Meet Your Society President
Normally, the incoming Society President provides a “Let’s get to know our new President.” Okay, well, fine. I joined in 1978, while in high school. I’ve sung in a variety of quartets, managing to place as high as 6th at International. (Which I’ll never comprehend as I listen to quartets today!) I’ve sung in several choruses and have a drawer full of medals. I have coached and taught barbershop literally all over the world. I have been an arranger for over 30 years. A certified judge in Music (now Musicality) since 1998, I’ve been Category Specialist and ultimately Chair of Contest and Judging. And a bunch of other things along the way. I have a beautiful wife, Ann. With our two daughters, we have three precious grandchildren who are amused and pleased that when they come down to my office and ask for Albanese gummy bears I happily comply. (Gummy bears, chocolate, and ice cream are my vices.) We live in St. Peters, MO, right next to St. Charles. As a self-proclaimed failure at being retired, I work with a variety of clients as a consultant in the world of continuous improvement and problem solving.
What I believe
Okay—that’s out of the way! What’s far more important to me is that you know what I stand for and what I hope to accomplish as your Society President.
If you don’t know me, you will quickly learn that I challenge everything. Not that I’m interested in change just to change, but in my line of work you challenge everything to ensure it still brings maximum value. And if it doesn’t, you change it so it does bring value.
One of the first changes I made is the opening article in the Harmonizer. I have always believed that if you hear someone’s heart speak then you tend to listen more. Not everyone reads The Harmonizer, but I want everyone to hear me. We have created a video interview, with our good friend David Wright leading the question and answers. Check that out above!
This is an important time in our Society’s life. We survived a pandemic that nearly did us in. We’ve stabilized the ship. Now it is time to dream again. Now is the time to grow. It’s not too late to realize our mission and vision, but this won’t happen by accident. It won’t happen by just showing up to our chapter meeting each Tuesday night.
I elected to run for Society President for a few reasons:
I believe deeply in our Society and in its true potential. Barbershop music is preserved forever, but without the Society I believe our general society would be far poorer. Our members have a deep impact on others beyond our chapter walls, and the potential for far greater impact. Without the Society, there is far less harmony in the world.
I believe in our Vision of Everyone in Harmony and the Mission that calls us to actively promote harmony. I have witnessed firsthand numerous times over the years the power of what we can do collectively when we choose to do so. If we truly want to achieve our Mission and Vision, we can. But my observation is that we don’t fully appreciate the mission associated with Everyone in Harmony. I hope to influence that.
One of my areas of understanding and experience is in Change Management. As you know, change is required in a world that is constantly evolving, not only to survive but to flourish and grow. We must change, but we must do a better job of managing change so the members understand why change is required. We will do better in this area.
People throw around the word “transparent” and frankly, that is not possible. There are legal, financial, and HR issues, among other issues, that simply prohibit being transparent. It’s impossible, but yet we say we wish to be. So it is no wonder that there is distrust when leaders come from behind closed doors and announce solutions to a problem that no one knew leadership was discussing. We will be better at this. You’ll hear me use the word “translucent.” We will be translucent in everything that we do. There will be a website that you can visit that will let you know what the SBOD will discuss (or are discussing). And there will be other changes that will reflect a shift in how we communicate.
I operate at a different tempo. Time is the enemy. Every day that goes by is a day lost towards realizing our potential if we aren’t working on it. I see in every corner of our Society a prevailing attitude that because “I think it,” it will happen. If “I want it,” it will happen. But, someone else will make “it” happen for me. And time marches on without significant movement. It takes action after the desire. Throughout my career I have found that people will work at a faster tempo if they believe in the cause and that their actions will actually impact their world. The more they are engaged in the change, the more buy-in they will have in creating positive momentum.
Finally, over the years I’ve been put into several positions of leadership. People who have watched me know that I have the best intentions of the Society and the barbershop style of singing above anything else. I know how it all links together and how we can get things done. I want us to create positive momentum and inertia in moving the Society towards our Mission and Vision.
Unity in our community
But the first thing we must tackle is the lack of true unity amongst our members (past and present). When you watch the video, you’ll see the backstory of my slogan “Unity In Our Community.” We can disagree but still be unified. Disagreement is healthy and often leads to better solutions. But fighting, sniping, and a lack of respect for each other will tear us apart. We will never come close to realizing our Mission and Vision until we set that behavior aside. What we do know is the two most powerful bonds we have in barbershop is the music we sing and being with each other when we sing it together. That is what brings people back year after year. This is what we must lean into and leverage. We have to start by respecting each other as each of us barbershops in our own way.
Sounds corny … but it’s true. Today, we pull in every direction. It’s not that any direction is wrong or bad. Every direction has value in its own right. But if we all are pulling in different directions and fighting about what direction others should go, we’re not going anywhere. We’ll continue our collective path with small, evolutionary changes. Where I hope to change the mindset is that your direction can be different than someone else’s and that’s okay. We should be encouraging each other to pull in their direction as hard and as fast as possible and respecting the journey of others.
I am honored and humbled to be in this role. Let’s get to work.
Connect with Kevin: Email him at BHSPresident@barbershop.org