Official E-Note Publication of Harmony, Inc.
Original Message: https://mailchi.mp/harmonyinc/hi-note-apr-2024-1
Table of Contents - President's Message
- Convention Corner
- Judging
- HIVE Classes
- Meet Your IBOD
- Volunteer Opportunities
- Getting The Word Out
- For Love of Harmony
- Condolences From The Membership
- Celebrations
- Deadlines Approaching
- 2024 Area Conventions & Contests
- International Conventions & Contests
- Next Issue
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Like the HI Note?
Please share it!
By Gaye LaCasce, International President
This message will be a relatively brief one, with just two important points. The first point is about communication, which is so important in any organization/family/job… you name it!
Our member surveys have been helpful in letting us know where you get your Harmony “news” as well as the fact that there is no “one and only” platform to share information. If you are reading this, then you’re a HI Note reader; thank you! I hope you appreciate (as I do) the vast amount of information that is included, twice a month, to help keep our members informed. It’s a gargantuan effort, involving a LOT of people. If you would be so kind, please become a HI Note ambassador for us – mention it at chorus or quartet rehearsal. Encourage people to read it, because if they do, their understanding of all that’s happening in HI will grow exponentially.
(And yes – I know I’m preaching to the proverbial choir!)
Ready, set ...
My second point – does anyone else feel as though they’re at the very top of a rollercoaster, ready for imminent launch? Knowing that Area 2 will kick off our AC&C season in less than a week is wonderful – and it’s a thrill that we no longer take for granted. Between now and mid-June, quartets and choruses will be picking up speed, polishing their performances and making last-minute plans for packing and travel. Those of us who have experienced an AC&C can almost feel the excitement brewing, as we hug friends we may only see once or twice a year. It’s magical, isn’t it?
Please take a minute out of your AC&C weekend to seek out a first-timer to add to your friends’ list! Our gatherings reflect the very best of who we are as Harmony members, cheering for one another and sincerely hoping for excellent outcomes for every single group. That spirit is one of the many things that make me proud to be a member of Harmony, Inc.
Check this out!
Interested in the nitty-gritty of leading and administering Harmony, Inc.? The minutes of the International Board of Directors Q1 meeting are now available on the website.
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Livestream for contests
This year, some Areas will, some won't
By Allison Thompson, ICC Manager
It is hard to believe it is officially contest time! We have decided on a corporate level to take a break from livestreaming any contest this year so that we may analyze the costs and determine the best course of action for creating a successful experience.
However, some Areas have decided to invest locally in providing a livestream for their contests. Be sure to watch the Hi-Note for updates on which Areas and how you can access their contest livestream.
Best of luck to everyone crossing the stage this year!
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The family and friend judging conundrum
By Kathy Greason, ICJC
In the last issue of the HI Note, you learned about the principles and pitfalls of assigning panels for our contest weekends, and I promised a follow up on the “friends and family conundrum”. This is it.
As you read in the last HI Note, our guidelines for setting panels suggest that we steer away from assigning panelists who are friends, family, or coaches of contestants they will be judging. That would certainly avoid questions about how our judges can possibly be objective in judging people they know. But we are a close-knit barbershop community. Our judges are also our teachers, our coaches, our family members, and our close friends – sometimes even our former chorus or quartet-mates. If we disqualified from service any judges who fit in those categories, we might discover that we have no judges at all! So, much as we’d love to, we can’t always use careful panel assignment choices to nip the very human “how can they possibly judge fairly?” question in the bud.
Therefore, it is critical that we have checks and balances in place so that judges who are put in a position of needing to score friends or family will have the tools to score all contestants objectively. How do we do that? Training and certification, our contest rules, and contest-based assessments provide our checks and balances. Keep reading to discover what is in place, and, more importantly, how we are able to say with confidence that our safeguards are working.
Training and Certification: For each person who becomes a judge, the ICJ Committee has reviewed references from at least four people. Each person who provided a reference has ranked the potential judge’s communication skills, objectivity, dependability, and leadership, among other characteristics critical to the integrity of our judging program. Those who have not demonstrated those characteristics, and do not continue to demonstrate those characteristics during training do not move on to become certified judges.
As for the training itself…during the schools, the scoring candidates and judges concentrate on all aspects of their job, including understanding the category, scoring, evaluations, and teaching. Candidates and judges watch untold numbers of video performances, scoring and discussing each one, at school and between schools. This training places a high degree of emphasis on assessing performances objectively, and there are lots of opportunities to do that, because many of the videos feature friends and family of candidates and judges…and sometimes the judges, themselves.
All of our Candidates attend our Category Training School annually, as do most of our certified judges. Following initial certification, all judges must attend school and recertify every three years in order to retain their certification. In short, the training never stops.
The BHS judges and worldwide affiliates who serve on our Harmony, Inc. panels go through a different but equally rigorous screening and training process before they become certified. The various organizations (including Harmony, Inc.) use many of the same video playlists to practice scoring, comparing scores against published reference scores to assure scoring integrity.
Like our own judges, BHS judges and worldwide affiliates must attend their own category schools periodically to be recertified. Several of our judges are certified as both BHS and Harmony, Inc. judges, and they can attest to the fact that training standards are comparable.
Contest Rules: Our rules require a 30-day coaching moratorium for panelists who might otherwise coach a contestant that is entered in a contest to which the panelist is assigned. All judges who serve on our panels are aware of this requirement.
Contest-based Assessments: Training and contest rules are important, but they are not the only tools available to ensure objectivity in scoring. We have contest-based processes in place that produce both qualitative and quantitative measures of objectivity.
First, during each contest, in real time, the Administrative Judges review the scores submitted to determine whether there is a “variance”. A complicated mathematical formula determines what constitutes a variance, but essentially, a variance is identified if the score of one judge appears to be an outlier when compared to the scores of others on the panel or in the category for a particular song. A variance triggers a conference among panelists, at which all the category judges can state their rationales for the scores given, and with that input, they can all decide whether the score they recorded in fact reflects an objective assessment of the performance.
Further, on site at the end of each contest, the Administrative Judges provide all scoring judges with a scoring analysis that allows them to compare individual scores among judges and among categories. During category meetings before evaluations begin, the judges and candidates discuss with their peers the basis for their scores. After the contest weekend, all Category Specialists receive that list of scores for review.
Also, after the contest weekend, all of the scoring judges and candidates, as well as the Category Specialists and I, receive by email a set of charts and graphs for each scoring judge and candidate on the panel, illustrating, among other things, how each panelist’s scores on each song compared to other panelists’ scores, how often and how far the individual judge’s scores were above or below the panel median, whether that individual judge was trending high or low in scoring, and whether their scoring remained consistent over time. The Category Specialists review this data to determine where more training on a particular area might be appropriate.
With those procedures in place, the Category Specialists and I can see clearly whether we need to be concerned. I am happy to say that, in the four years of contests that I have overseen during my six years as ICJC (darn COVID), our review of the statistical analyses described above have shown that our panelists have successfully avoided coaching bias or family/friend bias in their determination of contest results. Phew!
In short, I know that it is human nature to wonder whether judges can possibly be impartial in judging family and friends as contestants. So when Category Specialists and I are working on panel assignments, we make every effort to avoid putting judges in that position. But because it can’t be avoided, I am grateful for the training, in-contest, and post-contest checks described above. I am truly honored to be part of a judging community that prides itself in its work, and, more important, that continues to strive for excellence.
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Learn the NEW Contest Entry System
with Linda Muise, Administrative Judge Category Specialist
Saturday, April 6 - 2:00 pm Eastern
As you may or may not know Harmony, Inc. is moving to a new computer program for recording judges' scores and tabulating contest results.
What does that mean for you as a contestant? Well, it means a new process for contest entry.
Attend this class to get all the details about the new process on how to enter your quartet or chorus into the ICC contests. It will include step by step instructions for when you need to complete your ICC entry.
REGISTER: Learn the NEW Contest Entry System - April 6
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Area 1 Director Yvonne Rafuse has been a member of Harmony, Inc since 2018 when Seaside A Cappella proudly chartered. In this very short time, she has served as Chapter Secretary, and is just wrapping up two terms as President.
She also follows her passion for dance and stage as the Visual Performance Coordinator for the chorus.
Although her tenure as a Harmony, Inc. member has not been long, she is no stranger to the organization. She has been a fan, and might even be considered a ‘groupie’, following her sister and now her Music Director, Judy Comeau, to contests and performances for many years.
Hi, Harmony. HI Note Editor Roxanne Powell asked me to tell a little about myself, so here goes:
I’m Susan Spencer, currently your Area 4 Director, and live outside Indianapolis, Indiana. I’ve been a member of Harmony and Sweet Adelines for over 30 years (and proudly a Lifetime member of both!) – always as a baritone.
I started in Heart of Indiana back in 1992 and after leaving that chapter in early 2000’s, I helped start Harmony Magic. It remains my chorus since we chartered in 2006 (18 years already!).
I started singing with a quartet in 1993, and other than singing in a few pickup chorus quartets, that remains my quartet – Change of Heart. After winning the International Quartet championship in 1999, we’ve been proudly continuing our journey through serving as faculty at education weekends, singing on chorus shows, etc. I am honored to sing with these ‘sisters from other mothers’ and am proud we’ll be celebrating our 25th anniversary this fall.
I have served Harmony in various positions. Currently, I’ve been Area 4 Director for the last several years and this year serve as the Lead Area Director. In the past I’ve also served as a Director of the International Board in several capacities, as well as an Assistant position as the US – Resource Material Librarian (when we used to have Harmony logoed merchandise that was shipped to Areas). I’ve also served the Association of Harmony Queens as Secretary, Treasurer, and Co-Chair over the years, the Area 4 Council as Web Manager, and my choruses at all levels of administration and music leadership.
Outside of barbershop, I work full time as a Corporate Training Project Manager, managing projects that prepare and launch sales training to associates across the organization. The other thing that is big in my life right now is that I am in the middle of a kitchen renovation. While it’s crazy living and working upstairs while they’re banging downstairs, with the recent arrival of cabinets, there’s light coming at the end of the tunnel.
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And we are still seeking ...
A volunteer for the Survey Resource Team
Are you a detail-oriented person who is interested in the preparation and analysis of Harmony, Inc. surveys? Do you have experience working with surveys? The Survey Resource Team welcomes your help.
Members of the Survey Resource Team
- work together to design and conduct surveys that gather information about the opinions, preferences and behaviours of our members including but not limited to
- developing survey questions
- collecting data from surveys
- identifying issues or problems with past survey methodology that may have affected results
- analyze the results of these surveys
- to determine how the results can best be used to inform future decisions
- to identify trends and patterns in opinions or behaviours
- to recommend if other forms of surveying members should be considered such as focus groups or in-depth interviews.
Questions? Contact Survey Resource Team Chair, Jan DelVecchio
Ready to apply? Complete the assistant application HAR-001
We also need
A volunteer to serve as Associate Member Coordinator
The Associate Member Coordinator works closely with our Area Associate Representatives and also serves as a liaison for Associate members in the expansion area. The Associate Member Coordinator reports to the Director of Membership as the voice of our Associate members.
There is plenty of room for more growth and ideas to provide support to Associates and to ensure your voices are reaching our leaders. All members are invited to apply, although an Associate member is preferred. A detailed job description can be found in the Corporate Manual, page 136.
Please contact Taralee Lashway, Director of Membership if you are interested in finding out more about this position and/or applying. Ready to volunteer? Use this form.
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Your donations to the For Love of Harmony program enable you to identify individuals or groups to receive special recognition, while at the same time providing a monetary gift to Harmony, Inc.
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| Condolences From The Membership |
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- to Arlene Tobin (Breton Songbirds, Area 1), on the passing of your brother
- to Helen LeFort (Sea Belles, Area 1), on the passing of your sister-in-law and dear friend, Jesslyn LeFort, February 29.
- to The Over Tones, Inc (Area 5), former members and friends, on the passing of Win Andrews, a founding member of the chorus who continued to be a FANS - Friendly Active Non-Singer - this year.
- to Diane Power (Newfound Sound, Area 1) on the passing of your husband Patrick Power
- to Madeline Power (Newfound Sound, Area 1) on the passing of your brother-in-law, Patrick Power
Need to post a condolence notice? Please have the information sent to the Corporate Office Assistant to be recorded. Thank you.
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| 2024 Area Conventions & Contests |
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| International Conventions & Contests |
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2024 NOVEMBER 6-9, GALT HOUSE, LOUISVILLE, KY
2025 NOVEMBER 5-8, HERSHEY LODGE, HERSHEY, PA
2026 NOVEMBER 11-14, GALT HOUSE, LOUISVILLE, KY
2027 NOVEMBER 10-13, NIAGARA FALLS CONVENTION CENTER, NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO
2028 NOVEMBER 1-4, HERSHEY LODGE, HERSHEY, PA
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The next issue of the HI Note comes to your inbox April 20. What would you like to see covered in our pages? Drop a line to editor@harmonyinc.org and we'll tell the world. Next deadline is April 13.
See you again, soon!
Copyright © 2024 Harmony, Inc., All rights reserved.
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