A Cut Above
CRANBERRY TWP — To say Ron Brooks was surprised by winning the Barbershop Harmony Society Johnny Appleseed District Director of the Year award would be an understatement.
Just ask the employee who was taking his order in the McDonald's drive-through when Brooks received the news.
“I was out doing errands and I got a text from a friend telling me congratulations,” Brooks said, adding he had stopped for food when the text came. “I very loudly yelled 'I won director of the year!' and I think I caught (the restaurant employee) off guard.”
The award came as no surprise for members of the Cranberry Men's Chorus Bogmeisters, the group Brooks leads.
Those members nominated Brooks for his hard work and commitment to the group, which member Dick Weaver said has grown from 22 members to over 50 in the three years Brooks has served as director. Weaver said Brooks' exciting and passionate leadership made him the perfect candidate for the award.
“We are so thrilled that he won,” Weaver said.
Brooks, who lives in Saxonburg, has dedicated much of his life to barbershop music, joining his first group at 11. At 18, he was appointed the director of the 90-member Greater Pittsburgh Three Rivers Chorus.In 1987, he was asked to lead a Butler-based barbershop group, which had lost its director and was in danger of folding. After helping for a few years, he became the full-time director of the Butler group in 1990, helping it win its first small chorus championship in the district within six months.In 1999, after his wife Lynda gave birth to their son, David, Brooks took a break from performing. However, the desire to sing and direct never went away, which made the decision to audition for the Cranberry role an easy one.“I've always said that everything happens for a reason, and whenever I went there for the first time, the guys were so great,” he said.Membership has blossomed and has held steady ever since, which Brooks attributes to the nature of the group itself, as well as his desire to be a motivator.“It's been a fun thing ... to take somebody who doesn't necessarily think they can do great things and get them to believe that they can,” he said.Brooks said the group's willingness to try new things and have outside coaches visit also keeps things fresh and exciting.
“Like any other organization, it can become mundane,” he said. “It's really important to create new things and create a buzz.”Most importantly, though, is the group's faith and focus on creating a family atmosphere. Brooks pointed to a member who faced a cancer diagnosis and received endless support from his fellow members. He has since gone into remission.“There is a bond,” Brooks said of the group. “There is faith-based love in this chorus. ... It's genuine and really special.”On a personal level, Brooks also cherishes the chance to sing with and direct his son, who is a member of the group. Brooks said after learning he had won the award, he told his son, who responded by saying, 'Nobody works harder than you.'”“For him to say that ... really got to my heart,” Brooks said.The Cranberry Men's Chorus Bogmeisters meet from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays at Dulith Methodist Church, 1270 Dutilh Road in Cranberry Township.
