A Song For Our Sisters benefit concert

This is a very cool event - I'm the only male on the organizing committee and I'm really excited about the evening. 

Amabile Choirs of London, Canada is excited to present “A Song for our Sisters,” a benefit concert to create positive change for girls in London and around the World. This moving evening of music, presented by girls, about girls, for girls will take place on Sunday November 3^rd, 2013 at The Grand Theatre, London. Curtain time is 7:00 p.m.

Both Marnie McBean and Liona Boyd will attend a special pre-concert reception. Marnie will be autographing and selling her book “The Power of More” with a percentage of the profits benefiting Because I am a Girl. Liona's long-awaited CD (her newest – just released on September 17^th)  “The Return... To Canada with Love” will also be available.

The evening's all-female line-up includes the four female Amabile choirs, with a special appearance by Liona Boyd, the “First Lady of Classical Guitar”, accompanied by Michael Savona. The evening will be hosted by three-time Olympic Gold-medalist, speaker and author Marnie McBean. 

Concert proceeds from "A Song for our Sisters" will support Plan Canada's "Because I am a Girl" initiative, educating women in the poorest regions of the world, and Brescia Girls LEAD camp bursary program, providing leadership mentoring to girls from London and Southwestern Ontario. 

At rehearsals leading up to the concert, the choirs are adding an unusual element to their music training. Amabile Singers will be "inspired" by four speakers, all unique and amazing women. The speakers range from an impoverished 19 year old Nepali girl to a philanthropic London lawyer. Each will share her own personal "girl" story as part of a program called "A Reason to Sing". 

Tickets for the evening are $50, with a limited number of Reception Access Seats available for $75. Tickets available at www.GrandTheatre.com or by calling (519) 672-8800.

Apparently radio announcers DO matter to our listeners

I went to the funeral of a long-time listener a few days ago – I had really only met her twice in 10-15 years although we spoke on the phone often. She used to call the station I worked at, asking about Kitty Wells, Dolly, George Jones and other artists of their era. As I hosted a Saturday morning “Oldies” show, the calls went to me.

My wife wondered why I would go to the service of someone I hardly knew, I couldn’t explain it – but felt that there was some kind of connection that somehow just defied words – there just was…

When the station let me go (along with many others) a year ago, her daughter tells me that she felt lost – a part of her day had disappeared. …and when she was hospitalized apparently she kept asking her daughter if they’d called me. It wasn’t until a grand-daughter recognized my voice on another station in town, did they figure out where I had gone, and I got an e-mail through the ‘contact us’ feature.

I did get up to see her in hospital before she passed away and when the nurses asked my relationship to the patient, I was momentarily stuck for an answer – “A long-time friend of the family” I mumbled and apparently satisfied, they showed me to her room. While she was heavily medicated, she apparently knew that I had been there. She acknowledged that I had left a card for her… and she passed away that night.

The family was excited that I would go to the memorial service and even the minister mentioned me by name, a number of times through the service.  I can tell you that it was a strange feeling sitting among her family, friends and distant relative, none of whom I had ever really even met – weird that she never really talked much about her family to me…and I never asked.

Speaker after speaker got up to tell little stories about the things she loved (and apparently spoke about at some length): her family, the Country stars she had met… and ‘her’ radio station. She had been one of the early petitioners, supporting the application for a “Country” station, and took a great degree of ‘pride of ownership’ ever since.

At 83 years young, she was no longer the target demo of the station and they long ago stopped programming any of the Classic Country that she liked, but she continued to listen nonetheless. While they didn’t really care, she did.

I confess that I was a little overwhelmed that the family mentioned me in their service repeatedly. Afterwards, many family members insisted on introducing me to other family members. They said that she talked about me so often, that they felt like I was ‘family’.

If you don’t think that what we do ‘on-air’ makes a difference in peoples’ lives, go to a listener’s memorial. 

Marion R.I.P.