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Dear Friends:
What a summer this has been! Wild weather - exciting contests!
In June, we traveled to Rapid City, SD, for an EPE-sponsored
competition. What a fabulous place! The city is a wonderful mixture
of the old and new - lots of history. There are statues of all our
presidents scattered on street corners throughout the city. Of
course, Mount Rushmore is right there and a truly magnificent sight.
The contest was held at the Rushmore Civic Center which is a great
venue! The staff was wonderful and we hardly had to mention a wish
and it was fulfilled. There were large, clean dressing rooms for the
ETA's and we had our office in the actual dressing room that Elvis*
used in 1977! Talk about atmosphere.....
Matt King reenacted the concert that Elvis* did in June of 1977. At
the beginning of his show, Ronny asked how many people in the
audience had attended that historic event - about 75 - 100 people.
After his concert, most of those people told Matt they were thrilled
with his performance. What a compliment!
The Change of Habit Tribute Band backed Matt and all the contestants
and did a great job!
Results of the contest were:
1st - Justin Edwards
2nd - Joe Hall
3rd - Chuck Kish
In July, we made the trek to Bluff's Run on the Iowa-Nebraska
border. This is an invitational competition where the casino
provides rooms and meals for each contestant as well as a minimum
payment of $400.00.
We had 14 ETA's and they were backed by Rhinestone Revival. This new
and exciting tribute band is out of Tennessee and they do a great
job! They have worked with both Lou Vuto and Dwight Icenhower and
have a wonderful sound and attitude.
The contest is held in Harrah's Casino in a fantastic facility
called the Whiskey Roadhouse. The stage is great as is the sound.
The room holds about 700 people and we were packed for every round.
Sunday afternoon, the finals drew a record crowd - you could not
move!
Winners were:
1st - Pete Paquette
2nd - Ben Klein
3rd - Joe Hall
4th - Irv Cass
Ronny surprised Kathy and I with a new and spacious van for our
annual trip to Memphis. What a week! The heat was awful! The daytime
temperatures were never under 100!
The Ultimate Tribute Artist, sponsored by EPE, drew wonderful
crowds. The winner was Shawn Klush and was richly deserved. He did a
fantastic job! Congratulations to Shawn!
Images was a wonderful time to renew old friendships and spend time
visiting. Happily, the Hotel air conditioning was working well this
year.
There were about 80 contestants this year and, as usual, we were up
to the wee hours every night.
2007 Images of the King World Champion
Johnny Thompson
2nd - Gino Monopoli
3rd - Scott Norton
It's funny - the trip home from Memphis always seems to go quickly
as we have so much to talk about...
I came home to torrential storms and driving winds. So many people
had terrible damage to their homes - we were lucky to lose a few
limbs from our trees and a small flood in the basement. We are all
back to normal now and ready for the Fall season.
The 2nd weekend in September, we have the LaCrosse Elvis* Explosion.
Ronny puts on a fantastic show complete with Mississippi cruises,
gospel celebration and 30-some contestants, This year, Ronny's
special guests include Patti Parry, the only female member of the
Memphis Mafia. Patti tells wonderful, heart-warming stories about
her friend, Elvis*. Shawn Klush and Dwight Icenhower will round out
this fabulous show - benefiting the Children's Miracle Network.
Also in September, we travel to Dewey Beach, DE, for Elvistival!
This fun competition, is held on the shores of Rehobeth Bay. The
Rusty Rudder provides all the contestants with rooms and meals and
the crowds are tremendous.
October brings the Elvis* Fantasy Fest and Elvis in Branson.
November is the time for the EEN "Christmas with the King." This
year, out show will star Doug Church, Rick Saucedo, Matt King,
Justin Edwards, and Jerome Marion. What a show it's gonna be!
The first weekend in December, we travel to Marquette, Iowa, for "A
Night with the King." This series of shows, over 2 days, will star
Dwight Icenhower, Irv Cass, and Chris Solano.
Be sure to check out the new pictures. Many thanks to Marie White
for all the work she does in getting us great pictures.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Fall - it's my favorite season! Join
us a some (or all!) of our shows!
Nance |
