The History of “Shagtour.com”

 Mission Statement: Our intent and desire is to preserve the shag dance and be proactive in its growth.

"Shagtour.com" evolved in 2007 from a conversation between Renee Baker of Lancaster, S.C., and dance partner Rick Honeycutt of Salisbury, N.C., regarding all the informational emails Renee was responding to from her contacts. Renee, former President of Lancaster Shag Club, had compiled a list of her friends, contacts and club members who knew that she was the "go to" person for all upcoming shagging events in the Lancaster, S.C. and Charlotte, N.C. areas.  Every month more friends asked to be a part of this email and Shag clubs began sending her information to be shared. Both Renee and Rick had been members of "Lancaster Shag Club" for several years. Renee and Rick supposed that a website would be a much easier way to share the information, promote the shag dance and would be a lot less work for Renee. After lengthy discussions, they determined to at least give it a try. Both parties realized the website "name", or link, would be the first order of business.  After much deliberation, via cell phone, the name "Shagtour.com" was selected. Shag for the dance and "tour" for all tourists that would visit and be benefited by this new site and because they also decided to "tour" each club and gather information first hand. It was a simple, catchy, easy to spell title and was liked by both.  A major milestone was achieved upon which to build their vision.  They both decided that the mission for the Shagtour website would be to provide all the information within the shag world on one "user friendly" site, posting "hard to find" information about the clubs that was not available elsewhere. Some examples are: cover charges, non-smoking areas, menus, dance floor size, seating, etc., etc.,. 

Renee, a chemist for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, began dancing to ballet, tap and jazz when she was just 6 years old.  During Renee's teenage years, she enjoyed the disco era. Later, while taking aerobics classes, she found line dancing to be much more interesting. Renee took her first shag lesson in January 2001 and the rest is history.  She served as president of the "Lancaster Shag Club" in 2004-2005 and has served on the board of the same for 5 years. Renee has enjoyed being a member of Camden Lugoff Area Shag Society, Capital Area Shag Club, Mountain Island Shag Club, and The Society of Tarheel Shaggers.

Rick, a self employed Vendor and Convenience Store owner, discovered his love of the dance within the country music world.  He later advanced to West Coast Swing dancing which he enjoyed for roughly 4 years.  However, few swing dance venues are available in the Carolinas so he decided to try the shag dance.  The two dances have many similarities making the transition to shagging very easy for him. Approximately nine years later, Rick is still enjoying the shag dance and has been a member of the Twisters Shag Club, Boppers Shag Club, Capital Area Shag Club, Lancaster Shag Club, Mountain Island Shag Club, and The Society of Tarheel Shaggers. 

Renee and Rick have spent countless hours of dedication to their website and invite you to visit "www.shagtour.com" and send in your comments and suggestions.  Membership in the club is now available for your enjoyment.

 

Photographer - Rick Honeycutt		Journalist - Renee Baker
Webmaster - Justin Tada