“Contestant number seven, from Tampa, Florida; Under the direction of Joe Connelly… The Toast of Tampa Show Chorus!” These words will ring in my head for years to come. My most memorable hour in life happened in April of 2001 at regional competition in Orlando, Florida.

In order for people to understand my jargon, a little background is required. I sing in the Toast of Tampa Show Chorus, a one hundred thirty all-woman barbershop chorus. Our chorus and many choruses in Florida make up Region Nine. There are thirty three regions and choruses all over the world, including Canada, Australia, Germany, England, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and Wales. Every April, the regions compete. If a chorus wins regional competition, it goes to international competition.

In April 2001, I was at the regional competition with my chorus. We had just about ninety members that year. It was my second competition, and I was excited because the previous year we received third place and I thought we were much better now.

We went across the street to the Bob Carr Theater after practicing for a couple of hours and went backstage and into what performers call the “ready room.” This room was used for last second tweaks and a pep talk from our director, Joe. When all of our hearts were racing, we headed to just off stage right. There we waited for contestant number six to finish.