Friday, January 16, 2015

January / February, 2015

Hi Country Friends,

What a way to end the year 2014 – if you attended the November dance with the band Six Gun or the December dance with Southbound you know what I mean. As you all know, our new “dance” home is the Sons of Italy Hall in Deer Park and we certainly filled the hall for both of these dances. After a year of searching for a new dance location to replace the K of C in Lindenhurst, it was great to see the turn-out and I hope you agree with me that the momentum for country music and dance on Long Island is continuing to grow. This year our organization will be celebrating our 30th anniversary. Wow, it’s hard to believe the time has gone by so fast. It’s really fun to look back at some of the changes that have occurred. This was before I got involved with the organization, but do you remember when the monthly newsletter (The PONY EXPRESS) was the only way to share news, no web sites, emails, Facebook, YouTube, Kickit, or smart phones – really – I know there are some of you out there because we have a number of original members still actively involved. There was also a time when you could tell who was a couple by their matching country outfits – that often included a western hat. There are some dances that are classics like the el paso, the wooden nickel, and the sixteen step that are still danced. We’ve come a long way, and the one thing that has remained the same over all these years is the fun we share getting together with good friends. This year, as a number of us shared New Year’s Eve at the Polish Hall, the one comment I heard several times was – “I can’t think of a nicer way celebrate the year than spending it with our country friends having fun dancing”. Let’s continue to share the fun as we look forward to another wonderful year together. Happy New Year!

Our annual general meeting this year will take place on Thursday March 12th (7:30pm – 9:00pm) at the Paradise Dinner in Hauppauge – please call the hotline or see the web site for more details. I would like to encourage members to attend the meeting to meet the board members, share ideas, and explore ways you can help support our organization. As you know, we are a volunteer organization and we need more help to keep things going. A number of board members and volunteers that we’ve relied on in the past are going to be snow birds this year so we need more help. If you are interested in helping out and possibly becoming a board member please send me a note at our new email address (licma@licma.com) or calling the hotline (515-775-5678) and leaving a message. Becoming a board member is a great way to get more involved in our country music and dance hobby and join a great group of folks who have fun together.  Do we have your current e-mail address? Because of the increasing cost of mailing material, we will be expanding our use of e-mail to share information with members. If you change your e-mail address or would like to provide additional addresses, please send us a message at membership@licma.org and our membership chairperson will update the records. I would like to again say Thank You to everyone who is part of the Long Island country dance community for working together, donating their time to make events work, and continuing to support our love of country music and dance. Check our web site (licma.org) for the most current Long Island country dance and event information and continue to follow us on Facebook.

“LICMA is FUN Country”
Jim Teeple