The NEWCANEWENG Tribe is the name of the Honor Club of the Northeastern District. The Tribe is not a district level organization, but it does have official status as a subsidiary of the Barbershop Harmony Society. The group was founded in 1967 by prominent NED members Miles (Jack) Finch, Richard Hawes, Steve Dickinson and Vin Zito. It was patterned after the DELASUSQUEHUDMAC Honor Club of the Mid-Atlantic District. The name of that group was selected by combining parts of the names of the major rivers that run through MAD (I'll let you figure out the rivers' names). Jack Finch proposed that the name of this club be 'The Newcaneweng Tribe', with the name incorporating parts of the names of the geographic areas that form the boundaries of the Northeastern District; New York, Canada and New England.
Several times a year, we publish a newsletter called the Smoke Signal to keep our members informed of our goings on. We meet once a year, usually the first full weekend in June, for a relaxed weekend of fun and singing, exchanging ideas on an informal basis for the benefit of the NED and the Society, and enjoy the fraternal atmosphere of the annual Campfire with our guests, usually a top quartet or two from the NED or outside the district.
It is a private fraternity, open by invitation only to NED barbershoppers in good standing, who in our estimation are friendly men of excellent personal character, socially compatible, and who have made an outstanding contribution to their chapter, district, or Society over and above the call of duty. Over the years, we've grown to over one hundred thirty members.
Member's dues are fifteen dollars per year. The officers of the Tribe are Chief (president), Scribe (secretary) and Wampum Keeper (treasurer). A number of committees serve to organize the many facets of our annual meeting's activities.