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What an exciting summer so far!
June saw 2 great contests - David Lee's
ElvisŪ in Dixieland and the ElvisŪ FANtasy Fest - Indy.
Jesse Aron won in Birmingham and
William Stiles in
Indianapolis. Congratulations to them both!
Our 4th Annual Convention was a total success!
Friday night, July 4th, the weatherman predicted thunderstorms and
damaging winds. As we put up the tent, tables, chairs, sound system, and
such, each ETA was assigned a job in case the weather closed in on us. We
think that ElvisŪ had something to do with the fact that we had not a drop
of rain! The night stayed clear (although the temperature at 11:15 PM was
90 degrees). Fans and ETA's dined on fried chicken, hamburgers and the fixin's. The sweet table this year was a sight to behold! Fans brought
everything from brownies to apple pie and strawberry muffins. It was
yummy! Throughout the evening, as the ETA's sang on the deck, fireworks
from surrounding communities lit up the skies all around the house. During
a break, Ronny Craig and Scott
Fox set off our own fireworks display in the field behind my house. It was
great!
Patti Parry, ElvisŪ' dear friend and "little sister," was a delightful
guest. At any given time, fans were surrounding her begging for more
stories of her 17 years with ElvisŪ. Patti stayed here with me at the house
and we have decided to become adopted sisters. What a fabulous lady!
Saturday afternoon, everyone gathered at the Sabre Room for seminars.
ETA's and guests learned secrets of the trade in make-up, exercise,
promotion, contracts and voice. We overheard several "I didn't know that!"
and "Wow! That was helpful!" Thank you to Rita Fisch, Darlene Beechin,
Cherie Beechin, Doug Church,
Jerome Marion, and John Paget
for their expertise!
Saturday night, the Sabre Room sparkled with our Showcase/Contest. After
watching all perform and checking out the judging sheets, it was decided
to award each and every performer 1st Place. Every ETA was a star that
night!
Al Dvorin ("ElvisŪ has left the building") graced us with a surprise visit.
He and Patti pleased the fans with their wonderful stories of "Life with
ElvisŪ!" Al Dvorin assisted in presenting
Bob West with a guitar for his
untiring work for charities. Bob is a credit to the ETA world and we
congratulate him!
Sunday, we gathered for a gospel sing at Nico's - a wonderful restaurant
that has an elegant champagne brunch. Although the show was supposed to
end at 4:00 PM, by popular demand, we ended up not quitting until after
5:00 PM. Much hugging and kissing (and a few tears) went on as the ETA's
and fans headed to homes all over the country.
It was a wonderful weekend! I would like to thank many people for their
help - Jerome Marion, as usual, stood as my rock with support, advice, and
humor. Rick Lenzi and William
Stiles worked with me to get my 2 acre yard ready for our guests. Terry
Cass ran our sound Friday and Sunday and was unfailingly gracious and
competent. Tracy Klusek handled all the CD's for the ETA's - an exacting
job she did perfectly. Sara Derfler decorated the stage as scarf girl and
handled the "will-call" table along with Darlene Beechin. Ernie Beechin
settled seating problems - everyone wants a front-row seat!
Irv Cass's suggestions, friendship,
and upbeat attitude make my job a LOT easier all year round - but -
especially at Convention time. Judges Marie White, Carol Cass, Kathy Hood,
Kay Lipps, Doug Church, Irv Cass, Jerome Marion, and Kim Woodward provided
each ETA with a thoughtful assessment of his performance. Doug Church and
Paul Lipps handled the many different stage running lights for a brilliant
show! A very special thanks to my son, Scott, his wife, Lisa, and my
granddaughter, Amanda. Scott, you are amazing! You wire my yard for the
evening, climb my trees to hang the lights, handle all security, organize
much of what happens, attach the "ElvisŪ banner" to the rafters of the Sabre Room, clean up, and generally make my weekend a breeze. Lisa, you
not only organize the raffles and flowers and help Scott but extend your
very special love to me. You will never know how much that means...
Amanda, you are the joy of my life. You are beautiful, kind, helpful, and
charming far beyond your almost 11 years. You bless us with your
sweetness!
The rest of July will see us traveling to Ypsilanti, MI, next week;
Bluff's Run, IA, the following week; and Collingwood the last week in
July. (I have heard rumors that my 2 big dogs have been placing phone
calls to the Humane Society claiming to have been abandoned for the
summer) Then it's time for Memphis!!! We hope to see many of you at these
exciting events!
We all extend our best wishes to
Eric Erickson on his recent heath problems. We have his assurance that
he is progressing well and will soon be back to pleasing the fans with his
special, heartfelt Tribute.
Happy Birthday to July celebrants -
Brian Mach, Jerome Marion,
Travis Albertson, Kevin Curtis,
Dave Collins and
Keith Irwin. Many happy
returns!!!
Happy Summer!
Nance |
