Sound system arrives in time for Labor Day
The Florence Labor Day committee has purchased a portable public address system for use during its celebration. The group also will make use of the sound system at the annual Spring Fling, which is a fund-raiser for the Labor Day extravaganza.
The committee originally had considered purchasing a permanent system that would have been mounted on the light poles between Fourth and Sixth streets.
Duane McCarty, who with partner Ken Vetter, owns a disc jockey service in Florence, offered to research smaller portable systems for the group in hope of getting them a more versatile system for their money.
After checking the Internet and several area music stores, McCarty found a system that would serve the committee not only at outdoor events on Labor Day, but at the community church service and the melodrama on the school stage.
The system is compact and portable and folds up into a suitcase-like box. It will fit in the trunk of a car.
"The system is made by Fender," said McCarty. "It has Bose speakers and they are the best you can find. It (the sound system) includes two microphones, mike cords, four speaker cords, and speaker stands."
"It only weighs 55 pounds so it's easy to transport. It can be upgraded to a four-speaker system if the committee ever needs additional sound coverage," he added. "There are other features that will allow playing tapes, compact discs, or the radio if they need that kind of entertainment."
McCarty tested the system downtown and said that at half volume, it could be heard a long way. He noted that because of the quality of the speakers, they sound better than speakers 10 times their size.
McCarty said the investment by the Labor Day group will pay for itself in a couple of years because they won't have to rent sound equipment every year. He acknowledged the purchase would not be helpful to his own business since his was the sound system the committee had been renting. "I guess I didn't do myself any favors," he laughed.
"But they have saved for this for a long time. Many people have donated over several years to see this sound system up and running."
McCarty said the system will help the Labor Day weekend run more smoothly and he was glad he had the knowledge to help select the system they needed.
