Only one soundco, however, will leave the stage on Nov. 22 with the annual Parnelli Hometown Hero award. The full Parnelli awards ballot is now being prepared and will be online at www.parnelliawards.com soon. Here are the winners of the six regional Hometown Hero titles for 2009.
Southwest Region
Onstage Systems
Dallas, Texas
Onstage Systems is in its second generation, with brother-and-sister-partners Hyacinth and Chris Belcher literally growing up backstage as their parents, Charles and Vicki Belcher ran sound for area acts. “They founded the company in 1978, and they were very much ‘the show must go on’ people, so from age five, we grew up with that mentality,” Hyacinth explains. “If we were sick, then we were sick backstage. The event came first.”
Hyacinth studied lighting in college, and Chris got additional experience in the staging department of their high school. In 2006, they took over the family business, with Hyacinth as president and Chris as vice president. The full service technical productions company provides systems and equipment for audio, lighting, backline, video and staging. But it’s their work in audio that puts them in the spotlight.
Hyacinth admits that while the company was established and doing well, it took about a year for everyone to adjust to new leadership. Helping smooth the transition was the team that was already in place. “Most managers have been here over 10 years. We have a good group of people who are really passionate about what we do here.”
While she witnessed how hard her parents worked, she gained new appreciation for all that is involved in running a company like Onstage. “As we have taken over, we have so much more respect for them. There are daily struggles, but I’ve grown to love the business even more. We jumped in full force, and we live, eat and breathe the business.”
The year 1982 was the beginning of many good things for the company: That’s the year they got a George Strait tour and signed up the Dallas Symphony Orchestra — two clients that are still with them today. For years, they’ve been doing the Dallas Cowboy Thanksgiving show in addition to other events at that stadium. Other events of note include the Oklahoma University Graduation Ceremony and the Texas State Fair Laser Light Show. Last year they did Ozzfest. “That was a lot of planning, a lot of fun and a lot of speakers.” Rounding out their project list are corporate events as far away as Seattle.
Today they have 24 full-time employees, plus freelancers and do around 300 shows a year. “Diversification equals success, and having a crew that can do rock ‘n’ roll, corporate, churches and the symphony projects works for us. It also keeps us on our toes!”
When it’s noted there are few women in this business, she laughs. “My parents used to tell me that there’s no way a woman could a run a company like this in such a male-dominated industry, but that just made me want to do it more — I mean, I grew up playing in drum corps!”
Belcher cites two reasons for the company’s success: The first is customer service. “We’re surrounded by people who care. Each person at the company puts their own name on a project in addition to the company’s name, and that’s how we keep clients long-term.” Secondly, and of equal importance, is their equipment, including gear from Clair Bros., Yamaha, Digidesign and more. “We always want the best, the highest end. We literally work on it on a daily business. This has been a good business model for us.”
As to the honor of being named best in the Southwest region: “I think it’s a pretty cool thing! It’s good to see hard work pays off … though it makes me want to work harder.”
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