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Hank Biere continued... twenty years. Lee was a fine bass and loved to sing. I guess my biggest recollection was his aversion to stage presence. He didn't want to move around much when he sang, nor did he want to change facial expressions. I think he always thought he was smiling, but I think he put his energy into his voice. I wouldn't say Lee was stubborn, but it was difficult to get him to change anything, particularly in stage presence or interpretation of a song. I guess he was a little like me. I too, find it hard to sing and think about all the other things that should go with it.
Lee liked to eat and enjoyed his pizza. He also had a great deal of pride in his family, particularly his grandchildren. I told him several times he should sell off his rental properties and enjoy his retirement. Not sure he ever considered himself retired. If your were ever in his office in Vinton, you would get a pretty good history of the Hawks and the quartets he sang with as the walls were covered with pictures of the chorus and quartets. He enjoyed showing them off and tell all who entered all about them. I will miss the phone calls from Lee. He would call every so often to see how things were going and quite frequently to see if we could get a quartet going again. I know at the end Marie would not have been happy to have him quarteting again as she wasn't real keen on having him out long at nights. I'm sure she was concerned about his driving.
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So we never got together to sing again, and I'm sorry about that. He will be missed, but we have a lot of great memories. One of the best was when the Royal Rendition finished in the top ten at a district contest. We managed to do that twice. I'm sure that if there are quartet in heaven, Lee is singing bass in at least one of them.
1) Focus on one or two prospective members for our Guest Night on Thursday, March 2nd. Use our new brochures to leave with them. Let them know how much fun we have and what a great hobby we enjoy. Keep in touch with them until they give you a definite, "yes, I’ll go to guest night" or "no, I’m not interested." 2) If they agree to attend, set up a time to pick them up and bring them to Guest Night-----don’t just tell them where we meet and expect them to show up. Recruiting Ideas from the BHS Society: Listen to people when they speak. Do they have good voices? If so, ask if he has ever has sung. Listen to what he says. Be sure to ask what he likes best about singing. . . that will be a clue as to how to get him to attend a meeting. Are there men who hum, whistle or sing at work? If so, ask if they'd be interested in learning about our hobby. Talk about your hobby every day. Find a way to work the term "barbershop harmony" into a conversation at least once a day with someone new. Example: when taking your uniform to the cleaners, let the guy know that it is the outfit you wear when you sing barbershop harmony. Even if someone says "No," ask him if he knows anyone who sings and get those names. Maintain a list and periodically contact those men on it to remind them of the fun you're having in the Society. It takes a little time! Recruiting tips continued page 5 |
