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Sweet Adelines honor Lana Clowes with Lifetime Membership

In a moving presentation speech at its 2016 Convention, Sweet Adelines International posthumously honored Lana Clowes as a Lifetime Member. Lana sang with the Sweet Adelines Ottawa Chapter in the early 1960s, an era when women of color were excluded from membership, a prohibition later lifted in 1966. In noting the fiftieth anniversary of that action, president Paula Davis noted strategic efforts to expand awareness and inclusivity throughout the organization.

Receiving the award on behalf of her mother, Valerie Clowes noted that the past is here to "teach us, not to haunt us." Sweet Adelines can step forward to talk about inclusion of all kinds, she noted:  "Reach out to someone different -- really reach out-- because then, one new friendship at a time, we can truly Harmonize the World."