The Barrie County Chordsmen Boardwalk Gaming Centre Barrie
For more than 37 years, The Barrie County Chordsmen has been making sweet harmony in Simcoe County communities. A group of 65 men, ranging in age from 14 to 80-plus years, share a common joy of singing four-part harmony in a unique a capella style. Barbershop singing, like jazz, is a true North American style of music.
As members of the Ontario District Barbershop Harmony Society (ODBHS), and through Harmonize For Speech, one of its two charities, the The Barrie County Chordsmen have helped to raise over $5 Million for Speech Therapy in Ontario, including a recent $50,000 contribution to the Georgian College Saldon Centre for Health and Wellness in Barrie in support of the Harmonize For Speech, Hearing and Language Clinic. In conjunction with the ODBHS’s other charity, Sing Canada Harmony, the Chordsmen sponsor youth educational programs, including the Harmony Explosion camps, and the Ontario Youth A Cappella Chorus, which has distinguished itself at international festivals. The Barrie County Chordsmen, actively participate in fundraising activities for these charities and has contributed over $250,000 since its inception over 40 years ago.
Over the past 5 years, The Barrie County Chordsmen have raised over $78,000 through cGaming at Boardwalk Gaming Centre Barrie. Those funds were used to construc
t the Harmonize for Speech, Hearing and Language Clinic in the Georgian College Saldon Centre for Health and Wellness. This clinic is a valuable community resource for speech, language and hearing services and is the only one of its kind in Ontario linked to a community college. Students in the Communicative Disorders Assistant program receive hands-on experience with clients in this clinic by assisting an audiologist and/or speech-language pathologist.
The clinic houses a fully equipped and spacious sound booth, and several therapy and observation rooms. Services provided include standard hearing tests, speech-language screenings and therapy and public workshops on communication. Many of the services are provided on a walk-in basis, allowing member of the Barrie community who are in need of hearing and speech therapies to have access to care without the need for referral from their heath care provider.
