Fendley Award. Samuel D. "Doc'' Fendley was the first chorus director of the Schenectady Chapter, serving from 1944 to 1955 at which time he was transferred by GE to Waynesboro, VA. In a phone conversation a few years before he passed away, Doc reminisced about the early days of the chapter just as cheerfully and upbeat as he was when he directed the chorus. During those 11 years Doc jumped around the stage, flailed his arms, and did the total choreography bit all by himself.
The Fendley Award was established in 1956 to honor the memory of Doc. It is roughly equivalent to the "Barbershopper of the Year" award given by other chapters. The Fendley Award is presented annually by the Schenectady Chapter to a member in good standing who has made a significant contribution to the Chapter. Initially, the award was given based on a point system, with points being given for offices held, quartet activity, leadership, meeting attendance, and a host of other factors. Later, this system was changed to one where the recipient is selected by a committee comprised of three former Fendley Award winners and appointed by the President.
Conway Award. The Bill Conway Award is given from time to time to honor a member who has shown outstanding achievement and made significant contributions to the chapter. As background: Bill Conway was an irrepressible barbershopper. In 1948 his quartet, the Pittsburghers, won the international competition. Due to a serious illness that affected his vocal chords and effectively ended his competition career, Bill was limited in his later years to singing through a trachial amplifier, but that never slowed him down. In the mid 1950's, his company transferred him to Canajoharie, from where he began making 70-mile round trips to attend ECC practices. He pitched in in many ways to build up the Chorus, becoming stage manager for the chorus' shows, building much of the scenery, and all the while offering valuable advice & coaching to the chorus & its quartets. In 1990, the chapter established the Bill Conway award, to honor particularly outstanding achievement and contribution to the chapter. The award isn't made every year. But it's presented whenever in the judgment of the President, it's especially deserved.
Past Recipients
| Fendlev Award — BOTY | Conway Award | |||||
| 1956 | Don Flom | 1990 | Dick Storey | 1990 | Bill Conway | |
| 1957 | Ed Collins | 1991 | Chuck Eaker | |||
| 1958 | Joe Daniels | 1992 | Bob Walsh | 1997 | Ray Benoit | |
| 1959 | John Stretch | 1993 | Hal Stephens | Ed Gifford | ||
| 1960 | Dick Miller | 1994 | Jeff Mailhotte | Steve Lawrence | ||
| 1961 | John Lock | 1995 | K.C. White | 1998 | Peg Lawrence | |
| 1962 | Bill O’Conner | 1996 | Steve Lawrence | 1999 | Bob Todt, Sr. | |
| 1963 | Ed Gifford | 1997 | Larry Clow | 2000 | Ray Benoit | |
| 1964 | Steve Van Allen | 1998 | Roger Murphy | 2003 | Steve Lawrence | |
| 1965 | Ed Fuchs | 1999 | Walt Lane | 2004 | Pat Clow | |
| 1966 | Bob Coward | 2000 | Hal Stephens | Jackie Mattice | ||
| 1967 | Leo Mailhotte | 2001 | Phil Christmas | 2005 | Bob Weinhold | |
| 1968 | Bill Dubrey | 2002 | Richard Lenehan | Bob & Barb Todt, Sr | ||
| 1969 | Leo Mailhotte | 2003 | Ed Gifford | 2007 | Randy Rosette | |
| 1970 | Bob Weinhold | 2004 | Duane Cunningham | 2008 | Steve Lawrence | |
| 1971 | Gaylord Preston | Chuck Farone | Jim Stearns | |||
| 1972 | Dave Brown | 2005 | Fred Simon | 2009 | Wally Adelmann | |
| 1973 | Bob Burke | 2006 | Don Flom | |||
| 1974 | Chet Pachucki | 2007 | Chris Jensen | 2012 | Joe Smith | |
| 1975 | Andy Onderdunk | 2008 | Jim Bowen | 2013 | Ron Messersmith | |
| Bob Sutton | 2009 | Jim Stearns | 2014 | Richard Lenehan | ||
| 1976 | Nick Emanuele | 2010 | Joe Millett | 2015 | Joe Betz | |
| 1977 | Allen Johnson | 2011 | Roger Murphy | 2016 | Chuck Eaker | |
| Bill Lawrence | 2012 | Wally Adelmann | 2018 | Walt Lane | ||
| 1978 | Bill Conway | 2013 | Harry Willis | Jim Bowen | ||
| 1979 | Onnie Knapp | 2014 | Chris Jensen | 2019 | Chuck Farone | |
| 1980 | Don Kelsey | 2015 | Dave Iovinella | 2022 | Bill Serritella | |
| 1981 | Steve Lawrence | 2016 | Bill Serritella | |||
| 1982 | George Rosmarin | 2017 | Terry Topka | |||
| 1983 | Bob Gelber | 2018 | Kermit Wamsley | |||
| 1984 | Ray Benoit | 2019 | George Pokorny | |||
| 1985 | Bob Todt, Sr. | 2020 | Hank Pedicone | |||
| 1986 | Dave Pelton | 2022 | Chris Jensen | |||
| 1987 | Ray Collins | 2023 | Ralph DeSorbo | |||
| 1988 | R. Harrison Hall | |||||
| 1989 | Bart Zeh | |||||
