December 12th: Private Event

Microtech LLC out of Vienna, VA had me perform/emcee their annual Holiday Party at the Bethesda Marriott. The event featured a raffle drawing for various prizes and a very nice year-end overview by the company's CEO. The evening's dancing portion consisted of old school disco, current top 40 dance, and some line/step dancing by request - Cupid Shuffle, Step In The Name of Love, Cha Cha Slide, etc.

November 8th: Wedding

Melinda and James celebrated their wedding day at Tony Cheng's Restaurant in DC. Our bride and groom chose Elvis' "Can't Help Falling In Love" for their 1st dance. Afterwards, some jazzy Dave Brubeck, John Coltrane, and Billie Holliday filled out the dinner period. As a lover of Chinese food, I can assure that you won't be disappointed by Tony Cheng's menu - I highly recommend their food. Melinda and dad danced to the Kenny Rogers version of "Somewhere My Love" (Lara's Theme from Dr. Zhivago) while James and mom danced to Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are". After some oldies and 80s retro, I was given the green light to play current stuff from Usher, Rihanna, and more. The party was extended an extra hour because no one wanted to leave! The evening finally ended with "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers. The evening's photography was provided by Michelle Frankfurter.

News: Vern's Big Trip to "Big Sky"

After years of prodding, I finally made it out to Montana to visit my brother and his family. Lucy, my 2-year old niece was definitely a scene stealer as she got plenty of attention wherever we went. My trip featured a trek to West Yellowstone and Old Faithful, Chico Hot Springs, and of course checking out the Bozeman area.

From bottom to top, the pics above feature an eruption of the Old Faithful geyser, a river cutting through a gorge at West Yellowstone as two ravens look on, a family of elk grazing in Yellowstone, my niece Lucy looking at the aftermath of an eruption at Old Faithful, and me holding Lucy at Yellowstone.

October 18th: Wedding

The Elkridge Furnace Inn in Elkridge, MD was the setting for Gwen and David's wedding. Big band, jazz, and Rat Pack favorites dominated the dinner period. Gwen & David's danced to John Hiatt's "Have A Little Faith In Me" for their 1st dance and Gwen dedicated George Strait's "Love Without End Amen" to her dad. Motown, disco, current top 40, and some reggae filled out the evening. Donna Summer's "Last Dance" completed the event. Photography was provided by Kelly Lee Photography.

October 11th: Wedding

Congrats to Meghan and Ryan as they celebrated their wedding at Maggiano's in Tyson's Corner, VA. Our bride and groom chose the Otis Redding version of "You Send Me" as their 1st dance while Meghan and dad danced to Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely". The dancing sets consisted of old-school r & b, hip-hop, and current danceable top 40. Katie Stoops of Open Air Photography captured the evening's fun on film.

October 4th: Pets On Wheels Dog-a-Thon

POW held it's 3rd annual dog-athon in Oregon Ridge Park in Hunt Valley. The weather was perfect and plenty of vendors were on hand promoting their organizations or selling their goods. The event featured 2 walks along the marked park pathways, various dog contests, a guest speaker on holistic care for your dog, and WJZ's Bob Turk was on-hand to assist with the emceeing.

News: Vern's Big Summer Move

As some of you may know, I purchased my 1st home over the summer and moved to a very nice townhome community in York, PA. The outrageous prices of homes in MD caused me to look outside the box for other options. I get the best of both worlds since I maintain my gov't job in MD and my dj career, and I'm "only" a 2 hr drive to my relatives in east central PA instead of 3 hrs.

The DJGreyhound service area remains unchanged - I still cover DC, Northern VA, South Central PA, and most of MD.

Most of my bookings take place in the metro DC/NOVA region, but I'm hoping my move will allow me to land a couple extra PA events each year. I'd like to thank my clients for their patronage as it continues to help me in my cause for greyhound rescue programs.

September 27th: Wedding

Congrats to Abbey and Scott - our couple celebrated their wedding at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, VA. The wedding party was introduced to "Get Ready 4 This" by 2 Unlimited and Abbey and Scott showed their humorous side as they walked in with Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust". The bride and groom danced to Elvis' "Can't Help Falling In Love" and a cute slide show presentation accompany dinner as guests got to see our bride and groom grow up over the years. A combo parent's dance included The Beatles' "In My Life". A variety of music filled out the evening including 80s rock, hip hop, and even some country. Donna Summer's "Last Dance" and Billy Joel's "Piano Man" concluded the evening. Photography was provided by Amie Otto.

September 26th: Wedding

In a rarity, I performed at the same venue on back to back weekends as Lisa and William also had their wedding at the Lansdowne Resort. A remix of Jagged Edge's "Let's Get Married" provided a hip/hop tone to the intros. Lisa and William chose East Mountain South's "So You Are To Me" as their 1st dance. As an inside joke, Lisa's dad chose Metamora's "Little Potato" for a dance with his daughter. William and his mom danced to Aaron Neville's version of "Crazy Love". Heavy R&B and hip/hop provided the fun for the evening - so much so that we even extended the dancing for another hour. Photography for the evening was provided by Thomas Van Veen Photography.

September 20th: Wedding

Jaci and Chris celebrated their wedding at the Lansdowne Resort in Lansdowne, VA. The wedding party was introduced to an instrumental version of "What A Wonderful World" and Joey Ramone's punk-rock version of the song provided for an upbeat 1st dance. A mixture of 80's and current top 40 dominated the evening. The "What A Wonderful World" trifecta was completed with Iz' medley version with "Over The Rainbow". Allison of Wish Special Events (formerly known as Soiree Special Events) was the wedding planner.

August 16th: Wedding

Congratulations to Bridget and David as they had their ceremony and reception at the Ostertag Vistas in Myersville, MD. A mixture of jazz and reggae provided the music backdrop during the cocktail period and plenty of classic Motown soul filled the dinner period. The wedding party was introduced with Sister Sledge's "We Are Family". The bride and groom chose Heatwave's "Always And Forever" for their 1st dance, while "Butterfly Kisses" was played for the father/daughter dance and Abba's "Mamma Mia" was played for the mother/son dance. The rest of the evening was filled with disco, old school r & b, and current dance hits.

June 21st: Wedding

The Fairmont Hotel in Washington, DC was the setting for Cleo and James' wedding. DJ Sammy's slow version of "Heaven" provided the 1st dance for our couple. Cleo and dad danced to "Butterfly Kisses" and James and mom danced to Boyz II Men's "A Song For Mama". R & B, hip hop, and retro classics filled out the evening. The evening concluded with Norah Jones "Come Away With Me".

June 14th: Wedding

The Decatur House Museum in Washington, DC was the setting for Trish and Justin's wedding. The groom and groomsmen were decked out in traditional Scottish wear while a bagpiper played for the ceremony and the bride even recited a portion of her vows in polish. Trish and Justin chose the Bob Dylan/Van Morrison duet of "Crazy Love" for their 1st dance. Trish danced with her dad to Nickel Creek's "When You Come Back Down" while Justin danced with his mom to Queen's "These Are The Days". The dancing consisted of hip hop, 80s, and alternative. Coldplay's "Clocks" concluded the evening. For the second weekend in a row, Laura Auer of Soriee provided wedding planning services and Regeti's provided the photography.

June 7th: Wedding

Congratulations to Erin and Christian as they celebrated their wedding at the Old Hickory Golf Club in Woodbridge, VA. The wedding party was introduced to Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and the bride & groom had their 1st dance to another Queen classic, "You're My Best Friend". Erin danced with dad to Nat King Cole's "That Sunday, That Summer" while Christian and his mom danced to Dean Martin's "That's Amore". The dancing was dominated by 80's classics and the evening capped off with "I Had The Time Of My Life" from Dirty Dancing as the last dance. My colleague Laura Auer of Soiree Special Events was on hand as the wedding planner and photography was provided by Regeti's Photography.

June 1st: GPA Reunion

For the 4th straight year, I emceed and provided music for the Greyhound Pets of America MD Chapter greyhound reunion. There were plenty of pet vendors who provided items for sale and services for greyhounds. A local vet stopped by to give greyhound health and care tips and several greyhounds up for adoption were present. The afternoon also included the famous greyhound games, along with door prizes, a silent auction, and a 50/50 raffle.

May 24th: Wedding

The Collingwood Library and Museum was the setting for Valerie and Ryan's special day. The wedding party was introduced to Thomas Morley's "Four Dances". Music by such artists as Norah Jones, Paul Simon, and Jack Johnson filled the cocktail and dinner periods. The bride and groom danced to John Denver's "Annie's Song" for their first dance. Valerie danced with her dad to Jim Croce's "I Have To Say I Loved You In A Song" and Ryan danced with his mom to Patti Griffin's "Heavenly Day". Plenty of 80s, disco, and r & b music filled the dancefloor. The evening concluded with Ben Folds "The Luckiest". Ever After Images captured all of the evening's festivities.

May 8th: Wedding

The Eastern Shore was the setting for a rare weeknight wedding - congrats to Katia and Vijon as they celebrated at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, MD. An ecletic mix of reggae, 80's music, and special tracks provided by the bride and groom filled the cocktail/dinner period. The First Dance was "The One", follwed by a mother/son instrumental called "Caslen". Katia danced with her father to "Stand By Me", and "Phoenix Rising" concluded the evening as the last dance.

April 12th: Private Event

Historic Christ Church of Alexandria, VA had their annual dinner/dance on April 12th. This was my third time performing at this event. A fun time was had by all as the audience danced throughout the night. The church had both a live auction and a silent auction to raise money to send the church's youth group to New Orleans. Swing, motown, and disco tracks filled out the remainder of the evening.

March 8th: Wedding

After a three month break, our 1st 2008 wedding was held at the Hyatt Arlington for Clara and Jon. During the toast presentation, Clara and Jon donned Spanish outfits as part of a Spanish wedding tradition. Our couple danced to Rascal Flatt's "Bless The Broken Road" for their 1st dance. Clara and her father enjoyed Tim McGraw's "My Little Girl" while Jon and his mom danced to Micki Vierick's "Song For My Son". A mixture of salsa, dance, and motown soul classics filled the evening. The event concluded with Sinatra's "Fly Me To The Moon". Photography was done by Micmar Photographic and Digital Imaging.