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The Harmonet Reporter

(Last Update: 08/02/2004)

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S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. CONTEST SCORES

Welcome to the home page of the Harmonet Reporter! Here you'll find news, stories and photos of some of the major events of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America.

Past Harmonet Reporter Activities:

Int'l Conventions:
2001 - Nashville, TN
2000 - Kansas City, MO
1999 - Anaheim, CA
1998 - Atlanta, GA
1997 - Indianapolis, IN
1996 - Salt Lake City, UT

Mid-Winter
Int'l Conventions:
1999 - Biloxi, MS

Buckeye
Invitationals:
1997 - Columbus, Ohio
1996 - Columbus, Ohio
1995 - Columbus, Ohio

RTP Chapter
Activities:
1998 Annual Show
w/HARRINGTON BROTHERS


1997 Singing Valentines

2004 CA Category School

 

What IS The HARMONET??

The Harmonet is our affectionate term for the Barbershop chat/discussion group under the Yahoo! Groups system, currently with over 1800 subscribers from all over the world! There are members from SPEBSQSA, as well as lady barbershoppers from Sweet Adelines, International, and Harmony Incorporated. We also enjoy talking to barbershoppers from England, Sweden, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Germany, Holland, and the list keeps growing!

How Does It Work?

Basically, the Harmonet is a collection of email addresses of barbershoppers from all over the world. Once you add your email address to this list, you can send an email to the server, and it will then send out your note to everyone else on the list! It's kind of like standing at the podium in an auditorium of 2000 people and speaking at the microphone; everyone hears what YOU have to say! Then they can respond with an email back to the same server, and their replies will be sent to everyone else, including you. So you can have an on-going conversation with the entire Harmonet, like a large group discussion, on any range of barbershop related topics. At any time, you can also just go off and talk directly with an individual by emailing to them directly.

How Do I Join The Harmonet?

You can join the Harmonet by pointing your web browser to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bbshop
and following the online instructions for joining the group.

What is the Harmonet Reporter Fund?

Back in the Fall of 1995, we were all chatting one day about the difficulty of finding out up-to-the-minute news and info during our International Conventions each year. We came up with the idea of sending someone to the convention to report back on the scores, the contest sessions, and the many other activities that happen during convention week, being the "eyes and ears" of all the folks back home who could not attend the convention. Of course, traveling to conventions is not free, so a Harmonet Reporter Fund was set up to collect donations that would help pay the Harmonet Reporter's travel expenses (air fare, car mileage, hotel room, event tickets, film & developing, etc.). In return, the Harmonet Reporter would post information on a daily basis back to the Harmonet for everyone to read and share with family and friends.

The idea was first tried at the 1995 Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, to see if the idea was feasible. It seemed to work, and the donations started coming in, in $5 and $10 increments. About $1500 in donations was collected that first year, and the first official Harmonet Reporter covered the SPEBSQSA International Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1996. Over the next few years the Fund was expanded to include both Sweet Adelines International and Harmony Incorporated. The Fund continues today, with support from individual barbershoppers from all over the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia, as well as from groups such as PROBE, and even some chapter quartets (Bluegrass Student Union, and Revival, to name just two).

The Harmonet Reporter Fund has since been closed, as the current webcast efforts are a huge improvement in bringing the convention into your homes and onto your computer, with both audio and video feeds so you can experience the contest live. THANK YOU to everyone who has given support to the Harmonet Reporter concept from the beginning. You all are awesome!

Harmonetters (and others), I would like to hear feedback on this Web page. Please mail any suggestions, comments or info by clicking on this revolving e-mail graphic, or click on my address: HarmonetReporter@yahoo.com