Foundation Board, Officers & Committee chairs
Board of Directors: |
|
 |
Board Chairman: Ellen Taylor, Edisto Beach, SC:A Hall of Fame member since 1986, member of Living Legends and National Living Legends of Dance and shag instructor, Ellen has been active throughout her life as a shagger participating in any activity that promotes the shag. Among other recognitions, Ellen was recognized in 1992 by Governor Carroll Campbell and Lieutenant Governor Nick Theodore for her dedication and promotion of South Carolina’s State Dance, the Shag. A sponsor of the Junior Shaggers for many years, she is always present and ready to assist when called upon during the week of Junior SOS. She enjoys working with juniors and sharing her knowledge of the dance with any young person who asks for her time. She credits her husband, Carl, for anything she may have accomplished as a shagger and say’s that without his support she could not have been as involved as she has been most of her dance life. They now have four grandsons who are shaggers and members of the Junior Shagger’s Association. Her desire to assist families with junior age children to participate in junior shag activities has become a reality with the organization of the Foundation. |
 |
Board Member: Sandy Braddock: Tampa, FL: A former school teacher, Sandy’s now a corporate accountant. She’s been Treasurer of the Tampa Chamber of Commerce and is a founding member and 8-year President of the Sun Coast Shag Club. She began as a “bopper” at age 7, but says “my dancer’s soul found Nirvana in 1988 with my first SOS trip … There has never been a greater impact on my dancing than finding 12,000 other people having the party to end all parties”. |
 |
Board Member: Geoff Burdick: Cornelius, NC: Geoff was a member of the first National Shag Dance Team, a National Shag Dance Junior Shag Champion in 1992 and the National Shag Dance Non-Pro Champion in 1996. Geoff has also been selected as a “Keeper of the Dance”. He started shagging at age 17. “To meet girls NOT because I liked to dance!!!” . |
 |
Board Member: Foster McKinney, Columbia, SC:Foster is a practicing CPA and a longtime Treasurer of SOS. He met his wife at a shag club and proposed at The Pad during the 1989 Fall Migration. The house DJ, Gary Bass, promptly announced it over the loud speaker. |
 |
Board Member: Mike Rink , Cornelius, NC:Mike is A DJ, shag instructor and the charter President of the Twister’s Shag Club, where he’s chaired or co-chaired the famous Fall Cyclone Party for 17 years. He’s been chairman of the ACSC and served 10 years on the SOS Board. Mike is a Life Member of the Association of Beach and Shag Club DJ’s, having joined the first year the ABSCDJs were organized. Mike first played in Ducks in 1993, and has played at SOS for over 16 years. Mike is a big supporter of the junior shaggers and has played for them since the Junior Shaggers Association was formed. He plays at Ducks every year during Junior SOS. |
Officers: |
|
 |
President: Ron Alexander, Clover, SC:Ron became interested in the Shag and its music in the mid-70s. He was a charter member and past president of the York Shag Club and remains active with the club. He and wife Nancy and son Cory have been involved with the Junior Shag Association since it was organized in 1992 and have been in a leadership role with the JSA and Junior SOS ever since. Ron received an ACSC Shaggers Icon award in 2005 and he and Nancy received the ACSC Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. |
 |
Vice-President: Jason Cagle, Charlotte, NC: Jason grew up nearby in Concord, NC where he attended NW Cabarrus High School. He began collecting 50s rhythm & blues records at the age of 10 and shag dancing by the age of 12. He danced in various shag competitions throughout high school – the highlight was being chosen as one of 3 couples to dance for the NYC premier of the “Love X 3″ video and CD promotion for artists Cuba Gooding, Chuck Jackson and O. C. Smith. Jason graduated from NW Cabarrus High school in 1994 and migrated north to attend Harvard University. He continued dancing at Harvard where he introduced shag to many New Englanders through the “Southern New England Shag Club.” Graduating Cum Laude from Harvard in 1998, he returned to Charlotte and continued his hobby of dance as the Sunday night shag instructor at Boppers from 1999 – 2001 in conjunction with Susan Pate Funderburk. Jason is a board member of the Beach Music Association International (BMAI), where he helps to promote shag music and the original artists. He and his wife, Holly, are the 2007 National Shag Dance Champions in the NonPro division and now compete in the Pro division of the CSA/SPA shag dance circuit and are current members of the National Shag Dance Team. |
 |
Treasurer: Frankie Johnson, Statesville, NC: Frankie began shagging as a teenager in Graham, NC during the 1960’s. She is a member of Twister’s Shag Club and the Burlington Shag Club. She has served as Vice- President and President of Twister’s. Frankie is retired after spending many years in the financial services industry. She and her husband Dennis spend as much time as possible at the beach. She is a shag instructor and is grateful to the people that helped her build the confidence to teach. It is her desire to pass on to others her love of the dance and to help keep the dance alive. |
 |
Secretary/Communication Chair: Karen Callahan, Beckley, WV: Karen has been an active member of the Beckley Area Shag Club for eighteen years. Employed by Jim Hern, an active junior supporter and corporate sponsor of the Junior Shag Association, Karen has been blessed to watch so many of our juniors mature. Karen has had the opportunity to work with Ellen Taylor in many capacities and is excited about being a part of the Foundation and what it represents. |
Committies: |
|
 |
Shoes Program Chairperson: Betty Ladwig, North Myrtle Beach SC:Betty is retired and is a lifetime member of Smoky Mountain Shaggers in Knoxville TN, the Atlanta Swing Dance Club in GA and the West Coast Swing Dance Club (WCSDC) of Orange Co., CA. Betty and five others founded the WCSDC in Orange Co., in 1981 where she served as President in 1990 and on the Board for 8 years. Betty is founder of the Smoky Mountain Shaggers (SMS) in Knoxville and was President from 1996 through 2000. Prior to organizing the SMS, she was a member of Nashville Shag Club and the 10th person to join the Chattanooga Choo Choo Shag Club the year it was established in 1994. In 1999, she received a one-year gift membership in the Derby City Bop Club in Louisville, KY and also became a member of the Mountain Empire Shag Club in Johnson City, TN. In 1999, Betty was inducted into the Living Legends in Virginia Beach, VA. She is a member of the O.D. Shag Club in North Myrtle Beach, SC and served as their Membership Chairperson in 2004. She was a corporate member of the Junior Shag Association for a number of years. Betty travels extensively to Shag, Swing, Balboa, and Lindy events as time permits. In addition, she travels both in and out of the USA to visit friends and relatives. |
 |
Assistance Program Chairman: Jason Cagle Member(s): Mike Rink See biographical details above. |
 |
Workshop Program Chairman: Garrett Humphries, Cayce, SC: Born and raised in Gaffney, South Carolina, Garrett graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2001 with a degree in Marketing and Management and a minor in Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management. He then pursued a master’s degree in HRTM, graduating in 2002. While attending USC, Garrett served as the beloved mascot, “Cocky”, from 1998-2001. Currently, Garrett is a Central Nervous System Specialist of UCB Pharma, a pharmaceutical company based in Belgium with United States operations in Atlanta, Georgia. In his spare time, he enjoys water recreation, shagging, and teaching private and group dance lessons in the Columbia area. He and his dance partner claimed their first national title in March 2005 at the National Shag Dance Championships. |
 |
School and Instructional Materials Program: Chairperson:Stacey Forrester, Greenwood SC:Stacey is the mother of Chase Forrester, one of the younger junior competitive dancers and a member of the newly formed Junior Shag Dance Team. Chase dances with Cody Ed wards. Stacey has been involved with the juniors and Junior SOS for several years. With a young daughter involved in shagging, she is sure to have a strong commitment for years to come. |
 |
Fund-raising Program: Chairperson: Susan Funderburk, Charlotte, NCSusan grew up in Fayetteville North Carolina where she began shagging during the 1960′s. She took lessons for many years from notable instructors Shad & Brenda Alberty as well as Don Bunn. Susan competed in the National Shag Dance Championships in 1998 and 1999. In the past she has been an active member of the Fayetteville Area Shag Club, Charlotte & Rock Hill Shag Clubs, and Competitive Shag Association. Susan has been inducted into the Charlotte and Fayetteville Area Shag Hall of Fames. She began teaching in 1999 when Jason & she took over the beginner & intermediate shag classes at Boppers Bar & Boogie in Charlotte. She is also a member of Boppers Shag Club in Charlotte where she served on the board of directors and choreographed their synchronized dance team. Susan currently is an active board member and organizer for the Charlotte Shag Hall of Fame. |
 |
Graphics SupportArtist: Del Holt
“My philosophy is to produce a body of work which makes a valid statement about life as seen and felt by me. Everything around me is a potential object. What a wonderful source of inspiration & material I have found to say what I want to say about life and what I believe in.” Del was born in Ohio and educated in Ohio, Florida, Hawaii, Arizona and California. He has a master’s Degree in Fine Arts from Arizona State University. He has lived, painted, and taught all over the world. His paintings are in numerous collections and museums and his work has brought him many awards and grants. Del resides and paints in Beaufort, South Carolina…and Hendersonville, NC. He has had a life-long love for dancing, and started to dance in the sand in the early sixties in Clearwater, Florida. His dancing continued and led him to reside in South Carolina where he refined his shag steps with the help of none other than Ellen Taylor. |
| “Because of his desire to ensure that the shag will continue with our young people, Del has generously donated his time and his talent to design our logo and graphics for the Foundation web site. His love for our dance community and young people is evident in the graphics that appear on this site. Thank you, Del. ” | |
|
|
|
