19th CALLERLAB Convention 
MILESTONE AWARD
Presented by Bill Davis
A square dancer was overheard recently telling a friend that she had just watched square dancing on the Phil Donahue Show, and in her opinion, it was one of the finest presentations of the activity that she had ever seen. Without realizing it, that show was presented “live” almost 10 years before. Its quality of dancing and calling had more than withstood the test of time. Needless to say, it appearance on reruns in the future will continue to attract new audiences and its caller, Lee Kopman, will impress others with his fine narration and calling.
Lee and his wife, Lilith, started square dancing in their home state of New York in 1956. Lee, a school physical education teacher, started calling the following year. Almost thirty-five years later, Lee is busy with 325 dances per year, calling all levels, from beginner to Challenge level 4. His calling dates have taken him to a majority of the United States and to Germany, Sweden, England, and Japan.
Kopman has recorded on four different labels and produces his own instructional tapes that he has designed to help dancers learn to dance at a wide variety of levels. Along with all of this he has set time aside to teach callers and conduct caller clinics.
Over the years Lee had made outstanding and unique contributions in the original square-dancing choreography. His contributions have stood the test of time, and he has had a broad influence on the square dance activity,
Lee had been the author of more than 350 steps (movements). 75% have become a part of the lists of accepted by Callerlab. Some of these are: Scoot Back, Recycle, Linear Cycle, Chase Right, Chain Reaction, and Transfer the Column. It’s been stated that at all levels it is hard to call a tip without using a movement (step) created by Lee.