Worldwide Barbershop Quartet Association

~ SPPBSQSUS ~

Society Newsletter

April 2025

Issue 25-4

Hello Roger,

NEW LODGES APPROVED:

At the March Board of Directors meeting, two new Lodges were approved for provisional licenses. A provisional license can be awarded after a group has completed the first 5 steps of the 10-point requirements. These are:

1. Gather 10 or more like minded friends.
2. Review and agree to the SPPBSQSUS Policy Manual
3. Select a leader and leadership team and submit with at least 10 WBQA member names to VP Lodges
4. Choose a name
5. Submit the official Affirmation and Avowal Document to VP Lodges.

Upon approval as a Provisional Lodge, the group has one year to complete steps 6 through 10. Click here to view the list of Ten Steps

LODGE #16 - CENTRAL OHIO, 'The Fellowship Lodge'

Darren Wightman, President; David Calland, Music Director

26 Members

I was away from Barbershop Harmony for about eight years and decided to try it again this past year in 2024. I joined two Chapters - the Singing Buckeyes in Columbus Ohio and the Land of Legend Chapter in Newark, Ohio - and sang with the Buckeyes at the BHS International Convention in Cleveland. I knew nothing about the SPPBSQSUS, now known as the Worldwide Barbershop Quartet Association, until a friend mentioned it to me. I joined WBQA in October and realized there is not only excitement and enthusiasm but realized there is a need for the traditional barbershop Quartet.

We had a couple of gatherings prior to January upon which time I went to the WBQA convention in San Antonio. I was absolutely taken back - back to the good old stuff. I went to the Lodge Forums and learned quite a bit about not only what a Lodge is but how to form one. We have met just about every week at our location in Granville, OH, sometimes visiting our friend Bill Pace, who cannot make it to our gatherings. We rehearse on Thursday evenings at the Middleton Senior living facility in Granville Ohio. Darren Wightman

LODGE #17 - CLEVELAND OHIO - 'Lake Erie Lodge'

George Szent-Kiraly, President; Steve Miller, Musical Director

39 Members

It all began last year when we found many BHS members in our area with no chorus to sing with. We found that many men had joined the SPPBSQSUS or Worldwide Barbershop Quartet Association because of the one-time $50 lifetime membership fee. Many members began talking about the idea of forming a local WBQA Lodge. Members of the Elyria Chapter began serious talks, liked what the WBQA had to offer and decided to form a local lodge. At our first meeting, we called George Gipp, VP Lodges and shared with him our interest of forming a lodge. George even arranged for a WBQA Medalist Quartet to appear on our show. Finally, at our February Board meeting, we decided to form a WBQA Lodge. After contacting George, he mentioned that if we could find 10 WBQA members, he could get us approved at the March 12th WBQA Board meeting. Needless to say, we scrambled to find 10 men, but surprisingly, we ended up with 39 charter members!

George Szent-Kiraly

WBQA LAUNCHES NEW FACEBOOK PAGE: WBQA.SINGS



Rich Gray, Marketing Vice-President, said that the number of 'Friends' is growing on our new social media. Have you checked it out yet? If you do, please click on 'Like' and sign up. This is a public Facebook page intended to let our public know about our organization. And be sure to let your friends know about it! . . . Click the link below.

Facebook.com/WBQA.SINGS

NEW DATE FOR 2026 WBQC CONVENTION ANNOUNCED

The Board approved moving the annual Convention to March 11th through 15th, 2026. Same location - DoubleTree Hotel in San Antonio, TX.

Registration and hotel reservations will be available SOON! Don't miss out, this one will be bigger and better than last year! Many popular events will be returning plus some new ones as well.

Mark your calendars for March 2026

MARCH BOARD MEETING NOTES

• WBQC Convention date approved - March 11-15, 2026 
• Marketing budget with immediate funds available to continue marketing our events to our members and the public approved
• Reviewed budget proposal and creation of online ledger to track marketing expenditures.
• Marketing to contact BHS to inquire about placing WQBA ads in LiveWire Newsletter
• Committee to work on streamlining online Quartet Registration and Quartet Contest entry forms.
• Approval of two Provisional Lodge One-Year Licenses for Cleveland Ohio group to be Lodge #P16 and Central Ohio group to be Lodge #P17. 

NEW MEMBERS: MARCH

We are growing! We had 23 new singers join us this month for a total of 1,965 members. Here are the new members who have joined us in January:

• Jeff Wallace, Gahanna, OH
• Darrell Cross, Wellesley Island, NY
• Carl Howlett, Pulaski, NY
• Jon Gaylord, Rocky River, OH; Lake Erie Lodge #17
• Richard Asberry, Elyria, OH; Lake Erie Lodge #17
• Nick Roe Wausau, WI
• Aaron Brockelmeyer, Millersport, OH
• Bob Steinfurth, Chesterland, OH; Lake Erie Lodge #17
• Daniel Van, LaGrange, OH; Lake Erie Lodge #17
• Harold Wagner, Sheffield Lake, OH; Lake Erie Lodge #17
• Guyles Clifford, Medina, OH; Lake Erie Lodge #17
• Bob Kraynak, Warren, OH; Lake Erie Lodge #17
• Reed Carpenter, Madison, AL; N.Alabama Fraternity BBS Singers
• Jack Keating, Cleveland, OH; Lake Erie Lodge #17
• Michael Sudsina, Sandusky, OH; Lake Erie Lodge #17
• Bob Steen, Kennewick, WA; Stateline Barbershop Quartet
• Joshua Pawlik, Huntsville, AL; E. Alabama Fraternal Lodge #15
• Maxx Richardson, Philadelphia, NY
• Ralph Brooks, Chicago, IL; Quartet Take Notes
• Rick Bracy, Lima, OH
• Sam Vigil, Jr, Damascus, OH
• J.Richard Wible, Fairview, OH
• Ed Chapman, IL; Quartet Take Note

Be sure to let your Barbershop friends know about us. You might want to forward this email to them so they can see what's happening.

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW:

• Member Database - Find other members, find Lodges or find quartets. Link to the database is in the restricted Members page. When signing in, your member number MUST include the preceding letter - Ex M1234. Try it. First time? You will need to click 'Reset Password' after entering your member number. You will be sent a link to the email address on file to reset your password.
• Missed a newsletter? Check the Documents page for the latest Society Newsletter, the Quartet Corner Bulletin or the Lodges in Motion Bulletin.
• Please, please, please DO NOT click on the 'Unsubscribe' link below. If you do, you will no longer receive any communication from your Society. I can only send you a 'Resubscribe' link ONCE!

SPPBSQSUS / WBQA

Visit Website - wbqa.info ,,,,,,, Email Us: sppbqsus@gmail.com