| Collingwood Not
The Only Town Wowed By Elvis! |
|
A Performer With Heart |
| by Robyn
Cunningham |
|
Long-time fans of music will always remember a true legend of rock
and roll - Elvis Presley. And most will remember him from his image
in the 1950's when he was untouched by fame and performing with an
untamed fashion. Today, a half century later, seeing clips of Elvis
on stage in the 50's can send chills up a gal’s spine while here her
pulse races and the sparkle in her eye says, “The Wonder of You.”
|
|
In the early days of Elvis, he sang with an unknown abandonment and
passion while the music pulsed through his veins and brought forth
an untouched rhythm that had the world “All Shook Up.” Elvis once
said, “Rhythm is something you either have or don’t have, but when
you have it, you have it all over.” And he had it - rhythm that ran
from his shiny black hair to his tapping toes. In those days,
before the producers and promoters, Elvis was on stage loving what
he was doing - bringing the world pleasure through his voice. Elvis
set the stage and performers for eternity will each be trying to
step into his shadow. |
|
Some of those artists trying to take shade in Elvis’ shadow visit
our community today bringing culture and entertainment to us, while
filling our valley walls with the godsend of magical sound. We have
seen many performers, but it’s when we see a performance delivered
straight from the heart that we experience an artist who can grab
hold of the audience, as The King could do so well, and present us
with a gift of song. |
|
The Merritt & District Chamber of Commerce, located in the heart of
Beautiful BC, has discovered an artist who delivers from the heart
and we captured him for the 14th Annual Business
Excellence Awards Gala. What started out as booking a performer
that complimented the gala style awards has grown into a lifetime
friendship between the artist with heart and the community with an
even greater heart. The artist is Jeff Bodner, from TCB
Enterprises, who will be bringing his Legendary Tribute to Elvis to
us on February 19th. A show where the performer will
capture you and take you through time - the time in history when
Elvis graced the stage to entertain the world. |
|
Although, he makes no claim to being able to stand in the King’s
shoes, when Jeff “Elvis” Bodner sings “In The Ghetto,” it will have
a powerful impact on you. He sings it from the heart of a 20 year
veteran RCMP who has seen the tragedies of the streets and the
sadness of other’s realities. When you sit and listen to his
beautiful voice deliver this powerful song you can close your eyes
and see Constable Bodner absorbing the tragedy of a day and you can
open your eyes and see the artist delivering Elvis’ song of
sadness. He will tell you that his favorite Elvis gospel song is
“If I can Dream,” because the words show an ideal for life. An
ideal one can find when lost in the words of the song. |
| TCB Enterprises did
not sign the booking contract and turn away towards higher
priorities until the performance date, as we may have expected. Mr
Bodner and his team have participated fully in our promotional work.
Jeff spent one of his rare days off in Merritt shooting promotional
videos and preparing radio recordings. Then he volunteered to ride
in our parade and fill our City streets with song. He has gone the
extra mile for us. Like on the night of the parade when he loaded
his family into the van only to have it break down. After quickly
doing a wheels swap they pushed forward to Merritt, all the while
knowing they would be too late to join the parade. Upon arrival Jeff
raced two City blocks to jump on his float with his understudy Saug
“Elvis” Sekhon. Then when he was just about to perform he answers a
call for help because he is a man that can not look the other way
while the world turns around him. In a scene with a tragic ending,
amiss the celebration of the season, Jeff stores the emotion in his
heart and steps out to perform for our crowds. Call him a performer,
a good citizen, a man of duty, a hero - he’s an artist with heart. |
|
On the upbeat side, his favorite Elvis song is “Don’t Be Cruel.”
When he’s dressed in his 60's leather outfit and movin’ and groovin’
to the rhythm of the music, Jeff Bodner looks right at home on the
world stage delivering his favorite Elvis tune to his fans. With a
future that looks bright ahead and a heart that’s true, it doesn’t
appear that life will be cruel to this talented artist. |
|
Jeff will chat enthusiastically about all of the types of music he
enjoys and sings, but when asked why Elvis? “It’s exciting to
emulate the entertainer of the century.” And why would someone with
a busy RCMP career and large family chose to open a performance
artist business? Because bringing people pleasure through music is
his enjoyment. It seems that two such diverse careers running
parallel would require a split personality but he “co-relates
offering a service to the public through both careers.” |
|
So what has made this hip swivelin’ Elvis cop a success so early in
his career? It’s his love for music, the pleasure he finds in
performing for fans, following his mother’s advice, and the fact
that he’s built his company on the solid foundation of family and
friends. Jeff will define success as “happiness in what he is
doing.” He’s got a dream calling him that includes seeing his name
on the Marque Billboard in Vegas and becoming the number one tribute
artist in the world. And in that journey he shares his hope “to
live life to its fullest while providing something worthwhile to
people to make them smile.” |
|
He’s enjoying his journey through life as a Constable with the
Chilliwack RCMP and as a talented Elvis Tribute Artist. When he’s
not serving and protecting his community, he’s performing and
fulfilling his role as the Official Spokesperson for the Penticton
Elvis Society to market their annual festival coming up in June.
All of this work is in preparation for the big competition in
Collingwood Ontario in July. Jeff placed 4th in the
world in Collingwood last year and he looks forward to doing the
“Viva Las Vegas,” all the way to the top. |
| Jeff “Elvis” Bodner
was introduced to the community of Merritt only a few short months
ago, When asked his impression of Merritt he responds, “Awesome!
This is a very progressive community that’s community oriented and
has a big heart.” Thank you Merritt for opening your arms to welcome
our new friend. He’ll perform for us in February and he’s bound to
be back again because he will be ending on the note of his late
mother’s words in his head, “Always leave them wanting more son..”
He’s the performer with heart and our community has branded a place
in his “Teddy Bear,” heart |
|
Robyn Cunningham
Manager
Merritt & District Chamber of Commerce |