MOORE AREA SHAG SOCIETY – HOW IT ALL BEGAN

It all began with a small group of seven people (Kathryn Ward, Donna Kimbrell, Bobby Brooks, Chuck and Shirley Ward, James and Nancy Beddingfield) sitting in the Golden Griddle Restaurant at Ocean Drive on a Sunday morning, wishing it was Friday and
recalling some of the highlights of their weekend spent during Mid-Winter Break.

The general talk was about how Percy Thornton’s shag dance classes were going, how large they were and how it would be feasible to start a shag club in Southern Pines.
After all, people were coming from all over to take his classes and they would certainly need a place to put into practice those basic steps. The idea was born not just from a need, but also from a love to dance, and so these seven shaggers took it upon themselves to try a shag club in Moore County.

Committees were assigned, lots of phone calls were made and a meeting was scheduled at the Barn Restaurant in Southern Pines in April, 1992. About fifty people showed up, excited about the possibility of a brand new shag club beginning in the Moore County area. From that meeting, forty shaggers were placed on the By-Laws Committee,
Telephone Committee, and Nominating Committee with staggering results.

Of the first original seven, two volunteered as officers, Bobby Brooks as Treasurer and Donna Kimbrell as Secretary. The nominating committee met and announced Vicky Inman as President and James Beddingfield as Vice-President. Melanie Montesanti was appointed By-Laws Chairman, Anne McKenzie was appointed Sergeant at Arms, Nancy Beddingfield volunteered as Editor of the newsletter, Shirley Ward volunteered as
Social Chairman and Chuck Ward volunteered as Chairman Pro-tem, until an election could be held and new officers elected.

Throughout the years, MASS has held many charity benefits. Some were shared with other local clubs. MASS held the Inland Throwdown for the first time in 1995, Super Summer Jackpot in 1995 with Johnston Shag Club and Lake Tillery Shag Club. In 1996, MASS hosted the second annual Super Summer Jackpot party with Lake Tillery and SASS. The first charity was Social Services, at Christmas time. Later came Special
Olympics and the boys and girls that attended Summer Elk Camp. Large donations have also been given to The Shaggers Hall of Fame.

Moore Area Shag Society was formed to create a fun social environment for preservation of the official “shag dance” and to contribute to the community by raising funds for local charities.