InCider Press, November 2003, page 5

During the past few weeks it has been my pleasure to witness two of the Manhattan Chapter members in action at Central States District Events.

On the weekend of November 8 & 9, I attended the annual Chapter Operations Training School (COTS) in Omaha, Nebraska. Historically, a part of the COTS weekend is a chapter parade of checks that allows chapters in attendance to highlight their charitable giving during the past year. For the past 15 or so years, our own Leonard Purvis has been in charge of the parade of checks as a part of his duties as chairman of the committee responsible for charitable activities in the District and most recently as District Vice President of Harmony Foundation. Over his years of service to the District, Leonard has been very successful in encouraging chapters and individual members to contribute to the SPEBSQSA charitable activities, whether it be at the local chapter, district or society level. One part of his responsibilities has been to set up and maintain a raffle or silent auction at all Central States District Conventions and to work in a charitable giving booth at International Conventions. Leonard's hard work and efforts have been a great contribution to the many charitable activities of the District and Society.

As Leonard announced at the last Chapter meeting, the parade of checks brought Chapter contributions to local charities and the Harmony Foundation nearly $17,000 of which the Manhattan Chapter contributed in excess of $3,000 from individuals, quartets and the Chapter. As Leonard presented the check representing the Manhattan Chapter contribution, I felt a strong sense of pride in the Chapter and in Leonard's efforts to secure the funds necessary to make this Chapter's contribution the largest in the District.

Unfortunately for the District, Leonard has decided not to seek another term on the District Board. He will be missed greatly by his fellow Barbershoppers all across the District and Society. This fact was evident by the long applause and standing ovation he received from the students, faculty and staff of COTS when he announced his retirement from the

position at the end of the parade of checks. We can all be proud of Leonard's unselfish devotion to our great barbershop singing society. Please shake his hand and say "Thanks" when you see him at the next Chapter meeting.

Another source of pride for me is the continued hard work of the Swenson family in Bob's role as Chairman of Registration/Treasurer for Central States District events. Bob has served in this role since 1994 and he, along with his staff at Manhattan Data Systems, his wife Telva and daughter Beth have done a superb job in making registration a smooth process for all District Conventions. Bob developed the software necessary to computerize the registration process and print nametags for all participants. Sondra Lewis, office manager at Manhattan Data Systems and Bob spend many hours prior to the Spring and Fall District Conventions registering attendees, collecting registration fees and printing nametags. When Convention weekends arrive, Bob loads his computer software in the van, transports that along with all of the necessary paperwork to the convention site and sets up an onsite registration office. Bob, along with Telva, Beth and sometimes Sondra, spend most of their weekend providing onsite registration services for people who didn't register in advance. Since tickets for the contest portion of conventions are reserved seating, one of the difficult portions of the registration job is to assign seating based on a priority system. In order to carry out this task detailed seating charts of the various auditoriums used for conventions and a thorough knowledge of the priority seating requirements are required. Bob and his staff are very astute in deciphering the seating charts and in making sure everyone is afforded the best possible seats for the contest sessions. The registration process is a monstrous task but one which flows smoothly due to the knowledge, dedication and hard work of those involved.

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