Rotary District 6990 Governor Ellen Blasi (center) and her conference chair Andrew Burnstine (far right) pose with members of the Grand Bahama Youth Choir. (Photo by Derek Carroll)
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FREEPORT, Bahamas - It was a standing ovation and generous donations for the
talented young performers in the Grand Bahama Youth Choir as they performed to
a packed house during the closing banquet of the Rotary Multi-District
Conference at the Grand Lucayan Resort on Saturday night.
Over 300
Rotary Club members and guests from Florida – as far away as Sarasota to Key
West – along with some 60 local Grand Bahamians were vocal in their support as
choir leader Kevin G. Tomlinson took the youngsters through their paces.
Following
stirring renditions of both the American and Bahamian national anthems the
group then cranked up the fun and had everyone on their feet and dancing to
“Shake it up, Shake it up” and a medley of other Bahamian and classic hits.
What
happened next was a live auction led by Assistant Rotary District Governor Mike
Stafford which led to a bidding war as each Rotary district strived to out-bid
the other in their pledges and donations to the choir!
Mr.
Stafford explains: “Two months ago I was attending a Rotary training conference
in Florida and they did an auction of a tie, so I came up with an idea and
bought two Rotary theme ties and had them signed by the Vice President of
Rotary International, Ann Matthews. After the kids sang both national anthems
and there was not a dry eye in the house, I started the auction.
"Once
the first tie was won, then surprise - I whipped out a second tie and offered
it to the next lowest bidder. Who would have thought that two ties could
generate $3,700 for the choir?”
Caught
up in the excitement, other Rotarians then passed a basket amongst the crowd
while District 6950 pledged funds, matched by others from Districts 6990 and
6960.
Through
the generosity of community-minded Rotarians the choir will be adding over
$7,000 in total to their performance and travel expenses fund as well as having
monies available to assist with their newly acquired building where they will
have a permanent home.
Director
of the Grand Bahama Youth Choir Kevin G. Tomlinson was equally impressed with
the evening.
"On
behalf of the Grand Bahama Youth Choir, we would like to thank the joint Rotary
Clubs of Grand Bahama for their love and confidence shown to the members of our
organization. Saturday was very electrifying and we are pleased that
international guests got to see the allure of talents that Grand Bahama has to
offer. We would like to wish you all the best in your future endeavours, and
look forward to a continued partnership in the building and revitalization of
the Grand Bahama community," he said.
Rotary District 6960 co-chair Jane Goble congratulates Grand Bahama Youth Choir director Kevin G. Tomlinson after the choir's rousing performance during the Rotary Multi-District Conference, held May 1-4 at the Grand Lucayan Resort in Freeport. (Photo by Derek Carroll)
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Visiting Rotarians from Florida (L-R) Dawn Hurlburt, District 6960 Governor Tim Milligan, and Alice Takach pose with the ties that were auctioned to raise money for the Grand Bahama Youth Choir. (Photo by Derek Carroll)
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A Rotarian from Florida gives the Grand Bahama Youth Choir a 'High 5' during their performance at the Rotary Multi-District Conference, held May 1-4 at the Grand Lucayan Resort in Freeport. (Photo by Derek Carroll)
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