11th CALLERLAB Convention 
Milestone Award
Presented by Don Beck
Tonight, I am pleased and honored to be able to present the Milestone Award, on behalf of CALLERLAB, to a man who certainly meets the criteria of unselfish contribution, through leadership in uncharted fields, that has stood the test of time.
He was born in Framingham, MA, on March 2, 1931. In his adolescent years, he moved to Nashua, NH. In high school he was interested in sports and played the clarinet in the school band. His organizational talents surfaced even then, when his high school’s championship football team was chosen to go to Florida. He was upset that the band and cheerleaders could not go along, so he organized a campaign that raised close to $8,000 from the residents of Nashua. The band and cheerleaders went to Florida. The team won the game.
For his senior year in high school, he transferred to a prep school in Worcester, MA where he studied Chemistry. In 1948, he went on to college and attended Yale University in New Haven, CT. He graduated from Yale with the class of ’52. Some of his activities during those years included sailing during the summer months, being a counselor for a church group, and being a swimming instructor.
From Yale, he went into the Army. A year later he got married. After the Army, he entered General Motors Institute for two years and then returned to New Hampshire to work for his father. He currently works in MA for Lincoln Laboratories, an affiliate of M.I.T., where he was in the purchasing and publications departments for a long while, and is now assistant to the head of the engineering department. He remarried in 1978, and he and his wife JoAnn now live in Hampstead, NH.
I have outlined a full life of someone, without mentioning square dancing. I am not the only one to keep his square dance life separate from his other life. When he was inducted into the Square Dancing Hall of Fame in 1979, an article appeared in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology publication, Tech Talk, which said “The news came as a surprise to his long time colleagues.” It started by saying “Winning awards and professional distinction is par for the course for many MIT people, including ‘SOME OFF-BEAT HONORS’. James P Mayo, Jr fell into this latter category,” and the article went on from there.
Jim Mayo, Chairman Mayo (Mao), as he has been referred to, was first introduced to square dancing in high school, when, in 1947, one of his two sisters took him to classes. Ralph Page, a former Milestone Award recipient, was his instructor. In his freshman year in college, in 1948, he began his calling career. The outing club at Yale, which was the center of square dancing there, was in need of a new caller, because the present caller was graduating. Jim took advantage of the opportunity.
Jim received some help in calling from Ralph Page, but because of his progressive ideas, Ralph considered him a renegade, and Jim had to seek help elsewhere. Jim then located another local caller, another Milestone Award recipient, and learned about his budding career from Al Brundage. To further his calling education, he once went West and attended a callers’ college run by yet another Milestone Award recipient, Ed Gilmore. Ed shared Ralph Page’s impression of Jim’s being a renegade, and Jim, to this day, marvels at how much he got from someone with whom he disagreed so much.
I have known Jim since 1967, and I am convinced the caller he has learned the most from is himself. Jim is able to listen as well as talk. He is willing to keep changing when changes will be beneficial yet will strongly stick by his decisions when that seems to be best. Jim is an innovator, not a renegade.
Jim is a Caller. He has called throughout the United States of America and Canada, as well as in Germany, Bermuda, and New Zealand. He is a local club caller, having been involved with many of the clubs in New England. Two that he helped form just celebrated their 25th anniversary. One club that he still calls for, and has been their only club caller, was formed 28 years ago. He formed a Round Dance Club in 1960, the first of its kind in New England and still cues rounds at some of his dances. He has called at all but one of the 26 New England Square and Rounds Conventions as well as at numerous National Conventions, festivals, and weekends. Jim has recorded for MacGregor, Dance Ranch and has been on the SIOASDS Documentary Albums. He has called programs from Limited Basics through A-2.
Jim is a Teacher of Callers. He started teaching callers in 1959. He has run and been on staff of weeklong schools and weekend clinics. He has run schools that meet weekly and some that meet monthly. He has done clinics all over this continent as well as in Germany and in New Zealand.
In 1966, Jim wrote a book entitled Calling for Modern Square Dancing. In 1972, he started writing a series of booklets on various aspects of our trade the first was called “TIMING”. Then “LEADERSHIP AND CLUB ADMINISTRATION”, followed in 1974 by “YOUR VOICE” and in 1977 “SMOOTHNESS IN SQUARE DANCING”.
He is a contributing editor to the New England Square Dance Caller magazine and writes one of their monthly columns. He is recognized by NECCA, the New England Council of Callers’ Associations, as a Caller Training Specialist in each of the following fields: Voice, Leadership, Club Administration, Programming and Smoothness and Timing.
Jim is a CALLERLAB Accredited Caller-Coach and was part of the committee that established this program.
Jim is a Teacher’s Teacher. His innovativeness was one of the driving forces behind the three year old concept of running schools to teach caller-coaches. Jim has just started a Caller-Aid where he helps callers by critiquing tapes of their dances.
I once asked Jim why I found it easier to use things I learned from him than things I learned from others. He told me he is not a natural at calling and had to teach himself to do things. Since he is a tough student to teach, his self-teaching techniques also worked on other tough students.
Jim is a Leader and Organizer. He helped organize Tri-State Callers’ Association and has served in all of its offices. Jim was a founding member of NECCA, a council of all of the callers’ associations in New England and has held all of their offices, including Chairman. Jim is a charter member of CALLERLAB and was involved with the formative stages of its development.
Jim is a Leader’s Leader. He served as the First Chairman of the Board Of Governors of CALLERLAB for the first two years of our existence.
I opened by saying I was pleased and honored to be able to present the Milestone Award, on behalf of CALLERLAB, to a man who certainly meets the criteria of the award. I want to add that I am proud to be able to present this award to my MENTOR and FRIEND. Will you please join me in this presentation to JIM MAYO and his charmin