Behind his handsome, youthful and effervescent smile, made even brighter by contrast with his leathery, golden tan and gold silk shirts, there was indeed, a heart of true gold. No Big Apple rehearsal was complete without his enthusiastic words of encouragement, a sly wink or a warm shake of his large, soft hand, followed by the vague aroma of a fine cigar freshly smoked.
Continued from Homepage
A child of the "Great Depression,," John Gouveia developed a lifelong interest in fine cars, when he washing them, after school, in customer's driveways, for lunch money. Before he was even old enough to drive a car, however, his pennies were turning into dollars when he began trading them, while his classmates were trading baseball cards.
After serving in the army, John opened a limousine business, which would thrive for more than five decades. He also raced "stock cars" and, during the '80s and '90s was a regular medalist in Classic Car Cross Country Racing Divisions.
Gratefully, with a strong love of his devoted wife, Laurel, and his beautiful daughters, there was still room in his magnanimous heart for barbershop harmony. When John sold his business, "County Limousine Service", to Carey International, in 2000, he made a $50,000 pledges to the Manhattan Chapter of the Barbershop Harmony Society and the Big Apple Chorus. It was his hope that such a stimulus might support our journey towards even higher competitive levels as one of the premiere choruses in the Barbershop Harmony Society.
Shortly after John made his pledge to the Chorus, with hard work by Chorus Director, Joe Hunter and the entire BAC team, John was able to bask in the joy of being part of the chorus's performances in Salt Lake City and Indianapolis in their return to the competitive International stage.
John also sang with the chorus last fall when the chorus earned qualifying score to compete in the 2007 International Convention in Denver.
John Gouveia is, in no small measure, an important reason for the continued success of the Manhattan Chapter and the Big Apple Chorus; he will certainly be in our hearts whether or not when they pass out the medals out to us.
We shall forever be brothers in Harmony.
Every year, and perhaps as many as 3 times a year, a chorus goes into competition to find out how it 
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