Dear Friends and Fans:

Do we sense a hint of Spring in the air? My snow crocus are peeking their pretty yellow and purple faces out. That means that here in Chicagoland, Spring is just a few blizzards away!

We had a wonderful visit to Gatlinburg in February! Lou Vuto and his sweet wife, Cindy, were the best ever hosts. All of the staff at the theater were helpful and cheerful. They provided coffee, pastries, and fresh fruit every morning and smiling faces all day and evening.

The contest was hard fought. The 10 finalists sang with Lou's band on Sunday and they were all great! The results were:

1st - Dwight Icenhower
2nd - Marc Woodward (great to see him!)
3rd - Rob Langford
4th - DJ Phillips
5th - Mark Elmore

The Peoples' Choice was Dwight Icenhower who received a beautiful replica of Elvis®' Lion Head necklace!

For those that don't know, part of 1st Place was the chance to perform at Lou's Reflections Theater for a weekend. Dwight's many fans are looking forward to coming back to see him perform!

Saturday night, we were all invited up to Lou's house after the show. He and Cindy have a beautiful home perched high above Pigeon Forge. The ETA's played a game called "Karaoke Suicide." In this game, the ETA whose turn it is must sing the next song that comes up on the CD. Lou used an assortment of non-Elvis® oldies and it was really tough and funny! Dwight, Mark Puette, and Lou were great doing "girl group" tunes. We even got Dwight's sister, Kayla, to sing a duet with her brother and she has a beautiful voice!

I'm sure Lou's neighbors enjoyed the sight of a group of ETA's (including Ronny) skipping down Lou's driveway, hand in hand, singing "We're Off to See the Wizard" at 3:00 AM. I know I did....

We were happy to hear from Johnny Ray Gomez that his Bluff's Run Contest will be held this year. Originally, he thought we might have to skip the contest this year as they are building a new casino; however, he called me with the good news that it's on. Johnny has one of the best contests of the year and his jam sessions are NOT to be missed!

We've tried to get all the events up on the website early this year. Scott has been working overtime getting the info up and available. Thank you, Scott.

Also, he has entered all the members' birthdays into the date display. Instead of wishing everyone a Happy Birthday in the newsletter, the greetings will come up on each person's special day.

Kay and Paul Lipps have announced our cruise for 2006! We will be leaving from Ft. Lauderdale and visiting Cozumel and Belize! The ETA's joining us will be Quentin Flagg, Irv Cass, Robert Washington, Dwight Icenhower, and Matt King! Make your plans to join us!

Have a wonderful St. Paddy's day and a blessed Easter!

Nance