Our Board of Directors:
President - Bob Burns
Bob Burns has been singing barbershop harmony for more than 33 years. He has been with the Land of the Sky Chous for 7 years and has also sung with choruses in Nashua, 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 married to Joyce Ramsey and they have made their home in Asheville for the past 7 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 Music and Performance - Jim Gordon
Jim Gordon serves as our Vice President of Music and Performance. It is his job to be sure we are wonderful at all times. He heads the music team and works to develop our music program.
Jim comes to us from a long history with the Society and is a consummate quartet man. You can not stand any where near Jim if there are two other voices nearby to make a quartet without singing a song or a piece of one. He has been a member of the Land of the Sky Chorus for the past 12 years and previously was with the Big Orange Chorus from Florida.
Jim’s happiest moment is working toward winning a district title, Chorus Champion. His favorite expression, one which we hear repeatedly, is that “this is a singing organization, not a talking one!”
Jim lives with his wife in Leicester and has 4 grown children and 11 grandkids. Jim recounts his vocational highlight was drawing his first Navy Retirement Check. Jim is just as busy after retirement and co-manages the West Asheville Tailgate Market. He has a backyard plant nursery. He has been a competitive tennis player and is still pretty competitive with his racket and loves Tournament Tennis.
VP of Marketing and Publicity - Link Young
Link Young is a life-long resident of the Asheville area, and a relative "newbie" to the Barbershop Harmony Society. But once he found the Land of the Sky Chorus and the Asheville chapter, he jumped right in with both feet. This Link is rarely missing when there is a job to be done, and is currently holding down the position of VP of Marketing and Publicity.
In the 4 years he has been a member of the Land of the Sky Chorus, Link says his proudest moment was the first time he stepped on stage at the Diana Wortham Theater.
Link owns his own real estate appraisal firm, Appalachian Appraisal Company, and is extremely happen 2009 is over. He is married to Martha, and has two sons, Tucker and Titus.
When he's not singing, administering, or working, he and his family like to travel.
VP of Chapter Development - Rusty Wallace
No, not THAT Rusty Wallace. Our Rusty joined the Land of the Sky Chorus three years ago. This was his introduction to the Barbershop Harmony Society, and within the year, he was serving on the Board of Directors. His says his most enjoyable memory of Land of the Sky Chorus is EVERY Tuesday night’s rehearsal!
Family is Rusty’s first priority and he shares his Waynesville home with his bride of many years, Penny. After oxidizing for 50 years in Rockville Maryland, Rusty and Penny (Get it? Rusty Penny?) moved to Waynesville 3 years ago. He likes to greet each day with the observation that it is a wonderful day in the mountains.
He retired from government service and he recalls being instrumental in obtaining a $1.5 million grant from the Federal government to benefit the lowest-income neighborhood in the region just as he retired.
Besides his devotion to the chapter, Rusty likes to repair antique radios and has a small business in Waynesville, and also serves as an interviewer for the Haywood Christian Ministry.
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 - Dave Vrooman
Dave Vrooman has had a three year history with the Society, having previously sung with the Stone Mountain Chapter in Georgia before joining the Asheville chapter a year ago.
He came on the board as a member at large and moved to the secretary’s position when that position needed to be filled.
His happiest moments occur when ever the music director gets goose bumps because we have rung a chord splendidly. Dave loves a good joke and enjoys the jokes told at chapter meetings. He says they are funny when told and then again three hours later when he gets to retell it at home. He states unequivocally that a chapter meeting without a lot of chatter is like a fish without a bicycle.
Dave makes his home in Weaverville with his wife, Sue. He has four children and six grandchildren, all above average, and he can’t figure out where he fits into that mix. His vocational highlight was retiring. When Dave is not singing bass part to some ditty, you may find him collecting odd and unusual rusty things. He invites anyone to drop by and sit a spell, drink some ice tea, chat and just watch things rust.
Member-At-Large - Bob Couse
Long-time treasurer Bob Couse has been a member of the Land of the Sky Chorus for the past 16 years. He previously sang with the Heralds of Harmony and the Citrus Capital Chorus in Florida, for a total of 29 years at this hobby.
His happiest moment with Land of the Sky Chorus was being reunited with Director Chuck Greene and proudest moment has been our 5th place finish at the 2009 District Spring contest.
Bob states his funniest memory was performing the Ed Sullivan number in our show and the general zany antics of our hams, humph, members on stage.
Bob noted that one of the greatest things about Barbershop is that you may leave for a period, but are always welcomed back unconditionally.
Bob has lived in Hendersonville for 5 years and Asheville prior to that for 11 years with his wife, Carole. His daughter and her family visit frequently. Bob’s career has allowed him to travel the world and live in many wonderful and exotic places, including East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, and providing logistic support for Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica. It’s no wonder he wears a sweater.
Member at Large - Brooks Gibson
Brooks joined the chapter just 2 years ago and credits it with maintaining his sanity! Brooks has a long and distinguished career in music. He has sung in Glee Clubs and or Church Choirs since high school. His happiest moment had to be the first time he sang with the Chorus at an afterglow in Hendersonville and got to see first-hand the joy our singing can bring to others.
Brooks is an able administrator, but is also has been known to don Superman costumes and recite bad puns in the service of audience entertainment. His favorite line - “William Tell? William TELL? I wonder what sort of Overture he’s making?” He is married to Lindy and they have two children, Hannah and Gabriel.
Vocationally, Brooks has had a career filled with public service, including with Child Protective Services and Foster Care for 10+ years; United Methodist Pastor 10 years; most recently Substance Abuse Clinical Counselor (Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist) for 10 years. Over a twelve-year period, he also taught men's groups for court-referred Domestic Violence.
Member-At-Large - Duane Baer
Duane is a shy guy. So shy that he has yet to provide biographical information. So, we'll only say that he loves to dress up in tuxedoes, that he sings not only with the LOS chorus but with other Asheville-area performing groups, and that he does what board members at large are supposed to do.