet 

Of course, we finished the evening with our rendition of Keep The Whole World Singing which quickly turned into some impromptu tag singing.  It was a wonderful night filled with joy and fellowship with our friends and families, and we can't wait for next year's Officer Installation Dinner.