ISLAND CITY CHORUS

GREATER MONTREAL CHAPTER

SPEBSQSA Inc.

The Little Chorus that could!

MINI PITCH

Date: June 9, 2003 Less than 3 weeks to go!

Rob has been through a lot of health-related struggles in recent weeks. He was treated for a serious blood clot in his leg and has been suffering chronic back pain and a persistent cough. He spent this past weekend in the hospital where he was administered lung and bone scans, an MRI, and today endoscopy. The news from those tests is not what we had hoped for.

Rob has esophageal cancer. They found malignant tumors in his esophagus where it meets the stomach which are an outgrowth of years of acid reflux problems. They have also found potential tumors in his liver, lungs and vertabrae. We'll know for sure about those on Tuesday. They can't do surgery, but they will be administering radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Rob is in a lot of pain right now, in large part because, on top of everything else, he has a cracked vertebra.

The radiation is supposedly going to help alleviate some of that pain. The prognosis is not very hopeful, and of course we are upset and concerned. But we believe strongly in the power of prayer and know that miracles DO happen. Ultimately, everything is in the Lord's hands, and we our putting our entire faith and trust in Him. We ask that you, our dear barbershop friends, will join us in praying for Rob and keeping him in your thoughts.

Rob's wife Sue, son Ryan and the rest of our family feel very blessed to have the support and love of so many friends.

Rob starts radiation and chemo today. We will know more about the prognosis after we see how his body is responding to the treatment. He really likes the DR walking him through this, since he is young, she wants to attack this aggressively.

The results came back from the biopsy and they did confirm that the cells are cancerous. This is a very aggressive, fast moving cancer....but our prayers are moving pretty quick as well! Keep the faith....

Rob has had two radiation treatments so far. They are planning 15 sessions of radiation and then they are moving into the chemo part. They decided against doing them together. The DR felt that would be too hard on him.

We are thrilled at the number of emails and visitors he has had.....the affection is overwhelming...thank you all!

We will be singing the U.S. and Canadian National Anthems at Olympic Stadium on Monday, June 23, 2003 before the Montreal Expos - Pittsburgh Pirates game. This is a week before International.

The exact time and meeting place will be available very soon. We are learning (or relearning) the two anthems tonight. We are sounding pretty good, but now we have to make it sound phenomenal over the next two weeks.

Get your souvenir lapel pin for the 2003 International Convention. They are on sale for $7.50 CDN or $5.00 US. If you need a pin, or will be going somewhere that you can sell some of these pins, ask Ron Schurman, Murray Phillips, or Steve Wheaton for some. The money we raise will be very helpful in financing the extras we want to do during the Convention.

The June 5 meeting of the local organising committee chairmen was very upbeat, and with good reason. The plans are gelling, the registrations are rising and the tours are filling up to the max! The list of action items is getting very short, and the items on it are going to be completed before the next meeting. Actually, they had better be, since the next meeting is only 4 days before the convention gets into full swing.

We are still hearing great things from our dynamic duo, Bob and Bert. Bob Ebers and Bert Brossoit have been busy lining up some very impressive talent for the two outdoor shows at PVM and on McGill College. It is going to be spectacular.

Our female chairpeople have shown us what hard work and dedication is all about. If the Ladies Hospitality, Registration and Judges Services committees aren't the best organised, they sure are close!

We are doing very well with our volunteer count as well, and we should reach the magic number before then end of the convention.

Don't forget, on Tuesday, July 1^st at 4:30-5:30 PM in Le Centre Sheraton, 1201 Boulevard René-Lévesque West, the Northeastern and Ontario Districts are going to hold a Pep Rally for the two districts' competitors. The Hospitality Room will be Saturday, July 5^th at 10:30 PM for our competitors and all of the quartets so we can have another opportunity to hear them and thank them all for a great week. We will have the Granite Statesmen Chorus, Mega-City Chorus, Toronto Northern Lights Chorus, Northeast Connection, Road Show, TKO, Mirage quartets and Men in Black and Vocal Idiom college quartet champions there also.

During convention week, we are recommending that all volunteers, except those needing their cars for the job they are doing, use public transportation. If you or one of your volunteers really needs parking, let Stan Blicker know.

The Great Northern Harmony Workshop made a profit this year. Well done, Steve! The performance at the Ritz made $500, Way to go, Stan!

Good opportunities are being created for Christmas Singouts as a result of the great PR work being done for International.

I will be in Atlanta all week, so I will miss rehearsal, and it is extremely unlikely that there will be a Mini-Pitch.

Practice is something we do at home, every day, between rehearsals!

Rehearsal is where we reinforce what we have been practising every day!