how i love a bowtie...

Tonight was the annual banquet for my husband's barbershop chorus. There was a decent dinner (if you like chewy, lukewarm steak), a "Year in Review", some pretty bad jokes, some pretty funny jokes, the Chapter Officer Installation, and the highlight of the evening--the announcement of this year's Barbershopper of the Year. Those of us "in the hobby" (did I really just write that? YUCK!) lovingly refer to the Barbershopper of the Year award as the "Bowtie". It's an incredibly clever designation, based, of course, on the acronym BOTY. Get it? BO-TY. Told you it was clever.

The BOTY is really not anything to laugh at or mock. My husband was nominated along with two other incredibly dedicated chorus members who exhibited amazing devotion to the chorus and its mission this year. The winner is selected by the full membership of the chorus. It was an incredibly wonderful honor for his chorusmates to elect Michael Barbershopper of the Year. It is a title that remains part of your legacy in the hobby... once a BOTY, always a BOTY. There was a plaque, and everything.

I'm very proud of Michael all the time. Tonight was simply his chance to be recognized by everyone else for the amazing things he does. It was a great night.