Honoree: Brooks Bergersen
Sponsor: Sandy Bergersen
Brooks went to Ridgedale Shopping center 37 years ago where the Minneapolis Commodores were having auditions. The man who auditioned him was Jim Richards! He told Brooks he was definitely a Bass! And that was the beginning of a wonderful hobby.
He rarely missed a rehearsal. Because he didn’t read music, he depended upon his fellow bass singers and he listened hard. However, don’t change a note...learning by rote was memorized and changes took him a couple of practices at home to get them.
Driving the riser truck for several years was a job he took seriously. I remember one winter it was 15 below zero but he wanted to go over to the Jewish Community Center to make sure the truck would start for an upcoming performance. So, off we went. It took a few times to get it started but it finally did and he was glad. Always a smile even in the cold!!!
Brooks was a proud member of the Commodores. He loved singing and learning the Barbershop Style. He even sang in a quartet for a short time. He was proud, too, when he became Barbershopper of the Year in 1990. Many wonderful memories of performances and contests with the chorus that our family watched him sing and he always did so with a smile!