BAYSAR’s Stan French is singing the praises of being a boomer
Stan French, the President of BAYSAR Air Search and Rescue Inc. will be releasing a song and video to benefit several local charities
BAYSAR Air Search and Rescue president — and self-declared “recording artist with the minimum talent allowed by law” — Stan French will be releasing a new song next Wednesday with all of the proceeds from his royalties to be donated to One Kids Place, the Alzheimer Society, and the Victorian Order of Nurses SMILE program. All of these organizations are charities that refer clients to Project Lifesaver, an initiative run by BAYSAR dedicated to protecting, when necessary, quickly locating individuals with cognitive conditions that cause the life-threatening behaviour of wandering.
The song, created by French and the North Bay Boomers, is entitled Being a Boomer Ain’t Bad, will be released on all major streaming platforms including Spotify and Apple Music, and the music video will be available on Stan’s YouTube channel and his new website, stanfrench.org. The release of the song and video will take place during an event hosted by One Kids Place on May 28th at 10:30 am.
French’s will also encourage visitors to make directdonations to these charities. To help kick-start fundraising and improve access so more seniors with dementia can get Project Lifesaver, the Rotary Club of North Bay has provided BAYSAR with $2,000. That money will be used to provide Project Lifesaver at no cost to families with low income and no other source of funding.
Project Lifesaver has been a great success for the North Bay Police Service and the OPP Detachments of North Bay and Nipissing West, and a valuable tool for police to help keep vulnerable persons safe. However, there are many people in the public who still have not heard about the program. It is hoped that musical fundraising initiative, with it’s effort to reduce any financial barriers for families needing Project Lifesaver, will also increase awareness about the program for an entirely new portion of the public.
To get to the point of releasing the song and music video French said that, “I wouldn’t have been able to produce the recording and music video without the help of many volunteers, Canadore College, the office of the Mayor, the Capitol Centre, the North Bay Granite Club, and Osprey Links Golf course who all had a part to play in recording the song and producing the music video at zero cost. A new band, The North Bay Boomers, was formed entirely by local volunteer musicians to help me make the recording.”
Members of the band are Pat O’Kane, Chris Clarke, Bob Bartlett, Neil Kennedy, Linda McCarthy, and Janis Herzog.
“Two things made me want to complete this project. First, a good song deserves to be heard. There have been plenty of really good recording artists that have released some pretty questionable songs. It’s my turn now, as a pretty questionable recording artist, to release a very good song. The reviews from previews of the song and the music video have been fantastic. However, there’s no denying that the melody is catchy and the lyrics are relatable; the essential components of a good song,” explained French.
“The second reason I took on this year and a half long project was that I knew I had worthy charities to donate my earnings, because I sure don’t need a new career in my 70’s. I don’t know how far the song will go or how much I will be able to donate but I do know, the journey has been far more interesting than the destination. I’ll be happy to donate whatever I can.”
Visitors to Stan’s website will also be able to make direct donations to One Kids Place, the Alzheimer Society, or the VON SMILE program to support Project Lifesaver. For visitors from outside of the North Bay area, Stan has offered some options to donate to charities that support Project Lifesaver, or to volunteer search and rescue organizations. Visitors can watch the music video or listening to demos of his compositions that have sheet music available for bands. One of Stan’s compositions, Unity, was performed at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto in 1998. A demo recording by the Central Band, CAF, is available on his website.
