A Message from your President:

If You Offer It They Will Come

Thank you R&B Shag Club members for making Learn Our State Dance a great success! It was a rainy Friday night in March, and as I was driving to the Marriott for the “First” learn to shag night, I said to LeRhea, “Soup and the couch would sure feel good tonight.” I hope enough folks show up to make all the effort the club members and the Marriott put into this is worth it. The little magnet on our frig was in the back of my mind. “Doors are everywhere—open them.” By 6:45 we had about 20 club members and a hand full of guests. David O’Quinn our DJ and I were nervous. David is always nervous—the boy takes DJing and shagging real personal and always is striving for the best. I walked over and greeted a few folks and paused by the main door. A line of folks was forming down the hall. I hopped up on the stage and told David to go take a look. He looked outside, turned around, and ran back to the stage—eyes wide. “We gonna need more chairs,” he said. Well, over 400 folks showed up to learn to shag. In the 60s we called this a “Happening.” Our only problem was that our Steve Day—our shag instructor--was in bed sick, but Chip Knothe stepped up to the plate to partner with Kathy Day to get things started. Then, Martha Medford took Kathy’s place to make it a fantastic night.

To quote Mark Felbinger, our rep at the Marriott, “It was a win-win event for everyone and a great start for a summer of fun shagging and maybe the start of some new events at the Marriott. It’s now time to follow up and keep the ball rolling.” R&B is on it!

Our next big event is the Sparkle City Celebration at the Marriott and will introduce you to some of our new Bop friends and to Tandem swing dancing. You don’t want to miss this. Demos and teaching by Gary & Charlotte Chaney from St. Louis will be a special added attraction. Get your room and tickets early.

By the way, the contract has been signed for a Shaggin’ New Year’s Eve with the Out-of-Towners band to repeat last year’s sell-out event at the Marriott.

The First Thursday Music on Main in April was rained out but there are lots more to come through August. On Sunday, May 3, at 4:00, East Coast Band will perform on the Church Street Stage at Spring Fling. R&B will provide the dance floor, and Steve & Kathy Day will do shag lessons before and during the band’s breaks. Bring a chair but no coolers.

A lot of our club members are visiting other shag clubs, and this a great thing. When you go to other clubs, spread the word about Spartanburg and Sparkle City Celebration. Pick up a few flyers from the Information Table at our VFW parties to take with you. Take your R&B membership card with you because most clubs charge a reduced party fee for members of other shag clubs.

Our new web site—rbshagclub.org—is getting many viewers and is generating contacts every week from folks from around the area. It seems that R&B is the club to contact for helping with shagging in Spartanburg. Lots of new opportunities could be in the works.

Several of our members had a big night at Lake Lure Shag Club’s party, and R&B will be making a recommendation at the ACSC meeting at SOS for their admittance to the Association. They are a hard-working group of shaggers.

I hope every one of you shows up for our SOS Warm-Up Party Friday, April 17, at the VFW. You can still buy an SOS card at the special $30 rate from the check-in desk at Friday’s party.

Be looking in the back of the closet, the attic, and the storage room for your old transistor radio for the May party. Life’s Short; Let’s Shag

Tom Armstrong

APRIL ‘09

01 Irene Marco

02 Jane McLean

09 JoAnn Waddell

13 Trudi Sarratt

14 Sam Arnone

14 Sharon Damani

15 Sarah Alexander

16 Annette Burdette

18 David Blackwell

18 Ellen Gramling

19 John Gramling

20 Betty Pritchett

22 Don Hansen

25 John Casey

26 Betty Y. Kirtley

29 Jan Ward

30 JoAnn Stewart

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

We are happy to add these shaggers to our club’s roster. Greg Brown, Cathy Campbell, Carol Cumbie, Deanna Ewing, Ken & Lisa Hawkins, Ralph Heatherly, Ray & Sue Jones, Phil & Lori Mariani, Martha Medford, Cy Miller, Richard Mitchell, Sam & Libby Swad, and Mike & Marilyn Swords,

We look forward to getting to know you better and sharing a dance with you. It’s also great that so many members have renewed their memberships for 2009. We now list 230 members on our roster.

ON THE MEND

Please keep these folks in your thoughts and prayers as they progress through difficult times.

We’ve missed seeing Mary Coggins who has been not been feeling well for several months

Joyce Smith is off the dance floor for a while because of back problems.

CONGRATULATIONS

Alan Caldwell & Lynn Lamb married on March 28. We wish them many years of happiness together.

NEED A PLACE TO STAY FOR SOS?

OD Beach & Racquet Club 98 N.Ocean Blvd 843-249-1436

Avista 300 N.Ocean Blvd avistaresort.com 800-968-8986

Tilghman Beach & Racquet Club N.Ocean Blvd at 2nd Ave

800-334-5016

Tilghman Beach & Golf Resort N.Ocean Blvd at 21 Ave

Tilghmanresort.com

MarVista Grande 605 S.Ocean Blvd marvistagrande.com

B & D FAMILY JEWELERS, INC.

“THE DIAMOND PLACE”

Certified Diamonds Jewelry Repair

at Discount Prices on Site

Betty & Danny Yarborough

Reidville Circle Center 1735 Reidville Road Suite 6

Spartanburg, SC 29301 864-576-7600

SPARKLE CITY CELEBRATION

It’s time! Time to volunteer to help make this our fourth annual wonderful BIG party at the Marriott as great a success as the previous three. Committee sign-up sheets will be at Friday’s party. Yes, it’s a bit of work that takes about 30 minutes or 1 hour away from your 28 hours of “play” time at the weekend event, but these events don’t happen by themselves. What can you do to help? Consider helping decorate Friday afternoon, or serving as a Door Greeter, or helping register guests at the Sign-in Desk, or helping in the Hospitality Suite. How can you benefit by helping? You get to know folks better by spending time with them while on duty, and you learn to put names with the faces you see at shag events, and you feel good by giving back to the club that gives so much pleasure to you.

It’s time to order your ticket and make your reservation at the Marriott if you plan to stay overnight. Pick up a flyer at the party or print one from rbshagclub.org and mail in your form and a check for $$60 per person. What do you get for $60? Two nights of dancing in the Ballroom with great DJs, a great midnight breakfast on Friday and a delicious Fried Chicken dinner on Saturday, continental breakfasts on Saturday & Sunday, free pours—beer, wine, margaritas, & Peach Sparkle in the Hospitality Suite, two shag workshops, a line-dance workshop, a pool party with a duck race, door prizes, Split-the-Pot drawing, shag vendors, and lots of fun and fellowship. One-day tickets are available for $40.

RAY FLETCHER – CONTRACTOR

Plumbing, Electrical, HVAC

Septic Tank Pumping

We Make House Calls 24 / 7

864-585-0093

ROAD TRIPS

For additional information, check the web site shagdance.com and check flyers on Information Table at our parties.

APR 17-26 SOS SPRING SAFARI NMB Parade Sat, Apr 25

MAY 29-31 SOUTHERN COMFORT XII Palmetto Shag Club Columbia npowell09@aol.com

JUN 20 JIVIN’JUNE JAM-SILVER ANNIVERSARY Lancaster Shag Club www.Lancastershagclub.com

JUL 11-12 ACSC SUMMER WORKSHOP & PARTY First Coast Shag Club Jacksonville, FL www: first coast shag.com

JUL 15-19 JUNIOR SOS NMB

JUL 24-26 SPARKLE CITY CELEBRATION R&B Shag Club at the Marriott 5:00 Fri – 10:00 Sunday. rbshagclub.org

JUL 31-AUG1 MEET ME IN THE MDDLE Carolina Shag Club Greenville SC jrcoley@charter.net

AUG 20-22 Shag Tracks XV Choo Choo Shag Club Chattanooga choochooshagclub.com or rmkellar@aol.com

SEP 11-20 SOS FALL MIGRATION NMB Fun Monday Sep 14 R&B House Party Sat, Sep 19

OCT 16-18 GEECHEE BLAST Charlestonshagclub.com

OCT 23-24 FALL BASH Mountain Empire Shag Society Kingsport TN messdance.com

NOV 6-8 FALL CYCLONE Twisters Shag Club Cornelius, NC GoShagging.com

SHAGGING AROUND SPARTANBURG

May 5 Out-of-Towners band playing at the Cellar on Fernwood-Glendale Road

May 2, “First Saturday” at the Marriott 8:00 – Midnight DJ David O’Quinn

May 14 On each 2nd Thursday, David O’Quinn plays at Gerhard’s on East Main Street 8:00 – 11:00.

May 23 2nd annual Patti’s Kids (Supporting G’Ville Shrine Hospital) Woodruff Shrine Club Noon-Midnight

Every Wednesday The Big Chill (aka Dockers) Shag Lesson $10 @ 6:00 Jeff & Dede Ward. DJ & Shagging afterward

Every Friday at the Holiday Inn on Augusta Road in Greenville

GOOD MUSIC

. Tune in to Beach Bob with Kathy Cole at 103.3 from 2:00-6:00 or beachboboldies.com. To request your favorite tune, email beachbob@wolt_fm.com

. Tune your computer in to beachshag.com to hear Fessa John Hook’s radio show of great music and news of the shag world.

. Check out grandstandradionetwork.com, and you can get 94.9 The Surf at 949thesurf.com.

R&B Shag Club of Spartanburg
PO Box 3463
Spartanburg, SC 29304

www.rbshagclub.org

www.shagdance.com

www.shagtour.com

www.keepshaggin.net
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