You’ve done it again Elvis fans of Ontario and we can’t thank you enough for making our event a success.  Not only did you come out to support the ETAs in the show , but you’ve made the Alzheimer Society of Durham Region very happy with your generosity.   It was wonderful seeing all of you again!

A full house was ready and waiting to celebrate what would have been Elvis’ 73rd and eager to choose their favourite out of  10 fantastic ETAs competing!  The enthusiastic crowd was also entertained by Oshawa’s dynamic duo, James & son Jackson Begley and a beautiful Gospel segment that featured Doug McKenzie and the “Blue Suede Singers”.  

Here’s a re-cap of  the  Elvis Peoples Choice Awards Competition, held in Oshawa, January 13, 2008

You can’t say no, in Acapulco.....or anywhere else when it comes to Elvis.... his songs, his every breath........gosh, we love Elvis, don’t we?  And so we attend as many ETA shows as we can just to be close and when it is Elvis’ birthday, well it is only fitting that we all celebrate together, isn’t it?  So we did, with a whole lot of  fun and in a grand manner, at Lady Luck Music’s  4th annual
Ontario Elvis Birthday Bash,  Sunday afternoon at the beautiful Oshawa Legion Showroom..  What ever troubles we may have, they are all tossed out the window and man oh man, what a hoot we end up having!  The weather couldn’t have been better and considering our usual wild Canadian winters, the entire week preceding the 13th was warm!
Teaming up with James Begley and his super wife Karla was a blast,  they worked very hard to make sure all our friends enjoyed the day.  Louise Cowitz had some fun memorabilia on display  for folks to buy a souvenir, we had great Elvis door prizes and the entertainment was fabulous. The 10 ETAs gave such a terrific performance and the entertainment was topped off with little Jackson Begley and his father James - both did a few songs each then did a sketch together. Then we were treated to very special Gospel segment which  featured singers from St Stevens Anglican Church in Stratford - better known to us on this day as the “Blue Suede Gospel Singers”.  ETA Doug McKenzie had worked very hard putting this show together and as most of you know, Gospel is not only Doug’s forte, but his passion.  However  as luck would have it,  when he opened his mouth to sing, nothing came out! Laryngitis had set in!  We all felt so bad for him , didn’t quite know what was going to happen next, then before you know it, all 10 ETAs were up on the stage and executed the most beautiful Gospel set - they had everyone in the crowd singing and then of course, that led to a big “Happy Birthday Elvis” song! Gotta say, not a dry eye in the house. Every time we see these ETAs, they just keep on getting better and better and it’s such a pleasure to be around them..  You are a great group of men who are certainly supportive of each other, and we love you. So thanks to the ETAs for allowing me to share your stage, and thanks to the fans for allowing me to present the ETAs to you! Sincerely, Joanna

The winners with their trophies.........Adam Scott (2nd), Rick Duin (3rd) & Paul Ross(1st)

ASD director Joan Skelton presents Paul Ross with his trophy

Joanna welcomes the audience

Adam  Scott

His award winning smile and sweet manner get’s ‘em every time

Rick Duin accepting his award

First time on the LLM stage, Billy Cruise sang some sweet tunes

Danny Granger  was cookin’

The Canadian Flash  with all the power, punch and pizzaz  had the audience rocking!

Doug McKenzie introducing some of the members of the “Blue Suede Gospel Choir”

Rick Duin really  enjoying what he loves to do, singing with passion

ASD director, Joan Skelton says thanks

Adam Scott poses for the camera upon receiving his trophy and the “boys of the hood” got quite a kick out of his reaction to the win

Paul Ross certainly wowed ‘em, especially when he was on a table!

Bruce Stewart  belting  out his song with feeling

Papa James keeps the beat while son Jackson strums and sings -  a sure fire way to keep the audience smiling!

Bruce Herron really wailed with heart!

A very special thank you to our performers in alphabetical order:

James & Jackson Begley-
Shon Carroll, Billy Cruise, Rick Duin, James Gibb, Danny Granger, Bruce Herron, Doug McKenzie, Eddy Prince, Paul Ross, Adam Scott and Bruce Stewart and the “Blue Suede Gospel Singers” from Stratford, ON.

And a special thanks goes out to Joan Skelton from the Alzheimer Society of Durham Region, it was a privilege for all of us to lend a hand - and also to Karla Begley (plus hugs to her dad) for handling tickets, seating and more, and to Wilson & Lee music store.
God bless and adios, until 2009, Joanna

Adorable James Gibb just keeps on sounding better with each show

Story by Joanna Johnson.  Pictures by Doug McCready