[From the Ontario District's newsletter, The Trillium, issue 59-03, July - September, 2005 , Waldo Redekop, editor.]

Be outward focused

By John Kirby, Ontario District Vice President Young Men In Harmony

“To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream: not only plan, but also believe.” —Anatole France

It has been my pleasure, over the past several years, to meet Barbershoppers throughout Ontario and North America, who believe that the long-term survival of our art form depends upon building positive working relationships with educators and their students.

Research has shown that new members emerge between the ages of 35-55 because they have had positive experiences with barbershopping around the age of 16. With such information, the COTS Faculty for Young Men In Harmony have encouraged chapters to become actively involved with  arts programs in their schools and in their communities.

Unfortunately, only about 30 percent of our chapters, in the Society, have YMIH co-ordinators. Also, the lowest attended course at COTS is the YMIH stream. Unless we see a turn around in these statistics, it is quite possible that the YMIH COTS faculty will cease to be.

I have seen pockets of brilliance within our district that leads me to believe that there is some hope in Ontario. Our district has lead the society with instruction at its COTS school, and the way its COTS team has created innovative changes to keep interest in such an event at an all time high.

This year we have the pleasure of welcoming Bob Coant as the YMIH COTS faculty instructor for YMIH. He now leads the COTS Faculty Instructors and brings a wealth of knowledge on working with young people and their educators. We are also working to offer a more hands-on approach to program development, and will be offering advanced instruction for those men who have already taken the basic course in YMIH.  

I do encourage every chapter to appoint or elect a YMIH co-ordinator, and to send that person to COTS in January. You will soon discover that developing positive working relations with your educators and their students will bring new focus, and enthusiasm to your chapter.

All chapters must continue to be outward focused. All chapters, small and large, can make a difference.

I encourage every chapter to do the following.

• 1. Make contact with educators early in the school year.
• 2. Establish goals that are manageable, and measurable for your chapter this year.
• 3. Elect or appoint a YMIH co-ordinator and set aside money or raise money to send this person to COTS school in January.
• 4. Work directly with your educators to see how your chapter can assist them to achieve their goals for the upcoming year.
• 5. Adopt a school choir for the year, and be prepared to assist in ways the educator deems appropriate.
• 6. Ask your regional music festival to include a barbershop section in its syllabus.
• 7. Invite a youth group to be part of your annual show, or to perform in one of your major sing-outs.
• 8. Ask to demonstrate barbershopping in a music class.
• 9. Send music educators a small gift along with a Music Educator’s Package available through Harmony Marketplace.
• 10. Write a letter to your music educators wishing them a successful school year.

The list goes on. You must act, dream, plan and believe that what you are doing will make a difference in the artistic life of your community.   k