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Dear Friends:
Hope this note finds each of you well and anticipating a joyous and
wonderful holiday season.
We had a full fall season - so - let's get to it!
September 7-9 found us in LaCrosse, WI, for Ronny's ElvisŪ
Explosion. This is one of the premier competitions in the country.
The LaCrosse Center is a wonderful venue and, this year, they moved
us to the largest arena in the facility. Over 4000 fans joined us
for the weekend!
Friday and Saturday nights, 25 contestants sang with the Exspence
Account Showband. There was SO much talent, I was glad to have no
part of the judging. Sunday, 10 finalists blew the roof off in their
quest for the gold! The winners were:
1st - Matt Joyce
2nd - Ted Torres
3rd - Irv Cass
Along with the cash prizes, Ronny also presented each of the 10
finalists with guitars!
Special guests were Dwight Icenhower and Shawn Klush fresh from his
triumph as EPE's 1st Grand Champion. The 2 of them put on fantastic
shows and had the audience rocking in the aisles.
Patti Parry and Dwight Icenhower hosted the Mississippi cruises. The
crowd loved the question and answer sessions and many of the ETA's
joined them to sing their way down the river. Patti always is a hit
as she has so many heartwarming stories about her friend, ElvisŪ.
The Days Inn was the scene of some of the most entertaining jam
sessions in history! The ETA's sang everything from ElvisŪ to
Credence and from the 50's to the present day. Everyone danced and
loved it! The jam sessions went on all three nights and might still
be going on if the fans had their way!
Two weeks later, we climbed on a plane for our much-loved visit to
Dewey Beach. Delaware has beautiful weather at this time of the year
and the Rusty Rudder sits ideally on Rehobeth Bay. The venue
provides lodging and meals for the contestants making it a very
popular contest.
In Professional and Non-Professional divisions, 22 ETA's sang to
huge, appreciative crowds. Winners were:
Non-Pro
1st - Johnny P
2nd - Tim Collins
3rd - Joe Forrester
Pro
1st - Ted Torres
2nd - Dwight Icenhower
3rd - Kevin Mills
September 29, Ronny and Irv traveled to Florida to join Dwight for a
show at the Circle Square Cultural Center in Ocala for one night's
fabulous show. Dwight was the perfect host and even took Ronny to
Disney World. Can you imagine those two casually strolling though
the park? For anyone who missed this great show, we will be back in
May, 2008!
The middle of October took us to Portage, IN, for the ElvisŪ FANtasy
Fest. As many of you know, this show benefits the Special Olympics
and all of us donate our time. Special guests this year were Robert
Washington, Irv Cass, Quentin Flagg, Dwight Icenhower, and Steven
Kabakos. Patti Parry and Cynthia Pepper joined us with their
personal recollections of ElvisŪ. From the Friday night Sock Hop to
the Sunday afternoon parade of Special Olympians, the weekend was
magic!
The contest was exciting with the Change of Habit Tribute Band
backing up all the contestants. Kathy Hood organizes this contest
and, as is usual for her, everything was perfect. Winners were:
1st - Ted Torres
2nd - Joe Tirrito
3rd - Curt Lechner
Later in October, ElvisŪ in Branson took place in the beautiful Club
Vegas of the Lodge of the Ozarks. Family matters kept me from
attending this contest - but - Kathy Hood, Marie White, and Ronny
had no problems. Mori Yasumasa's Japanese TCB Band backed up the
entries and made for a wonderful show!
Winner were:
1st - Cody Slaughter
2nd - Joe Hall
3rd - Chris Wilson
After a short and much-needed rest, we embarked on our Christmas
shows. On November 24, we had our annual Christmas with the King.
The staff had done a beautiful job of decorating the Sabre Room and
sparkling white Christmas trees surrounded us. Ronny Craig, Justin
Edwards, Doug Church, Matt King, Jerome Marion, and Rick Saucedo opened the
Holiday season with a bang. The combination of ElvisŪ music and
Christmas songs thrilled the huge crowd and our evening was a
success. Our stuffed animals, gifts for the fans, were distributed
by the ETA's wearing Santa regalia and singing "We Wish You a Merry
Christmas." The Change of Habit Tribute Band did a great job and
both Trish and D'Arcy thrilled the fans with their own solo
Christmas selections.
A week later, we traveled up north to the Isle of Capri in
Marquette, IA, for a series of 4 Christmas shows. Ronny was joined
by Irv Cass, Dwight Icenhower and Chris Solano for these shows.
Friday night's shows were sold out and the guys put on a rousing and
exciting show. Saturday brought snow, sleet, rain, and finally,
freezing rain to the area. Thank goodness, Ronny had his new yellow
Hummer to get us to and from the Casino! We anticipated a smaller
crowd because of the weather - but - ElvisŪ fans cannot be stopped!
Again, we had full rooms for the shows. The Change of Habit Tribute
Band sparkled and D'Arcy Park brought the house down with her
magnificent rendition of "O Holy Night."
We are looking forward to a full and exciting 2008. January will
bring us to the Empress Casino in Joliet, the Original Mother's in
Chicago, and the Isle of Capri in Booneville, MO, for shows. We look
forward to seeing each of you there!
In the meantime, have a safe and wonderful Holiday Season.
May the Lord bless each of you and your loved ones....
Nance
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