Thank You Sparky!
In 2000, the last National Advanced and Challenge Convention was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  It was a source of significant disappointment among dancers that the venerable and long-standing event was coming to a close.  However, unbeknownst to most, work was already underway to fashion a new event to take its place.  Lloyd “Sparky” Sparks had a vision for a new format, one involving emphasis on learning and enhancing dancers’ skills.  Sparky corralled several of the leading callers, presented them with a detailed proposal outlining how the new event would work, and convinced them to join him in creating the Academy for Advanced and Challenge Enthusiasts (AACE).

The first AACE was held in Louisville, Kentucky in 2001 and was an immediate success.  This set the tone for an event that has become a permanent fixture on the dance calendar of a steadily increasing number of dancers.  From the beginning, AACE was Sparky’s baby.  Sparky and his wife Barbara were the backbone of the festival, performing almost every background support and logistical function involved in staging such an event: hotel negotiations, obtaining sound equipment, computers, registrations, publicity, providing a website, bookkeeping, staffing the front desk, and much more.  No question, without Sparky and Barbara, there would be no AACE.

So when Sparky announced that, for personal and workload reasons, 2006 would be their last year with AACE, naturally it caused some significant misgivings.  What would happen when the team that had been both the public face of AACE and the driving force behind it were no longer part of it?  It turns out that Sparky and Barbara built well.  Working from the solid foundation they provided, AACE will continue along the path upon which they launched it.  Fittingly, AACE 2007 will be held in Milwaukee in the same hotel as the last NACC, where Sparky first presented the idea for his new convention.  Full circle.

AACE 2006 was slated to be the transition year when all the management and administration functions were handed over to the new management team.  For his swan song Sparky was faced with a special challenge when, about six weeks before the festival, the Bertram Hotel in Aurora informed him that they were double booked and could not provide AACE with the rooms needed.  Only days after being released from the hospital following major surgery, Sparky was on the road to track down a new hotel in the Cleveland area.  He succeeded in coming up with an excellent replacement in the Holiday Inn Select in Strongsville, and AACE 2006 turned out to be another great success.  In the turmoil caused by changing venues at such short notice, however, a few dancers were not informed in time.  The AACE team apologizes for the inconvenience that this caused.

Another hurdle was encountered when Ross Howell could not attend due to a sudden family emergency.  Rob French agreed to fill in for him and the AACE team would like to thank him for doing an excellent job on very short notice.  We also owe thanks to Keith Rubow, who presented a very well attended seminar on the use of digital music in tape groups.  His presentation may be found on the AACE website at www.theaace.com or on Keith’s own site at www.krubow.com.  And finally there are a number of volunteers who contributed to making AACE 2006 a success by helping with equipment setup, computers, and the registration desk – our thanks to Alan Hirsch, Karen and Lou Root, Alison and Gene Zajicek, Janice and Bob Zeigler, Arlene and Dick Cook, Nancy Pigg, Rex and Georgia Sutton, and Linda Bamford.

The handover is now complete and AACE 2007 will carry on in the tradition established by Sparky and Barbara.  Please join us in Milwaukee next year.  You will find elsewhere in this edition a full-page advertisement for AACE 2007 that contains the information you need to register.  You can find full details about AACE 2007 and the host hotel at our website at www.theaace.com.  Or, if you would like to contact someone directly, please contact Debbie Ceder at PO Box 841, Los Olivos, CA 93441-0841, phone (805) 686-1108, or email aace@ceder.net.