Members of Sweet, the winning group in the 2004 Greater Cincinnati Area High School Barbershop Quartet Contest, are (from left) Sycamore High School students Sydney Monon, Alli Pohl, Andrea Lee and Mollie Fingerman. (Submitted)

This could have been a reincarnation of the Andrews Sisters - the ringing chords, rhythm and choreography, singing such songs as "Route 66" and "Straighten Up and Fly Right."

But this group calls itself Sweet, a barbershop quartet at Sycamore High School.

The ensemble captured the 2004 Greater Cincinnati Area High School Barbershop Quartet Contest Jan. 17 in a sing-out at the Harmony Lodge, 646 E. Epworth Ave., Winton Place.

Alli Pohl, a junior and daughter of Michael and Fran Pohl of Montgomery, sang lead; Sydney Monon, a senior and daughter of Stan and Mary Monon of Montgomery, sang tenor; Mollie Fingerman, a senior and daughter of Joel and Amy Fingerman of Blue Ash, sang bass, and Andrea Lee, a junior and daughter of Chung and Soon Lee of Montgomery, sang baritone.

Silver Spoons, a quartet from Kings High School was the runner-up. The group sang "Swing Down Chariot" and "I Don't Wanna Walk Without You."

The contest is sponsored by the Southern Gateway Chorus, the Western Hills Cincinnati Chapter of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America.

Doug Lazar, chapter vice president of Youth Music Outreach, said the purpose is to encourage people everywhere, especially high school students, to participate in vocal music programs.

"We want to expose youths to this truly American art form,'' Lazar said.

Counseling award

Sister Fran A. Repka believes that every person in need of emotional healing should be able to get counseling. She started the Mercy Professional Services in 1995 to begin working on that goal. The agency has been a positive force to the development of counseling in the Greater Cincinnati area.

The Greater Cincinnati Counseling Association, honored Sister Fran's work last Saturday with the Mary Corre Foster Community Counselor Award, given to a person who has made recognizable and documented contributions to the positive growth and development of counseling efforts.

Sister Fran is still spreading her dream. This week she is in Guam, training counselors.

"She always had that dream of providing counseling service to the poor and underserved,'' said John Borroughs, assistant director and outreach coordinator for Mercy Professional Services.

"Since she founded Mercy Professional, this agency has provided 67,000 hours of professional counseling, predominantly to the poor and underserved. The agency has donated over $4.5 million of unreimbursed care since it was founded.''