January 21, 2000

Sorry for the delay in posting the info below. I just got over a 6 week cold/flu thang, and, between the holidays and staff vacations, I've been buried at work. Glancing at the home page, I also just realized there is no brief statement about what happened after we raised the $5000 that Dr. Green said it would take to keep the SLs in the School of Music for the 1999-2000 season. If you weren't part of the fundraising or letter writing effort, you might not have heard the outcome. Before you read Yac's 12/22/99 update below, you should read my August - September entry below that.

 December 22, 1999

Yac (current business manager and 1998-1999 president Robert Yacyshyn) reports on the current status of the SLs and how the season is going. See the Behind the Scenes section for Yac's email update. Marty's response posted on January 24, 1999.

 August - September 1999

Well those of us who were battling mightily over the summer and particularly mid August were pretty well exhausted, but we felt temporarily relieved that we met Dr. Green's demand and the SLs would remain safe in the School of Music--at lease for the 1999-2000 season. However, within a few days of informing Dr. Green of our success in meeting his demand, Dr. Green informed Yac that he would not honor his promise to keep the group in the School of Music for the 1999-2000 season (of course Dr. Green did not use those words--he used bureaucratic administration speak, which you can read in the Behind the Scenes section). The Singing Lions is now a student organization.

August 16, 1999, Deadline Day

Dr. Green told Yac one week ago that the Singing Lions were history if we didn't come up with $5000. We sent the word out to everyone we could reach and ended our week long fundraising effort from hell with donations and pledges totaling $6550. This total will probably increase a bit as Pete receives checks that we did not know about ahead of time (see table below for current tally). When we began the fundraising effort, we counted the $1000 in the SLs ASA account, even though this is the group's safety net, because it was an emergency situation. Through the generosity of friends, family, and SLs, not only did we save the coming season but we managed to retain the group's safety net with a little extra cushion.

The short-run survival of the SLs is not assured until we jump over the next hurdle. The SLs are still at the mercy of Dr. Green who must hire a new director this week.

Short-Term Outlook
The current SLs have quite a daunting few weeks ahead of them. President Yac must keep pressure on Green to hire Pete's replacement in time for auditions next Monday. The SLs must audition candidates to fill performer, band, and tech crew vacancies. They must also prepare for a performance early next week for an orientation event at Bryce Jordan Center for many, many thousands of freshman and begin to evaluate the seven or so October and November performance requests they already have. (Oh yeah, and of course they have to buy text books, prepare for classes, and move into new dorm rooms and apartments if they've been out of town for the summer.)

The Long-Term Outlook
You may have seen discussions at this web site of ways the SLs future might be improved. However, these discussions were contingency plans and would only help the SLs in the short run. Our goal has remained the same--to get Dr. Green and the School of Music to acknowledge its financial responsibility for this School of Music ensemble. The SLs are not asking for special treatment. We want what the other ensembles have and what the School of Music was supposed to have been providing the SLs--a director whose salary is covered by the School of Music and $1000 per year. Any expenses beyond that is the responsibility of each ensemble. The SLs are suffering now because of the School of Music's slipshod record keeping and accounting practices and a change in administrators (Green is relatively new and College of Arts and Architecture Dean Porterfield is a lame duck after announcing his retirement.)

The Campaign Must Continue to Ensure the Long-Term Survival of the SLs
Our fundraiser bought us some time--just one year. And we probably have much less time than that to make sure that the Singing Lions are included in the School of Music 2000-2001 budget. We must continue to send email and write letters to Penn State administrators. We must continue to write letters to the editor of the CDT and the Collegian. We must keep the pressure on and our support visible or our hard-won, short-term gain will be for naught.

Campaign Efforts
Pete is working with associates in the show/jazz choir wing of the American Choral Directors Association to enlist the support of other college show choir directors and the heads of other Schools of Music. We must convince Green of the educational value of supporting a college show choir. Pete is also working to get Lyle Merriman, Green's predecessor, and Associate Dean Don Leslie to acknowledge that the SLs have indeed been under the financial auspices of the School of Music.

Yac, in addition to all the demanding duties of a typical performance year, will speak with presidents of the other Penn State music ensembles to gather information and seek support. Yac has been an integral and energizing link between current SLs and alumni and will continue to help guide the effort to ensure the long-term survival and health of the Singing Lions.

August 9, 1999

Yac spoke with Dr. Green on August 9 who told him that if he doesn't come up with $5000 by Monday, August 16, 1999, the SLs will not make it to the 1999-2000 season.

The semester begins August 24, and Yac must conduct auditions the weekend before. I'm sure you are as frustrated reading this as we were to learn of a deadline with just one week's notice. We're angry, we're tired, we're disappointed. But, to save the SLs in the long run, we--the alumni, friends, and current members of the SLs--must come up with the money to save the SLs in the short run. It's money we must raise above and beyond what friends of the SLs donate.

Please send Marty Egna an email (m.egna@worldnet.att.net) to let us know the amount of your donation and that it's on the way. Yac must be able to tell Green on Monday with confidence that he has donation commitments adding up to $5,000.

Please make checks payable to the Penn State Singing Lions

In the memo line, write: 1999-2000 season Singing Lions operating expenses

And send donations to:

August 5, 1999

Robert Yacyshyn, the current Singing Lions president, recently spoke with Dr. Green, director of the School of Music, who said he is still working toward saving the Singing Lions and trying to find $5000 somewhere in the university to help the group get over the hump of the coming season. Though Green seemed "very cordial" and Yac believes the situation looks promising--at least in the short run--he doesn't want to take a chance on Green failing. So he has been reaching out to possible corporate sponsors. (Later Clarification: The $5000 is to cover the cost of a director for the 1999-2000 season.)

SBS, Nike and JoePa
Among Yac's contacts, he has had encouraging and continuing discussions with Norm Brown of the Student Book Store, a sponsor of the Singing Lions for several years, trying to encourage increased support. Yac also sent an email to Nike seeking sponsorship. Nike!? Yup. No response as of yet, but ya don't get nuthin' unless ya ask. I asked Yac what the Singing Lions could offer Nike in return for sponsorship--it's hard to tap dance in cleats. Without even a pause, Yac said, "we can wear Nike warm-up suits to and from shows and we can put a big swoosh on the tour bus." Yac also managed to score a few points with JoePa, a long time SLs fan, who wrote a letter on behalf of the SLs. (Sorry, we don't have details about the letter or where JoePa sent it.)

Dr. Green, in his conversation with Yac, said he had a short list of possible replacements for Pete, which included Patti Begg, a grad student assistant from fall 1988 who now teaches music in the State College Area School District. Yac asked Green what it would take to endow the SLs. Green projected that it would take $125,000.

What is our goal?
All this may be a little confusing, especially to those of you just tuning in. What is our goal? We seem to be working on many paths. Ideally, we want university financial support of the Singing Lions through the school of music. So why are we talking about corporate sponsors and endowments? Why are we talking about survival in the coming season when we should be talking about survival long term?

Like any good leader, Yac is hedging his bet. If we choose one path or rely on the wrong administrator and we fail, the Singing Lions lose. So Yac and Pete are talking it up and trying to find as many possibilities as they can. The short term goal must be to keep the SLs alive for the coming season. That will give the current members and alumni more time and a better opportunity to help secure the future of the group.

What can we do now?
Two things. First, if you haven't written a letter of support, please do so (links to addresses below). It helps to keep SLs in the face of the administrators. Second, consider donating money to help reach the $5,000 the Singing Lions need to survive the 1999-2000 season. Margee Wolff (former SL and my spouse) and I are very concerned about this request, as I'm sure many of you will be. We do want to consider making a donation above our Friends of the Singing Lions contributions, but we also don't want Green to think, "OK, the alumni will bail the group out each year." Singing Lions alumni are a relatively very small and young group. I seriously doubt we could sustain the Singing Lions for the long haul. And let's not even talk about $125,000--it's frightening enough just sitting there on your screen. Nevertheless, between Yac's sponsorship effort and alumni support, $5,000 is a goal we could reach. And it would buy us some time.

We're down to the wire here folks. Fall semester begins in a few short weeks. It will be much harder to resurrect than to sustain. Please, seriously, consider a donation so the Singing Lions may roar into the next Millennium.

Please make checks payable to the Penn State Singing Lions

In the memo line, write: 1999-2000 season Singing Lions operating expenses

And send donations to:

Three current Singing Lions mailed letters seeking vocal support for the Singing Lions from all the alumni association chapters, Friends, and groups, including many that the SLs entertained over the years. They spent many hours researching the old SL files and licking envelopes to help save the Singing Lions. This mailing is the second for 42 alumni clubs because, in May, Tim and Courtney (Graham) Hall, members from the late 1980s, sent letters to all the chapters that the SLs had ever entertained. Let's hope this one two punch yields some response.

The Penn State administration is receiving letters and email in support of the Singing Lions from SLs, SLs alumni, SLs friends, Penn State alumni, and Penn State alumni chapter presidents. Pete is working on enlisting the support of the alumni association president and is working on several trustee contacts.

Have you sent your letter yet? Please help us. We must keep a steady stream of SLs support flowing to Penn State. If you are SL alumni and you have yet to send a note. Why not take 10 minutes and write one now. It doesn't have to be eloquent. It doesn't have to be profound. It just needs to be a brief, honest plea to keep the Singing Lions alive. Get regular and email addresses at where to send your letters.

June 8, 1999

Dr. Green admitted to Pete that his statement about the School of Music not being responsible for the Singing Lions budget was incorrect. On June 15, 1999, however, he wrote to the CDT denying financial responsibility for the SLs. Dr. Green seems intent on directing public attention away from the School of Music's responsibility.

The school of Music had been responsible to cover the director's salary but not for most of the other expenses of the group. The school was supposed to have been reimbursing the university libraries (Pete's full time employer) for Pete's SLs time. Yet the school did not honor its commitment due to an apparent accounting error. The other expenses are met in large part by performance fees, donations, and corporate sponsors. Dr. Green still maintains that the School of Music has no money for the director position.

Behind the Scenes: To read Pete's recap of this conversation with Dr. Green.

Letters & Replies: To read Dr. Green's reply to alumni disavowing all financial responsibility for the SLs.

Letter to the Editor: To read Dr. Green's June 15, 1999, letter to the Centre Daily Times

Tim Hall (88-90) and Courtney (Graham) Hall (86-89), who wrote to the alumni clubs the SLs entertained over the last 14 years to enlist their support, are now receiving responses.

Chapter Responses: To read the responses we received.

Alumni Clubs: To see a list of the 42 clubs SLs have entertained.

Letter to Clubs: To read the letter Courtney and Tim mailed to the alumni chapters.

I forwarded to Jeff Rezer (SLs 87-91) the alumni list and the Friends of the SLs list we got from Pete and the partially completed sign in list from the Saturday night reunion/tribute dinner. Jeff is working on getting missing phone numbers and email addresses. If you didn't get the long "Help Save the Singing Lions" email message directly from Marty Egna on April 27, 1999, we do not have your email address; please send it to Jeff Rezer at jeff@rezer.com. Also if you know you did not provide your current email address, mailing address, phone number and name at the reunion/tribute dinner, please send all your info to Jeff. (a number of people signed in at the reunion but didn't provide phone numbers or a complete address).

• Name (include maiden name in parentheses if you don't hyphenate maiden and married)
• In what years were you a SL?
• Email Address (The most important item--If you send nothing else, please send us this)
• Phone number (The second most important item--The most important item if you don't have email)
• Address

Email is the quickest and easiest way we can communicate to ensure the continuation of the Singing Lions. We don't have time or the money for regular mail. If you don't have email, make sure we have your phone number, and check for campaign updates at this web site.

Volunteer with Jeff at jeff@rezer.com

Once Jeff and Tom Musumeci finish tracking down as many phone numbers as they can, they'll need help calling alumni whose email addresses we don't have. Jeff would like to spread the calling duties around as much as possible to ensure no one has to call too many people or spend too much time on the phone and to keep the phone bills low.

You must have an email address to volunteer for this job

• Getting an email address of the alumni you call is THE most important piece of information we need to keep costs low and to quickly get info to each other to save the SLs. Repeat the email address back to be sure you got it right and say things like "d" as in "dog.
• Confirming or updating the rest of their info

You can keep the phone call short if the alumnus has an email address. Just tell them the future of the SLs is in jeopardy and that you will send the alumni web site address ( https://members.tripod.com/singinglions ) to get info to help save the group or forward to them the long email Marty sent out on April 26.

Jeff will give you more details.

For now, please don't give anyone the address to this web site except SLs, SLs alumni, friends and family. I am posting our internal email as well as letters to Drs. Green and Spanier. Later in the campaign, we might invite high end PSU administration to take a look at all the support we've gathered. At that time we might decide to make some of the information here available only to SL family and friends.

We owe it to Pete. We owe it to ourselves. We owe it to Penn State. We owe it to the current Singing Lions, who are desperate and frightened with the prospect that all might be lost. Please help us.

Is your name missing? I'm sorry, there's a lot to keep track of. Please send a note to m.egna@worldnet.att.net. If you sent a campaign letter to Penn State but didn't send a copy to Marty Egna, please include a copy of your letter with your email. Thanks.

Campaign Kick-Off
Read the email message that Marty Egna sent out on April 27, 1999, to kick off the Campaign to Save the Singing Lions. (I'm working on integrating this info into the web site; please bear with me).

Where to Send Letters
Consolidated list of where to send letters to help save the Singing Lions and also some suggestions of topics you can discuss based on the recipient of your letter.

Letters & Replies
Read the letters that Singing Lions, alumni, and friends have sent to university administration and media in support of the SLs. Also read the replies we received. Please remember what Singing Lions and Pete means to you and keep the letters coming. All letters and their corresponding replies are now located in the Letters section.

Courtney's Plea
The Center Daily Times Published Courtney (Graham) Hall's save the SLs plea in its opinion section, Wednesday, May 19, 1999.

Spring Concert
The Centre Daily Times published an article about the SLs spring concert and the group's possible demise, Monday, April 26, 1999.

Letter to the Editor
The Centre Daily Times published Dr. Green's response to the outpouring of support for the SLs, Tuesday, June 15, 1999.

Alumni Clubs
Courtney & Tim Hall are sent letters asking for support from the 42 Penn State Alumni Association chapters that the Singing Lions have entertained over the last fourteen years.

Letter to Clubs
Read the letter that Courtney and Tim mailed.

Chapter Responses
Read the responses we received from alumni clubs.

Behind the Scenes 
Get a behind the scenes look at the campaign by reading internal email and words of encouragement. Read Pete's recap of SLs funding over the years. Read SLs funding brainstorming email. Send in ideas to help sustain the campaign. Join the discussion--please.

Arguments to Save the SLs
These are some argument ideas off the top of my head. Do you have another argument or point that you wish you made in a letter you already sent? If you don't see that anyone has addressed the new point you thought of, send it to Marty Egna at m.egna@worldnet.att.net.

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