The ROYALHEIRS have been very busy (apparently too busy to do a good job of updating the newsletter). The last stretch of 2008 has seen the quartet singing quite a bit in Ohio and all over the state of Michigan.

On Friday last week, we sang at Trinity Assembly of God which had been my home church for 30 years before I married Pam and moved to Capac. As if the guys didn't have enough things to tease me about, my old friends at Trinity gave them even more. Saturday we were at Mammoth Baptist and we were pleasantly suprised when they served us prime rib before the concert. The guys are still talking about it. On Sunday morning we had what I believe was one of the best services we have had all year. God definitely paid us a visit at Union Lake Nazarene. We ended our wonderful weekend with a concert at Whiteford Wesleyan in Ottawa Lake, MI.

We only have a few dates left for 2008 and we'll start over again in 2009. Please keep checking the website for updates on the latest ROYALHEIRS happenings.

Until next time,

Chuck

See what gospel singers do before they get up to sing. The photo above shows the White/Hawks kids just before they got up to sing for our 13th Anniversary Concert at Mayville United Methodist Church a couple weeks ago. We had a great concert. By the second song, the crowd was on their feet praising the Lord. We had church that night! Our guests, The Reflections and The Grimshaws did an awesome job. I was so proud of my guys. They sang their hearts out. I want to thank Jerry and Jenny White for the delicious meal before the concert. There's nothing better than when we can have a home-cooked meal instead of going to a restaraunt (of course the kids won't agree).

Last weekend we made our first trip to Ohio. We had three great concerts in Mt. Sterling, Dayton and DeGraff, Ohio. Saturday night we all slept in the bus. At one point I was trying to match the snoring to the guy. Bass and tenor singers don't snore in the same range as they sing. Tall men like Shem don't fit especially well in the bunks. Strange things you think about when you're sleeping in a quartet bus.

We have a very busy November and December. Check out our schedule and come out and see us if you can. We'd love to see you!

Until next time,

Chuck

We would like to proudly introduce you all to the newest member of The ROYALHEIRS....Shem Koutz, pictured above with his beautiful wife, Jessica. We believe the Lord has truly blessed us by sending him our way. He had his first concert with us this past Sunday and his solo at the end of the program had the crowd on their feet with a standing ovation. Just as his predecessor, he is a perfectionist who is constantly working on his craft and he's working hard at getting his part down on all our current songs.

Although most of us don't like change, and we certainly didn't expect to be making a change under such sudden and difficult circumstances, we believe the Lord has sent us the right man for the job. We would like all of you to join us in welcoming Shem and Jessica into the ROYALHEIRS family.

Until next time,

Pam

The ROYALHEIRS would like to thank you for all the cards, letters, phone calls and most importantly, your prayers in regards to Duane's death. I'm not going to tell you that it hasn't been hard to get up and sing without him but we know that Duane would want us to continue. That's exactly what we're going to do.
We sang at Bayshore with the help of Jeff Glasco. What a great job he did. We sang in Sumner and Brown City this past weekend with the help of our friend, Bob Baxter.
If you're interested in auditioning, please check out our homepage for the details. Please keep praying for The ROYALHEIRS as we will be making some important decisions regarding our ministry in the next few weeks.
Don't forget to mark your calendars for our anniversary program on Oct. 25th at 6:00 p.m. at Mayville United Methodist Church. We will be joined by The Grimshaws and Reflections, a female trio from Indiana.

Until next time,

Chuck

We're writing today with overwhelming sadness at the loss of our dearest friend, Duane Grimes. He was taken off life support yesterday and passed away at 1:17 a.m. this morning.

We still are in shock with everything that has happened. He had been so healthy and strong (his only hospital stay was this year when he had surgery...not bad for someone a few months shy of 80 years old).

The guys were scheduled to sing in Benton Harbor on Sunday morning. Chuck called Duane, as he always did, to let him know they were on the way. He was in great spirits and told Chuck he'd be ready. We believe, as was his usual way, that he waited a few minutes and then went downstairs to wait. When the bus pulled up, the first thing everyone saw was his suit bag and other stuff laying on the sidewalk. Then we saw him slumped in the doorway. Jeff, being an RN, jumped off the bus to help. He saw that he had no pulse and started CPR. He and Jerry worked over him until the paramedics arrived and were able to get a faint heartbeat. By the time he reached the hospital he had been put on a ventilator. His heart was working but he was unable to breathe on his own. There was extensive damage done to his brain due to lack of oxygen and the family were asked to make the decision last night about whether to keep him on life support or not. The difficult decision was made knowing that Duane would not have wanted to be kept alive if there was no chance of any quality of life or the ability to keep singing for the Lord. Now we know that he is really singing for the Lord.

He just told us during our concert at the Pix on Aug. 9th that this month was his 50th anniversary of singing gospel music.

Please keep the Grimes family, Duane's extended Royalheirs family and all who loved him in your prayers. We will post the funeral arrangements as soon as they are available.

Well, if nothing else, we Royalheirs are able to multi-task. On one of the previous posts, it showed what happens when Jerry falls asleep and misses the soundcheck. Above is a picture of what happens when Roy is a little late to hook up the sound system.
We have had some great services since our last update. Fourth of July weekend was a lot of fun. Pam & I spent the Fourth with the Hawks family and then watched the fireworks at North Branch. We also found out what Tim Hebert from The Gospelmen does when he's not singing...he directs traffic at firework celebrations. We wrapped up the weekend singing in Rosebush at their Red White & Blue Festival. It was outside under a tent and they were a great bunch of people to sing to.
Last weekend we were at Mio Church of God for an a.m. service. This was another new church for us. They have a beautiful church and a wonderful congregation. We look forward to going back. Sunday night we were at my home church, Gateway Assembly of God in Imlay City. It was good to be home with my church family and my pastor, Pastor Jeff Krist.
Thank God there were no police between Mio and Imlay City and I'm sure the bus was happy when we finally slowed down. Don't forget about the Pix Theatre concert (tickets are available now).

Until next time,

Chuck

Well, it's been awhile since we let you know what is happening with The ROYALHEIRS. We had a great concert with The Browders and they are such a sweet family. The crowd was small but the enthusiasm was big. We hope to have them back sometime in 2009. On Sunday, June 8th we were at Faith Bible Church in Houghton Lake for a morning service. They have a newly remodeled sanctuary that is beautiful and they treated us very well and served us a delicious meal afterward. We then took off for Argentine Nazarene and developed bus problems along the way. As we inched our way into Argentine, the tornado sirens were going off. As soon as we had the equipment unloaded, the storm hit and took out the power for the whole area. Unfortunately, the concert had to be cancelled and we hope to rebook at a later date. Jeff was so worried about Roy being outside when the storm hit that he ran right into a plate glass window. The window is fine and we're going to make sure to check to see if his nose print is still there when we return.
The bus was in the shop on Monday, June 9th with a major oil leak. Thank God it was fixed and back on the road for our concert at Forester Park on Saturday, the 21st. The place was packed and our good friends, Phil Parkin and his family were there to be with us. It was a beautiful night on the Lake Huron shore. Even though the rest of the group says I never stop for ice cream, we did stop at Dairy Queen that night. Sunday morning we were at Duane's home church. Most of Duane's kids, grandkids and great-grandkids were there. It is so cool to look out and see his family's faces light up when Duane starts to sing. They have supported Duane through all his years with The Calvarymen and the last 13 years with The ROYALHEIRS. Our prayer is that Duane has many more years to sing the gospel.
On Sunday, the 29th we were at Good Tymes Barn in Melvin. What a great location. If you get a chance, get out there some Sunday afternoon and support gospel music.
I also wanted to tell you a story about Jerry's son, Ben (the good-looking boy in the picture above). After the concert at Forester Park we were out late but the next morning Ben was up bright and early waiting on the couch because he wanted to go with his Dad to sing. Jerry thought that maybe Ben had a problem so he asked him why he wanted to go with him that morning and if there was something he wanted to talk about. Ben said, "I just wanted to come along to spend some time with you, Dad".
So many times we forget about how much our families have to sacrifice for us to be out on the road. But every mile is worth it, knowing that we are in God's will and we are seeing souls touched and lives changed.

Until next time,
Chuck

P.S. Don't forget about the Pix Concert on Aug. 9th. Hope to see you there!