May 28, 2004
Greetings from the Hoppers and a busy cross-country Spring Tour! We just finished a tremendous time at the Great Western Gospel Fan Festival in Fresno, California (make plans to join us for this event next year on April 28-30, 2005), and we are looking forward to some incredible upcoming events that are just around the corner!
We are excited for the opportunity to go to San Antonio, Texas on June 4 to sing We Are America at the State Republican Convention. This is the largest political gathering in the world with over 15,000 delegates in attendance! Following that, it won’t be long until we travel to western Canada for the Gospel Music Fan Festival in Red Deer, Alberta on July 15-18. This is the last year that this festival will be held under the auspices of the National Quartet Convention; however, we are looking forward to our Canadian friends continuing the tradition. We will keep you posted on the plans for 2005!
September 13 kicks off the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, Kentucky and don’t forget the Singing News Fan Awards on September 16. For the past several years, you have chosen our family for Favorite Mixed Group, Kim for Favorite Soprano and Favorite Female Vocalist, Connie for Favorite Alto, and Mike for Favorite Musician. Also, this year we are especially proud of our piano player, Josh Simpson, who is in the top five nominations for the Horizon Award! We are truly grateful for these honors and would like to say “thank you” again. We do not take your support lightly, and we appreciate your continued vote of confidence!
The 31st Annual Singing at Sea Cruise to the Bahamas will sail November 1-6, 2004. This cruise is almost sold out, but we would love to have you join us for this unforgettable time of Christian fellowship and great Southern Gospel Music!
November 27, 2004 marks our 47th Annual Anniversary Concert in Eden, North Carolina. This will be an historic event as the original Hopper Brothers reunite and are joined by Greater Vision and Dennis Sparks!
A few months ago, we released our most exciting recording ever, Great Day. We are thrilled and encouraged by the response it has received. Just this past month, this project received a Dove Award nomination for the Southern Gospel Album of the Year, and the song She Found Jesus Alive received a Dove nomination for Bluegrass Song of the Year! God is Good moved up the charts with a number four spot and our latest single, Jerusalem, has already made it to number eight! To obtain your copy of Great Day, visit our online store at www.thehoppers.com.
We are blessed by the numerous doors the Lord continues to open, and we are ever encouraged by your faithful prayers and support. We look forward to everything that is in store over the coming months and hope that you will be able to join us for these events! As always, just give our office a call at 336-548-2526 or visit our website at www.thehoppers.com for more information on these events as well as for information regarding the 2005 Hopper Heritage Tour - coming to a city near you!
Sincerely,

Claude D. Hopper

We enjoyed our recent California tour in April to Yuba City, Porterville, Turlock, and Sacramento, home of the Great Western Quartet Convention. It was also a thrill to be with Dr. David Jeremiah of Turning Point Ministries.

On May 3rd, Dean and Connie received their associates degree from Oakland City University; Connie in religious studies and Dean in business.

In May, we were honored to participate in the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Tribute Concert in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We spent a special night witnessing the finest in our industry being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In June, we sailed on our 30th annual Singing at Sea Caribbean Cruise. We shared the stage with great artists such as Gold City, Greater Vision, Florida Boys, Legacy Five, Squire Parsons, The Nelons and The Inspirations. We also enjoyed many great laughs from Geraldine & Ricky. Make plans to join us for the 31st annual Singing At Sea cruise to the Bahamas on November 1-6, 2004. For more information, please call our office at (336) 548-2968.

The Canadian Gospel Music Fan Festival at Red Deer, Alberta, in July is always a real treat and this year’s event was no exception. The audience was one of the most enthusiastic and exciting groups that we’ve ministered to all year! We always look forward to visits with our Canadian friends.

It has been a wonderful experience for our family to be a part of the Let Freedom Ring Tour with Bill Gaither and the Homecoming Friends this year. We visited 30 cities this spring and we’re looking forward to joining the fall tour in September where we are scheduled in 26 cities across the country.

We hope you have picked up a copy of Kim’s first solo project, Imagine. It was produced by Michael Sykes and Ronnie Brookshire and was released in May by Spring Hill. Our newest album, Great Day, produced by Lari Goss will be released by Spring Hill in late August! Spring Hill has also become the label for our latest Christmas album, Glad Tidings. Look for these releases in your local Christian bookstore.

Our family has started a non-profit corporation, The Hopper Heritage Foundation, whose purpose is to provide assistance and resources to those who want to pursue a career in Gospel Music or a musical ministry that will take the Gospel in song to places it’s never been. All contributions to this fund are tax-deductible.

We are thrilled about an upcoming book that Claude and Connie are compiling of their 45-year journey in Gospel Music. Our hope and prayer is that this book will not only provide an insightful look into the legacy of the Hoppers, but that will also offer encouragement and inspiration through the testimony of God’s working in and through our family. We appreciate your love and support these 45 years and would love to have your input in what the book will be titled. Submit your ideas for book titles to our office by mail, fax (336-548-4288) or e-mail (booktitle@thehoppers.com). If your idea is chosen as the title of the book, you will win a cruise courtesy of the Hoppers. If your idea is chosen as a chapter title, you will receive a complimentary autographed copy of the new book. Proceeds from the upcoming book will go to the Hopper Heritage Foundation.

We are pleased to announce the formation of the North Carolina Gospel Music Hall of Fame, (established as a non-profit corporation in 2000, and still in the early phase of construction), which will help to preserve the heritage of Gospel Music in the state of NC. There are more full-time Gospel groups and soloists and more Southern Gospel Music are aired on radio in NC than in any other state. It’s also the home of the world’s largest Christian Music magazine, the Singing News. We’re very excited about a resolution in the NC State Legislature which will incorporate our proposed location for the Hall of Fame and Event Center (in western Rockingham County) into a State park. Much research is under way to collect all the history of the groups and personalities that will be housed in the Hall of Fame. We would appreciate your prayers and support in this important effort.

We want to say a special thank you to the numerous pastors, music ministers, promoters and friends whom we have enjoyed working with over the years. Your prayers and support these past 45 years have been vital to the success of our ministry. Thank you and God bless you!