During the closing ceremonies of the Sweet Adelines International Region 14 Competition weekend, Vocal Matrix long-time member extraordinaire, Luanne Greenburg, was presented with the 2023 Excellence in Leadership Award. She has worn many hats over the past few years, including membership coordinator, front row member and Team Coordinator, and is currently on the Board of Directors,
Luanne has shown exceptional leadership skills, especially during the past two years. As Team Coordinator during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and during the two years that followed, her leadership was instrumental in holding our chorus together. She maintained contact with the chorus throughout the lock-down and consistently organized ZOOM meetings so the chorus members could connect on a weekly basis. Never getting discouraged, Luanne continued to lead us, even as we began to lose members due to the pandemic. She was the central leadership figure for our chorus throughout the ups and downs of COVID, making sure everyone was kept informed of all decisions made by the chorus leadership. In addition, she established policies to help members navigate the new COVID-19 world and kept the chorus apprised of the ever-changing expectations and requirements. Luanne also maintained contact with our Regional Leadership as well as International Headquarters, always keeping the chorus informed.
Our chorus relied heavily on Luanne’s leadership throughout the COVID pandemic but she was never more of a leader than when our beloved director, Nancy Field, suddenly passed away in January of last year. COVID-19 was hard enough to navigate, but the sudden loss of our director was monumentally difficult. Luanne’s leadership was never more evident than during this time of loss. She was our main channel of information and encouragement. From keeping the chorus apprised of details to guiding the chorus through the “what next” questions, she was our constant go-to leader. This past spring, Luanne organized a nominating committee to begin the search for a new director and she continues to serve the chorus by sitting on our newly-elected Board of Directors. It takes a village to run a chorus, and Luanne headed up that village. Congratulations Luanne for this award and the well-deserved recognition!
