Our Board of Directors:

President - Bob Burns

Bob Burns has been singing barbershop harmony for more than 35 years. He has been with the Land of the Sky Chorus for 9+ years and has also sung with choruses in Nashua and Concord, New Hampshire and The Singing Buckeyes of Columbus, Ohio. Bob states the happiest moment he recalls with the Asheville Chapter was when we were announced as 5th place finishers at the spring 2009 Dixie District chorus contest.

When asked for words of wisdom for guidance for new barbershoppers, he said “it takes some balancing and tuning by ear, but when it is right, it "RINGS.”

Bob is also the Vice President of Communications for the Carolinas District, and is on the Marketing & PR Committee of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

Bob is married to Joyce Ramsey and they have made their home in Asheville for the past 9 years. He has a son and daughter and two wonderful grandchildren in New England. For the greater part of his life, Bob worked in sales, sales management, marketing, and business development in the medical diagnostics and devices markets. He currently has been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and owns and operates Green Willow Tree, an online nutritional supplement company.

Immediate Past President – Bob Anderson

Bob Anderson has been a Barbershopper for 32 years, but music has been a life-long passion. The caption under his high school yearbook photo reads “music soothes the savage beast”. We don’t know if that means Bob is a beast, but it’s possible!

Bob has been a member of the Land of the Sky Chorus for the past 6 years. He began his barbershop singing career with the Auctioneers of Winston-Salem, NC, today known as Triad Harmony Express. Bob says one of the early highlights of his life in Barbershop was singing with the Auctioneers on the International Contest Stage in Seattle, where they placed 9th.

His funniest experience with the Land of the Sky Chorus happened in rehearsing the Ed Sullivan bit players for the annual show – especially watching Bob Burns trying to fit into a tutu. His happiest moment has been watching the Chapter grow to its current size of active members.

A retired physician, he states that Barbershop Harmony is still his prescription of choice for whatever ails you. Bob has three daughters, 6 grandsons and one granddaughter, all too far away. He resides in Asheville with his life partner, Kim. After retiring in 2000, he began a second career as a Real Estate Broker and enjoys travelling the tri-county area, singing all the time.

VP of Marketing and Publicity - Jim Gordon

Jim Gordon has been a barbershopper since the mid 70's and grew up in the formation of the Big Orange Chorus in Jacksonville, Fl. After moving to Asheville in 1992 he has been in a quartet, Almost Famous and served as the Music VP. Jim loves teaching and singing tags and goes off in the woods a couple times a year to do just that with a bunch of like-minded guys. Jim is a tournament tennis player and just got 2 new knees and will be hitting the courts again this spring. Jim is a member of the West Asheville Tailgate Market where he sells all kinds of berry plants and farm fresh eggs from his backyard flock.

Jim is married to Laura Frisbie and they live on Newfound Rd in Leicester.

Jim's marketing vision for the chapter is: 1. Market our product by performing our product and 2. Having each chapter member be a Chapter ambassador, wear his "Wanna Sing" button and invite barbershop conversations.

VP of Chapter Development - Russell Brickhouse

VP of Music and Performance - Hal Lunsik

After 33 years in Florida as a Walgreen Pharmacist, I moved to Waynesville to retire with my wife Phyllis. Having been born in Chicago, I was really looking forward to the quiet life of a small town.

I started my love of music in high school by learning to play a trumpet that my father bought from a pawn shop. When my family moved to Florida, I got with a few friends, started a folk group called the Rambling Rebels and sang a lot of Kingston Trio hits. We actually sang once on radio and at the Hotel Algiers on Miami Beach. Then during my time in the Navy, I had a friend show me a chord progression on the guitar and I would sing and play every chance I could. It helped me get thru that 4 years.

I learned about this chorus on a Sunday, I attended rehearsal that Tuesday, and have been hooked ever since.

Treasurer - JP Brown

Treasurer JP Brown has a secret – he won’t tell anyone his first name!

We do know that JP has been a member of the Barbershop Harmony Society for 7 years, and an active participant in the Land of the Sky Chorus for two. Maybe because it makes him feel good?

As a retired teacher, high school administrator and county-level administrator, JP has no need to get up each morning. His wife, Jane, is a retired high school English teacher who probably will edit this biographical sketch with a red pen: the though of this makes the writer of this sketch break out in a cold sweat.

JP’s brand new bag is living in Waynesville. He says that “my thang" is family camping. He was his brood have camped in 48 states. He also likes to watch the Florida Gators do the grunt – and will wait ‘til next year for them to turn it loose.

Secretary - Bob Huff

Bob has been singing barbershop for 20 years, 19 of which were spent in the Racing City Chorus in Saratoga Springs, NY. He semi-retired in August of 2010 and has been singing with the Land of the Sky Chorus since then. He is a distributor of architectural building specialties, handling marker and tack boards, display cases, architectural louvers, projection screens and other “specialty” items for new construction projects.

Three of his barbershop “Golden” moments include singing on the International Competition stage in Anaheim, CA in 2000, singing with three other LOSC Barbershoppers in the Hendersonville Little Theatre’s production of “The Music Man” as the tenor in the barbershop quartet, and doing Singing Valentines each year as the chorus fund raiser.

He resides in Hendersonville with his 15 year old granddaughter that he and his Lovely wife Susan, a school teacher, have raised since she was 2-1/2 years old.

He attends the Hendersonville Church of Christ, and loves golf and other sports as additional hobbies.

Member-At-Large - David Schwab

David Schwab has been singing since he joined a boys choir in Decatur, Ga. at age 12. He sang Barbershop with The Atlanta Peachtree Chorus from 1971 through 1978. His highpoint in barbershopping was representing the Dixie District in international competition in Portland, Or. in 1973.He joined the Asheville chapter in 2007. He also sings in his church choir, a men's chorus, and a Christmas chorus in Highlands, NC.

David is retired from the orthopedic shoe business after 50 years, is widowed, has 2 daughters and 5 grand children. Besides singing he volunteers at the Highlands-Cashiers Hospital and enjoys gardening.

Member-at-Large - Clay Plemmons

Clay dabbles in real estate and construction. He has two sons and his daughter Carrie Ann sings in a high school quartet.

Member-at-Large - Ralph Johnson

Ralph is a 51+ year member of the Barbershop Harmony Society.