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The eighteenth annual session of the National Sacred Harp Singing Convention met at Trinity United Methodist Church, Birmingham, Alabama. Buell Cobb called Thursday's session to order by leading song on page 31b. Gaylon Powell led the morning prayer. Leaders: Mark Davis 129; Kathy Williams 497; Linda Thomas 106; Don Bowen 283; Berkley Moore 45b; Mike Hinton 373; Dennis O'Brien 480; Lora Cargo 498; Donald Smith 35; Sherry Guthery 340; Velton Chafin 564; Mrs. Elvin D. Morris 290; John T. Hocutt 240; Frances Jones 361; David Ballinger 111b; Liz Bryant 270; Jeff Colby 346; Ola D. Meadows 222; A.C. McGough 475.
Jesse Roberts called the class together with song on page 282. Leaders: Cindy Franklin 297; Jewell Wootten 298; Linton Ballinger 36b; Jeanne T. Schaffer 178; Glen Harper 40; Carla Smith 369; Walter S. Hartley 198; Linda Sides 73b; John Redmon 299; Lee Rogers 228; Matt Wojcik 189; Judy Whiting 503; Hall Kunkel 470. The convention next went into business session. The following officers and committees were elected and appointed: Chairman, Buell Cobb; Vice Chairman, Mark Davis; Secretary, Kathy Williams; Chaplain, Gaylon Powell; Arranging Committee, Cindy Franklin, Susan Roberts, Dennis O'Brien; Finance Committee, Don Bowen, Judy Mincey; Resolutions Committee, Liz Bryant, Ginnie Ely, Memorial Committee, Mike Hinton, Ruth Brown, Cora Sweatt. The business session was closed.
Leaders: David Ivey 202; Terry Wootten 176t; Duncan Vinson 131b; Teenie Moody 365; Evelyn Harris 30t; Kathy Robinson 192; Flarce Creel 546; Regina Clark 312b; Sheila Wootten 296; Kathleen Robbins 48t; Henry Guthery 431; Edna Ruth Phillips 490; Cassie Franklin 344; Caroline Humphreys 344; Peter Irvine 448t; Henry Johnson 338; Catherine Oss 163t; Jenny Gurley 112; B.J. Harris 303b; Jerry Schreiber 528; Eugene Forbes 566; Travis Keeton 73t. Gaylon Powell led the blessing for lunch.
Leaders: Helen Bryson 272; Mary Oruc 383; Bob Bonnell 75; Freeman Wootten 384; Kurt Davis and Dustin McCowan 354b; Willie Israel 114; Jenny Wootten 155; Jacob Griffith 146. The United Kingdom group, With One Accord, was then introduced by Buell Cobb. The goup, who brought fourteen of their members to the convention, then sang selections from their repertoire of 18th- and 19th- century music. It is in this music that the roots of Sacred Harp can be found. Leaders: Paul Gauthier 101b; Dan Huger 47t; Lynne de Benedette 542; Leola Smith 318; John Schaffer 352; Reuben Ball 544; Elizabeth Muhleisen 269; Joanne Hoover 72b; Kathy Vlach 143; Nancy Van Den Akker 102; Sharon Kellam 567; Eliza Goodhue 148; Jane Zanichkowsky 454; Lomax Ballinger 59; Buell Cobb 323t. Closing prayer for the day was led by Elder Donald Smith.
The Friday session of the convention was called to order by Buell Cobb leading son on page 33b. Gaylon Powell led the morning prayer. Leaders: Mark Davis 171; Kathy Williams 506; Gaylon Powell 216; Ginnie Ely 454; Dennis O'Brien 209; Judy Mincey 474; Don Bowen 475; Carla Smith 100; Judy Hauff 536; Kelly House 345b; Cora Sweatt 73t; Richard DeLong 419; Jill Thompson 31t; Tim Eriksen 378b; Mike Hinton 288; Bill Hogan 270; Lyra O'Brien 179; Stephen Hullett and Freeman Wootten 145b; Bernard Collard 452b; Ila Ingle 436.
Leaders: Cindy Franklin 269; Lou Cotney 196; Gary Smith 34b; Becky Briggs 405; Joan Aldridge 189; Marlin Beasley 336; Jim Brown and students from Samford University 159; Ann Ballard 512; Regina Glass 296; Willie Mae Moon 217; Annie Boyd 137; Clark Lee 182; Syble Adams 532; Eloise Avery 425b; M.H. Creel 530.
Leaders: Toney Smith 444; H.J. Jackson 400; Pauline Griggs 43; Harry Eskew 128; Susan Roberts 385; Edna Ruth Phillips 569b; Jenny Gurley 358; Julie and Kathy Lee 59; Jesse Roberts 294; Charles Kitchens 127; Warren Steel 119. M.H. Creel led the blessing for lunch.
Leaders: David Lee 278b; Herb Bailey 70t; Charlene Wallace 122; Laurie Allison 112; Frances Mary D'Andrea 335; Doug Allison 277; Lisa Davis 200; Sam Jones 103; Elsie Beasley 460; Cassie Franklin 542; Bomar Roberson 310; Myra Dalton 176t; Milton Oliver 321; Lora Cargo 348b; Edward Howton 318; Linda Sides 81t; Johnny Lee 170; Peter Irvine 319; Louise Holland 144; Kathryn Smith Bowers 66.
Leaders: Davis Lee 39t; Teenie Moodie and Judith Vanlandingham 117; John Bailey ??; Elene Stovall 99; Elder Marshall Avery 53; Ruth Johnson 145t; selection from the English group With One Accord; Anne Steel 61; Bobby Gooddell 287; Julietta Haynes 192; Nell Estes 222; Hal Kunkel 193; Lee Steinmetz 491; Henry Johnson 388; Janet Fraembs 146; Catherine Oss 84; Eugene Forbes 495; Steve Warner 147t; Lorena Moore 440; Anne Heider 352; Rosa Hughes 47b; Laura Clawson 48t; Kenneth DeLong 548; Warren Steel 131t; Buell Cobb and Mark Davis 235. Closing prayer was led by John Etheridge.
Buell Cobb opened the Friday session of the convention by leading song on page 52. The opening prayer was led by Elder Jesse Roberts. Leaders: Mark Davis 38b; Don Bowen 503; Judy Mincey 540; John Plunkett 168; Caroline Humphreys 155; Travis Keeton 57; Shelbie Sheppard 142; Pam Nunn 269; Richard Mauldin 146; Bob Monnell 64; Michele Cull 40; Katie Traywick 224; Dorothea McCowan 304; Robert Meek 236; James Oliver 270; Laura Densmore 99; B.M. Smith 28b; Terry Hogg 47b.
Leaders: Dennis O'Brien 339; Eugene Forbes 32t; Helen Bryson 456; Jim and Celia Carnes 48t; Mary Oruc 77t. Buell Cobb then recognized convention founder Hugh McGraw, who led page 312b. Memorial Lesson. Ruth Brown gave the memorial address. Names of the deceased since June 1996: Alabama: Tom Harper, Jimmy Causey, Delta Wootten, Buddy Tindal, Hazel Cagle, Tommy Creel, J.T. Conn, Will Battles, Josephine Gibson, Halie Armstrong, Willie Blackwood, Clelen Cobb, Lola Jenkins, Cary Graves, Rodger Morrison, Lola Roberson, Bonnie Ashley, J.E. Allen, Vena Holley, Elder A.L. Beckett, Myrl Ethridge, Tina Rogers, Elder Bernard Moon, Melton Wallace, Curtis Dutton, Johnnie Sue Beasley, Mae Doss, Hilda Moseley, John Bain, Rithie Cozart, J.J. Sexton, Floyd Steifel, Clydus Moon, Otis Nall, Ed Latham, Dille Creel Harris, Catherine Neely; Georgia: Eva Corley Reeves, Edna Wilson, Horace Lambert, Silas Lee, William Headrick; Texas: James Canfield, Sue Vaughn, Ray Barnett; Mississippi: Louis Porter, Janice Nelson; California: Marilou Jolly, Mike Warner; Colorado: Don Johnson; New Mexico: Erik Hand. Mike Hinton led song on 235 in memory of the deceased. Cora Sweatt led song on page 400 for the sick and shut-ins, and 45t was sung to close the memorial lesson. Gaylon Powell led the memorial prayer. End of memorial lesson. Leaders: Kathy Williams, 38t; Tim Cook 163b; Ginnie Ely 434; Lyra O'Brien 234; Chris Bell 358; Justin Keeton 385; Willie Israel 86; Jacob Griffith 114; Jeff Sheppard 455; Paul Gauthier 280; Andy Morse 183. Elder Marshall Avery led the blessing for lunch.
Leaders: Gaylon Powell 406; Anne Steel 318; Juan Martinez 186; Ros Rigby 228; Richard DeLong 283; Howard King 276; Dennis Burleson 383; Mattie Townsel 124; John Van Horn 268; Bernard Collard 66; Charles Estes 460; Amanda Denson 300; Myrtice Graham 157; Laura Akerman 454; Helen Brown and Ruth Cooper 299.
Leaders: Mike Hinton 543; Matt Wojcik 504; Henry Zittrauer 127; Noel Rush 412; Judy Whiting 178; Joanne and Gillian Warson 117; Dianne Avery 35; Jesse Roberts 372; Jill Thompson 198; Lynne de Benedette 56b; John Schaffer 350; Dan Huger 417; Elizabeth Muhleisen 133; Joanne Hoover 510; Jane Zanichkowsky 260; Judy Hauff 421, 528. Business session: The Finance Committee reported contributions of near $1900, covering the expenses of the convention. Don Bowen and Judy Mincey. The Resolutions Committee thanked the officers and committees for working so hard to bring the convention together once more, and invited all to come to the nineteenth National Convention on June 18, 19, and 20, 1998. Liz Bryant and Ginnie Ely. The secretary reported that 460 people from 22 states and the United Kingdom registered during the three days of the convention, and that 190 leaders led 242 songs. State distribution of registrants was as follows: Alabama 303; Georgia 44; England 14; Massachusetts 14; Florida 13; Mississippi 12; Illinois 10; North Carolina 7; Kentucky 6; Texas 6; Tennessee 5; New York 4; Colorado, Louisiana, Rhode Island, 3 each; California, Nebraska, Washington, Pennsylvania, 2 each; Virginia, Missouri, South Carolina, Connecticut, one each. Kathy Williams. All reports were accepted as presented, and the business session was closed. The officers led song on page 62, and singers took the parting hand to close the convention, dismissed with prayer by Gaylon Powell.
Chairman - Buell Cobb, cobb1@bellsouth.netAbridged HTML version by Warren Steel, mudws@olemiss.edu
Vice-Chairman - Mark Davis, horn4@aol.com
Secretary - Kathy Williams
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