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Ed Watson Professional Bio

Ed Watson, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer

Ed Watson, a career Navy Captain with 33 years of experience as a Barbershopper, became Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the 30,000-member Barbershop Harmony Society in July 2005. In his role, Watson oversees the headquarters staff operations and serves on the organization’s Board of Directors and various strategic committees. He is charged with directing all operational matters and translating Board policy decisions into action, to accept the top staff position at the Society, Watson retired from service as a Navy captain, former Commanding Officer and Chief of Staff of the 26,000-person Naval Air Reserve. An F-14 aviator with carrier experience, Watson is among the select Top Gun school graduates. Up beat and enthusiastic, Watson is an avid Barbershopper of long experience. He has moved 20 times in the past 30 years, but never interrupted his Society membership. His quartet credits include Gold Rush, On Location, Spare Parts and The Quackenbush Quartet. As a chorus singer, he has earned a medal on the international competition stage with the San Diego Sun Harbor Chorus with whom he served as music vice-president and wrote numerous shows and contest packages. He continued those same roles with the Norfolk Commodore Chorus. Active in community theater, he played Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man, and directed productions of Godspell and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. Watson and his wife, Cathy, have five children and reside in Mount Juliet, Tenn. You can reach Watson at ewatson@barbershop.org or 800-876-7464.

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