The Atlanta Swing Dancers Club
10th Anniversary – History of the Club
by Kassie Greene – Atlanta Swing Dancers Club
The Atlanta Swing Dancers Club celebrated their 10 year anniversary on August 13, 2005 at the Marriott Atlanta Perimeter Center.
The following is a summary of the clubs history, comments from the past and present presidents and recognition of those that have stayed active in the club for the past 10 years.
The idea for the club began in 1995 when Michael Harvey began taking West Coast Swing dance lessons from Kerry Frost and Kenny Livingston. He enjoyed the dance tremendously, so Kerry and Kenny suggested that he attend a dance event called “Boppin’ on Beale Street” in Memphis, TN. After attending that event, these three dancers were inspired to organize a dancers club in Atlanta. They made plans for an organizational meeting the next week.
The organizational meeting was held on August 19, 1995 with 16 people in attendance: Kerry Frost, Kenny Livingston, Michael Harvey, Misty Taylor, Fran Ewing, Ron Harris, Rosemary Scalessa, Sue Harrison, Deborah Gilreath, Becky Pearrow, Pat Korn, Jo Jo Topper, Joanne Thompson, Craig Gustin, Bill Sauer and Sonny Johnson.
The group decided the club was to be named Atlanta Swing Dancers Club and dues would be $15 for the first 50 members, who would be identified as “Charter Members” of the club and $25 thereafter. The group voted to have in-town and out-of-town co-coordinators. Misty Taylor and Michael Harvey were elected the in-town co-coordinators, and Kerry Frost and Kenny Livingston the out-of-town co-coordinators. Fran Ewing was elected treasurer and put in charge of membership. The group planned to hold Saturday night parties at Carey’s Corner twice each month.
The second meeting was held one week later on August 26, 1995. Twelve people were in attendance, including four who had not been present at the first meeting: Rick Anderson, Tom Scott, Mary Garone, and Anne Phillips. Becky Pearrow agreed to do a newsletter, with husband Rick Anderson assisting. A membership kickoff party was scheduled for September 25, and plans were made for free practice parties on Monday nights.
Michael Harvey was elected the first president, and he served until February of 1996. Pat Korn was elected President for 1996 and Flamingo Joe’s became new home of ASDC. Kenny Livingston and Kerry Frost became the club’s instructors. By December 1996, the club had grown to 125 members and the group was meeting to dance on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
It took a tremendous amount of work to accomplish the goal of organizing a West Coast Swing club in Atlanta. Through the years, many people have made contributions to the club to ensure its continuing success. It is impossible to identify all of them. To quote Pat Korn, “For every year, it’s been the fun of the new and old friends, the joy of the dancing, the delight in seeing new people discover the many rewards of dancing and definitely, the appreciation of all the volunteers and the club’s board members who have kept our club alive, successful and vital. None of us could have created this club’s 10 years of success alone.”
Memories of ASDC From the Presidents
The following are the highlights of the past 10 years as remembered by each president for the year(s) they led the club:
1995 Michael Harvey – Michael has not lived in the Atlanta area for sometime and could not be reached for comment.
1996 Pat Korn – Pat recalls “the excitement of finally getting together a club for people who love our special dance, West Coast Swing. The challenges of finding a place to dance as we changed our home base a number of times as our dance spots closed. Delight in seeing the membership grow from a handful to 300 over the years.
1997 Rich Kopels – Rich remembers that in his year as president, the first membership approved by-laws were written, membership was increased by 50% and the club web site was implemented. By this time, the club had met at Carey’s Corner, Bella’s, American Grill, Flamingo Joe’s and started meeting at the Marriott, our current home.
1998 Patricia Stimmel – Patricia stated “The presidency was an awesome responsibility because the club was so young and anxious to become recognized by other well established and respected clubs. It was a fun year and very challenging! New ideas from new members/new board mixed with little history-high emotions to say the least.”
During 1998 plans were made for the first Smoky Mountain Boogie, which was held March of 1999 in Gatlinburg, TN, co-hosted by the Smoky Mountain Shaggers from Knoxville, TN. Only 350 tickets were printed, but more were ordered as 681 tickets were sold, an amazing accomplishment. Rich Kopels then became our Mr. Boogie.
1999 & 2000 Nancy Bireley – The most memorable event for Nancy was writing a letter to the American Bop Association to nominate Rich Kopels to the Hall of Fame. “I had never attempted any thing like that, but it came from my heart. There was some really tough competition that year, but our Rich was given the honor. During my two years in office, he was already considered Mr. Smoky Mountain Boogie. And now, with his guidance, we are going to host our own event. Also, during my two years as president, we initiated the first life time membership and that had to be Rich again.”
2001 Janice Haker – We instituted wristbands. Our club was continually losing money with the “honor system”. I was able to get ASCAP to waive the $6000 music license fee. The club dance team performed for the first time at Smoky Mountain Boogie. We instituted a rotation of DJs to accommodate music preferences of members and published the financial report in the newsletter for the first time.
2002 & 2003 Pat Korn – Pat signed on for two more years as president and recalls these highlights: In 2003 the fun of creating new benefits for our members, like the Sunday hors d’oeuvers, Jack & Jill's contests, surprise mixers and give-aways, more free parties. The club brought in Melanie Roberts and Archie Dawson, nationally known instructors, for a weekend of workshops. Seeing the on-going success of the Smoky Mountain Boogie and joining the World Swing Dance Council.
The satisfaction of completing the revision of the club's by-laws (started the previous year, and not a small task). The joy of the continuing growth in support of our favorite charities. Bringing in Beatta Howe, another nationally known instructor - for special workshops - twice during the year! And again - the on-going success of the Smoky Mountain Boogie.
2004 Dixie Stanford – We worked to streamline the club budget so that more benefits were offered to club members, such as workshops with renowned instructor, Jeannie Tucker, parties at several locations with large dance floors, and free buffet dinners at the Fall Ball and Holiday Ball. The most exciting event was producing the Dance Improvement Program under the direction of Kirk Richardson. This project was a huge undertaking and seems to be a very positive asset for the club.
2005 Seth Pratt – The most memorable thing that has happened so far this year is that we are enjoying the benefits of the Dance Improvement Program. The club membership has really enjoyed the consistency of the regular beginner lessons. The second most memorable thing this year is, of course, the 10th anniversary party!
Recognition for 10 years of continuous membership
There are 13 people who have maintained continuous memberships in the club from 1995 to 2005. Special recognition was paid to each of these members with a special gift given for their commitment to ASDC.
Nancy Bireley, Sandy Fouts, Craig Gustin, Janice Haker, Phyllis Kandul, Jim Moran, Tom Scott, and Bob Tilton were awarded a free club membership for 2006.
Blanca Kopels, Rich Kopels, and Pat Korn, were previous recipients of lifetime membership to ASDC for the many contributions they have made to the club. Each these individuals were awarded a club shirt in appreciation for their dedication to the club.
The last two individuals not only charter members, but should be described as founding members with continuous membership. They are Kerry Frost and Kenny Livingston. Kerry and Kenny live in Columbus, GA and travel over two hours one way to Atlanta. We are grateful that they have and continue to do so and remain a vital part of the Atlanta Swing Dancers Club. In recognition of their numerous contributions to ASDC and the dance community, they were presented with life membership to the Atlanta Swing Dancers Club.
The Atlanta Swing Classic
ASDC has enjoyed seven fantastic years co-hosting Smoky Mountain Boogie. Because of this event, club members have enjoyed many additional parties and dance workshops either free or at a reduced rate because of the financial rewards of our participation. This year, the ASDC board of directors elected to sponsor and host a weekend dance event in Atlanta, our own hometown, instead of co-hosting the Smoky Mountain Boogie for an 8th year.
On October 12 through 15, 2006, the Atlanta Swing Dancers Club will host the first annual Atlanta Swing Classic at the Marriott Atlanta Perimeter Center. The event will feature hospitality with southern Atlanta charm, great workshops from inspiring instructors, vendors for those who like to shop, great DJs and one of the best dance floors in the country for your dancing pleasure. The web site is already established for the event. The address is www.atlantaswingclassic.com. Tickets are now on sale and will be limited to 400 guests. ASDC is proud to bring this event to Atlanta, and we hope you will be one of the lucky 400 to join us our inaugural year and every year thereafter.