Page 5 - Fall 2017 Tags and Swipes Newsletter

Tags and Swipes, Fall 2017

From Our Regional Membership Director

The Acapella explosion is all around us.

How do we capture our share of singers?

With Pitch Perfect, Glee, and Sing Off pushing the popularity and publicity of acapella
soaring…..we expected our membership to increase. So let’s look at the numbers… Well quite
frankly our membership numbers yell a story… (interesting, that was a typo but I think yell is
more appropriate than tell!)

FACTs:

In 1999 as MDR my goal was to hit 1,300 Region Members…
we hit 1,297 !

In 2012 we had 966
Today we have 821.

So what is happening internationally? The same trend….
In 1999 we had over 30,000 members
today we have 21,000

Now there are many more outlets for harmonies. Many more opportunities with different types
and styles. Some emulating instruments; Blues; Jazz; Gospel as well as Barbershop.

For us to attract those harmony seeking singers we first need to know what they are looking for.
How do they fit in your vision?

I believe our future members are enthusiastic hardworking individuals craving flexibility; guiltless
membership; let’s give them a safe place to grow and experience excellence driven passion.

I challenge you to think outside the box. Let’s push that envelope; we have the freedom; we have
the tools; be creative. I look forward to hearing your Celebrations. Remember…..“Normal” is
simply a cycle on a dishwasher!

“The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from the old ones.”

-- John Maynard Keynes

Spread the Harmony, 5

Deb Richard
DebRichard@maine.rr.com
Regional Membership Director,
Regional Executive Committee

North Atlantic Region 1 Sweet Adelines