Doris Pfenniger is a charter member of our chorus. Through the years, she has served in many roles. She sings lead, and is one of our leaders of that large group of singers (now numbering sixteen). Presently, she is hard at work on our Fashion Show and Luncheon, which she has chaired for many years. This bi-annual event seemed like the perfect time to interview Doris for our newsletter. Here is Doris’s journey in South Florida Jubilee, in her own words…
"I joined Sweet Adelines in 1989, and I remember the month of December 1989, well, as my mother came to my first Sweet Adeline performance at the Mall in Hallendale. She really enjoyed my debut. Sadly, she had a stroke later that day and passed away the end of December.
The first chorus I joined was called Miami Magic. I was invited to visit by a good friend who asked, “Do you like to sing?” The rest is history…
After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, two choruses joined and formed the Goldcoast Chorus. Nancy Bowers and Iris Cokecroft became co-directors. At our first competition performance in Region 9, we came in first place. Now, that was really exciting!
South Florida Jubilee chorus was founded in 1997. I’m a charter member. Nancy bowers became our direct. She wanted to retire and we were fortunate that she recruited James Kastler to be our new director.
I have been chair of this wonderful South Florida Jubilee Luncheon and Fashion Show at least seven times. Because of everyone’s cooperation, it has been fun to chair this event, and it’s also become an important fund raiser for our chorus. The first job is to find a location and date. We have held this event at several country clubs and restaurants over the years. My favorite was the Coral Ridge Country Club. Unfortunately, they doubled their price from before and our location this year is Tropical Acres on October 6th.
The next job is to find a store to do our fashion show and then chorus members to volunteer to model (this year, Dress Barn has agreed to do our show). Following that is having flyers and tickets printed, and Viv Ruggles is very good at that job! Then the chorus members become involve to sell as many tickets as possible. They also donate a gift to our raffle table. The last step is setting up for this big event. Of course, I need help with members who volunteer to help do that.
On the day of the event, members welcome guests, take tickets, sell raffle tickets, sell 50/50 tickets, and help everyone find their seat. We will also sing a few songs to whet their appetites for our upcoming holiday show on Dec. 16th. I’m counting on everyone to be involved to make this luncheon and fashion show one of the most fun and profitable yet.
South Florida Jubilee has changed over the years from the members to the new songs we sing. We have seen many wonderful members come and go because of other commitments. So this event also becomes a reunion of renewing past friendships for those still in town.
I have enjoyed singing with the chorus, which is obvious after twenty-nine years and the many friendships I have formed. I guess it’s the melding of the four part harmony that’s unlike any other singing. Once you hear, you’re hooked, as they say. At least that’s the way it was for me. Some of my favorite songs over the years are as follows: KoKoMo, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Blue Skies, Get Happy, How We Sang Today, Puttin on the Ritz, and God Bless America.
I can’t imagine any other place to be on Thursday night except at rehearsal. It’s the one place which will lift your spirits, especially if you had a tough day. You just feel so much better afterwards, even if you had to push yourself to go. As they say, singing is good for your health, and you can’t find a greater group of gals who truly enjoy singing barbershop and the many friendships they form.