About Chuck

Going to square dances in the 1960s with my parents, listening to great Kentucky callers like George Keith and Bill Claywell, is REALLY where I developed my love of square dance. Being taught how to dance in the 1970s by another Kentucky great, Aaron Morrison, gave me an understanding of the choreography. But it wasn’t until 2018, when I decided to pursue calling as a craft, that I was educated on how to be a caller by the irreplaceable Wes Dyer. If you had the pleasure of dancing to any of these gentlemen, you might hear echoes of them when I call. At least I hope you do…

What I want most

Regardless of my roots, what I want most when you come to one of my dances is for you to have a blast. Whether you like my selection of music, clear vocals, phrasing, or the way I deliver a singing call, if you had fun, then I was successful. Did I land you at corner flawlessly tip after tip? Probably not, but it doesn’t matter if you had fun. I would gladly botch a call anytime if I was guaranteed to get a good laugh.

The long way around

Born and raised in Kentucky, I graduated from Louisville St. Xavier before attending the University of Louisville. After graduating, I moved to Texas where I spent the first ten years of my career, before continuing my Westward trek to California for a three-year CFO stint in Modesto. Deciding I could travel no further West without landing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, I returned home in the mid-1990s.

Still not fully prepared to embark on a lucrative career as a square dance caller, I spent the next 30 years being a CFO, or as I describe it, “fixing problems companies don’t know they have in ways they can’t understand.” I moved to New Albany, Indiana in 2022 to be closer to my day job as CFO for a Southern Indiana-based homebuilder. But even those folks that pay me a lot of money to do that CFO thing know where my true passion lies… at the end of that bright blue microphone, entertaining dancers all around the region.

I’ve called in 12 states and 3 countries, I’ve called on a giant cruise ship, and I’ve even called in a bathtub in Madison, IN. (Yes, the dancers were in the bathroom, and yes, they were all fully clothed.) I’ve called at a few National Conventions, too: Kansas City, Atlanta and Evansville.

Off the clock

On the personal side, I have two sons (both Texans 🙄) and four grandchildren. When I’m not calling, I enjoy handicapping the ponies, and consider myself a bit of a Kentucky Derby historian.

Currently I call Mainstream and Plus, and I’m learning to call A1 and A2. I share the calling duties at my local club, Double H Squares in Jeffersonville, IN. I’m a member of the Kentucky Federation of Square Dance, the Indiana Dancers Association and CALLERLAB, and licensed by BMI and ASCAP.