Early bird registration for 2016 Spring Convention is now open and will continue until April 15th. Regular pricing takes effect on April 16 and will run through April 26. Late/At the Door pricing will be in effect on April 27 through the convention dates. All ticket sales via Eventbrite will cease at 12:01 am April 27, 2016.

Please click on the 2016 Spring Convention event on the Home page or the Calendar page to access links for hotel reservations and event registration. For registration and all event tickets you may also visit Event Tickets to purchase tickets.

Mark your calendars now for future Sunshine District Spring and Fall Conventions. We have contracted with the Orlando Airport Marriott through 2019 for our conventions. More information on these will be available as the dates draw nearer.

Convention  Year  Dates  Spring  2016  April 29 – May 1  Fall  2016  October 7 – 9  Spring  2017  March 10 – 12  Fall  2017  October 27 – 29  Spring  2018  March 9 – 11  Fall  2018  October 26 – 28  Spring  2019  March 8 – 10  Fall  2019  October 25 -27

Sunshine District 2016 Leadership Academy will take place on January 16 & 17, 2016. It will be held at the Marriott Courtyard, 3712 SW 38th Avenue, Ocala, FL 34474. The event is scheduled to start at 11:00 am on Saturday the 16th and end on Sunday the 17th at 11:00 am.

Chapter officers and future chapter officers should mark their calendars for this important training date.

As more information and registration forms become available, they will be located HERE.

The Sunshine District Fall Convention was another great event and was enjoyed by all who attended. The convention was dedicated to the memory of one of Sunshine Districts greatest contributors, Gene Cokeroft and there were several songs sung in tribute to this iconic man.

In the Quartet Contest, Signature took home top honors with some spectacular performances and were named 2015 Sunshine District Quartet Champions. They scored an impressive 1990 total points with an average of 82.9%. Their win follows on the heels of their 15th place finish at International in Pittsburgh this summer.

Second place honors went to Rooftop Records with a very respectable total score of 1871 or an average of 78.0%. Capturing the third place was Orlando Exchange with a total score of 1675 or an average of 69.8%.

In the International Preliminary Seniors Quartet contest, Equinox, our current Sunshine District Senior Champion Quartet, won the right to represent the Sunshine District at International Mid-Winter Competition held in Reno, NV in January. They scored a total of 802 or an average of 66.8% in the Friday night contest which was the single session qualifying round for Senior quartets.

Score sheets for all contests are here–> Score Sheets

In the Chorus Contest, T.H.X (Sunrise, FL) took the top slot with a total score of 970 points or an average of 80.8%. They also qualified to represent Sunshine District at the International Chorus Contest in Nashville next July.

The Capital Chordsmen (Tallahassee, FL) achieved a Grade Improvement from B- to B as well as Most Improved Chorus.

Score sheets for all contests are here–> Score Sheets

Sunshine District also inaugurated a “combined chorus” concept at the convention with three groups competing for scores only. The Salty Dog Singers combined chorus consisted of members from Canaveral, Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Orlando and Winter Park chapters. Representing Boca Raton, Martin-St Lucie and Palm Beach chapters was the Southeast Coast Ramblers. Members of the Ft Walton Beach, Panama City, Pensacola and Tallahassee chapters formed The Panhandlers. The combined chorus concept provided a competition experience for members who might otherwise not have had the opportunity to perform on stage.

It is with great sadness that we report that Sunshine District’s own Gene Cokeroft, Tenor of the 1961 International Champions, The Suntones, passed from our midst today. He was perhaps one of the most influential members of our Barbershop organization in Florida and the rest of the Barbershop world. His work with the youth Barbershop movement in Florida is legendary. The Sun is definitely not shining in Sunshine District today. Rest in Peace, brother.

Following is a tribute from Tim Waurick which includes Gene’s last recording with Tim:

The recording is here: https://soundcloud.com/tim-waurick/when-the-world-was-young-gene-cokeroft-tim-waurick

A Tribute to my friend Gene Cokeroft.

Simply put, but not overstated: Gene Cokeroft is the greatest of all time. A giant in the barbershop world, a kind and gentle man.. Gene is my mentor, confidant, hero and friend. Gene and I have been close for many years. But it’s not just me – there are many many many people who Geno has taken under his wing, mentored and befriended.

The highlight of my Pittsburgh convention was my time with Geno.. I spent time with he and Iris in their hotel room.. Vocal Spectrum rehearsed “It’s You” in Gene’s room right before we walked to the stage. I dedicated “Go The Distance” on the AIC Show to Geno, which appears to be the last barbershop show he ever attended. These are cherished moments which will remain with me forever.. but most important is the quiet time talking with Geno.

Gene and I recorded a song together 2 years ago for an album that I’m working on. I want to share this with you all, with the permission of his wife, Iris – who played this recording for Gene this afternoon.

He sounds amazing on what will be his last recorded song.. which I take great pride and honor in. I start off on tenor until the 2nd verse, which Gene rightfully takes over on tenor for the rest of the song, cue goosebumps! :). I’m singing the baritone, while Gene is singing bass!! I hope you enjoy this recording as we all celebrate Gene’s amazing and impactful life.

Geno told me in Pittsburgh that he had a lot more to do. Well Geno, you have done more than enough.. You changed my life and the lives of countless others through your music and who you are! God bless you, Geno.

Sunshine District was well represented at the 2015 International Convention and contest held June 29 through July 5, 2015. Congratulations first go to Sunshine District quartets who took home medals in the quartet competition. Third place bronze medals were claimed by Main Street and fifth place bronze medals were captured by Throwback in an incredibly tight contest for the top honors. Details of all the competitions follows.

Collegiate Competition

The collegiate contest was one of the best in recent memory with Sunshine District’s representative, The Institute, placing 14th with a score of 1368 or an average of 76.0%. It is interesting to note that, based on the scores recorded by collegiate quartets, competitors from the first place quartet all the way to our own representatives in 14th place would qualify for regular International quartet competition. Click here for score sheets for the collegiate competition.

Quartet Competition

As stated above, our Sunshine District quartets Main Street and Throwback were in the top honors category with third and fifth place medals respectively. Main Street posted a score of 8313 or an average of 92.4% to secure their 3rd place bronze medals. Throwback posted a score of 8074 or an average of 89.7% earning their first International medals in an incredibly tight competition. Click here for score sheets for the top 10 quartets.

Sunshine Districts other quartet representative in the contest, Signature, produced a very respectable showing making it into the international top 20 with a 15th place finish on their first attempt at International competition. Signature scored 4968 or an average of 82.8%. Click here for score sheets for quartets who place 11 through 20.

Score sheets for quartets who placed 21 through 53 are here.

Chorus Competition

In the chorus competition, we were well represented by Heralds of Harmony, Tampa, FL under the direction of Tony DeRosa (lead of 3rd place quartet medalist Main Street) who placed 9th with a score of 2576 or an average of 85.9% and THX, Sunrise, FL under the direction of Alex Rubin (baritone of 5th place quartet medalist Throwback) who placed 16th with a score of 2453 or an average of 81.8%. Click here for score sheets for the chorus competition.

Our annual Labor Day Jamboree is just around the corner! It is a great weekend of barbershop for the whole family. It consists of two great shows packed with amazing talent and promises to be one of the best barbershop shows you will find all year.

Headliners are:

• 2014 BHS International Silver Medalists – Forefront
• 2015 SAI Queens – BLING!
• 2014 BHS International Finalists – Throwback
• 2015 SAI Silver Medalists (voted crowd favorite) – Speed Of Sound

The Labor Day Jamboree also is the site of the Grapefruit League Novice Quartet Contest at 4:00 pm on Saturday, so put together a new quartet and join in the fun.

Labor Day Jamboree will again be held at the Orlando Airport Marriott Lakeside on Augusta National Drive in Orlando. For information on the event including schedules, room reservation information, etc, follow these links to the Labor Day Jamboree page on this website or the Labor Day Jamboree Event Website.

Expect to have a great barbershop weekend. See you there!

Byron Poore
LDJ Chairman

Our 2015 Spring Convention was a great event and was enjoyed immensely by all who attended. The quartet competition was spectacular with 16 quartets performing on Friday evening. Congratulations to our 2015 Sunshine District International Quartet Representatives, Main Street, who qualified with a total of 2142 points with an average of 89.3 points per judge and Signature who qualified with a score of 1893 or an average of 78.9 points per judge. Throwback, our current Sunshine District Quartet Champion previously qualified out of district as a Sunshine District International Quartet Representative with an average of 87.3 points per judge. The Sunshine District International Quartet Representatives will all represent the Sunshine District in Pittsburgh, PA in July of 2015. All contest score sheets are below:

All competition results (score sheets) are here.

In the Sunshine District Chorus Championship contest, there were nine choruses competing for honors and the quality of singing was high. The Jacksonville Big O chorus won the Sunshine District Chorus Championship with a score of 999 points or an average of 83.3 points per judge. Jacksonville was also winner of Most Improved Chorus Award and they achieved a grade improvement from B+ to A-. The Sunrise THX Chorus took second place with a score of 967 or an average of 80.6 points per judge. The Sarasota Chorus of the Keys achieved a grade improvement from B- to B. The Winter Haven Sentimental Journeyman Chorus achieved a grade improvement from C+ to B-. The Cape Coral Cape Chorale Chorus achieved a grade improvement from C to C+.

In the Sunshine District Senior Quartet competition, congratulations go to Equinox who took top honors with a score of 763 points or an average of 63.6 points per judge to become our 2015 Senior Quartet Champion.

In the Sunshine District International Collegiate Quartet Championship competition, congratulations go to The Institute who took first place honors with a score of 892 or an average of 74.3 points per judge to become our 2015 College Quartet Champion. The Institute will represent Sunshine District in the Harmony Foundation Collegiate Quartet Contest in July in Pittsburg, PA.

Thanks go to the whole convention team for putting on a great event. Special thanks are in order for District VP of Events, Chuck Steiner, Convention Chairman Bruce Checca and the members of the Harbor City Harmonizers for hosting the convention. Thanks guys, for a job well done!

Click below to download a copy of the Spring Convention Program.

2015 Spring Convention Program

The sign-up process for the Spring 2015 Convention webcast is live! For all the information on cost, technical requirements and links to the sign-up page, please click HERE