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 pretty much all the choreography 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 the three most recent Fendley Award winners.
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 | 1996 | Steve Lawrence | 1990 | Bill Conway | |
| 1957 | Ed Collins | 1997 | Larry Clow | |||
| 1958 | Joe Daniels | 1998 | Roger Murphy | 1997 | Ray Benoit | |
| 1959 | John Stretch | 1999 | Walt Lane | Ed Gifford | ||
| 1960 | Dick Miller | 2000 | Hal Stephens | Steve Lawrence | ||
| 1961 | John Lock | 2001 | Phil Christmas | 1998 | Peg Lawrence | |
| 1962 | Bill O’Conner | 2002 | Richard Lenehan | 1999 | Bob Todt, Sr. | |
| 1963 | Ed Gifford | 2003 | Ed Gifford | 2000 | Ray Benoit | |
| 1964 | Steve Van Allen | 2004 | Duane Cunningham | 2003 | Steve Lawrence | |
| 1965 | Ed Fuchs | Chuck Farone | 2004 | Pat Clow | ||
| 1966 | Bob Coward | 2005 | Fred Simon | Jackie Mattice | ||
| 1967 | Leo Mailhotte | 2006 | Don Flom | 2005 | Bob Weinhold | |
| 1968 | Bill Dubrey | 2007 | Chris Jensen | Bob & Barb Todt, Sr | ||
| 1969 | Leo Mailhotte | 2008 | Jim Bowen | 2007 | Randy Rosette | |
| 1970 | Bob Weinhold | 2009 | Jim Stearns | 2008 | Steve Lawrence | |
| 1971 | Gaylord Preston | 2010 | Joe Millett | Jim Stearns | ||
| 1972 | Dave Brown | 2011 | Roger Murphy | 2009 | Wally Adelmann | |
| 1973 | Bob Burke | 2012 | Wally Adelmann | 2012 | Joe Smith | |
| 1974 | Chet Pachucki | 2013 | Harry Willis | 2013 | Ron Messersmith | |
| 1975 | Andy Onderdunk | 2014 | Chris Jensen | 2014 | Richard Lenehan | |
| Bob Sutton | 2015 | Dave Iovinella | 2015 | Joe Betz | ||
| 1976 | Nick Emanuele | 2016 | Bill Serritella | 2016 | Chuck Eaker | |
| 1977 | Allen Johnson | 2017 | Terry Topka | 2018 | Walt Lane | |
| Bill Lawrence | 2018 | Kermit Wamsley | Jim Bowen | |||
| 1978 | Bill Conway | 2019 | George Pokorny | 2019 | Chuck Farone | |
| 1979 | Onnie Knapp | 2020 | Hank Pedicone | 2022 | Bill Serritella | |
| 1980 | Don Kelsey | 2022 | Chris Jensen | 2025 | Dave Iovinella | |
| 1981 | Steve Lawrence | 2023 | Ralph DeSorbo | |||
| 1982 | George Rosmarin | 2025 | Dan Hoke | |||
| 1983 | Bob Gelber | |||||
| 1984 | Ray Benoit | |||||
| 1985 | Bob Todt, Sr. | |||||
| 1986 | Dave Pelton | |||||
| 1987 | Ray Collins | |||||
| 1988 | R. Harrison Hall | |||||
| 1989 | Bart Zeh | |||||
| 1990 | Dick Storey | |||||
| 1991 | Chuck Eaker | |||||
| 1992 | Bob Walsh | |||||
| 1993 | Hal Stephens | |||||
| 1994 | Jeff Mailhotte | |||||
| 1995 | K.C. White | |||||
