Boyertown PA
11-30-2022 4:30am

Banish the Chill on Main: Sing Christmas Karaoke with Jody Dolansky

by Jane Stahl
One of the best things about the Christmas season is the songs—some songs are carols that were learned early at Sunday School; some songs are secular, but all are are ubiquitous--played in malls, doctor’s offices, and every other radio station beginning mid-November through January. Everybody knows the words and the tunes which makes sing-a-longs a popular activity throughout the holiday season.

Capitalizing on the fun-to-be-had, realtor, former teacher, songwriter and guitarist, Jody Dolansky, Boyertown High School Class of 2008,  is facilitating a Christmas Karaoke session where you can sing your favorite holiday song as part of Building a Better Boyertown's Chillin' on Main Festival on Dec 3, 2022, 12 a.m.-4 p.m. (Time changed Dec 1 due to weather forecast.) The event will be held at the Zuber Realty office, 201 E Philadelphia Ave.

Dolansky, a real estate agent with Richard A. Zuber Realty, remembers watching her parents singing together along with the Karaoke machine they bought for her as a Christmas gift. At the time, singing was not her passion. Today, however, she writes and sings her life's stories as part of a guitar duo known as The Keystone Ramblers. She and her guitar partner can be found in venues around the Boyertown/Bally area. Country rock with a bluesy feel describe her preferred genre that has been inspired by country greats like Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, and Faith Hill.

The lyrics she writes express the joys and pains of her own life, similar to those she found in the literature she shared with students in her earlier teaching career. "Part of what I loved in teaching was sharing that the struggles my junior high school students were facing are not new. Romeo and Juliet didn't always get along with their parents either," she explains. "Nor did their love story turn out well," she quips. 

Dolansky first took up the guitar in junior high school under the guidance of John Phalen, English teacher at Boyertown Junior High West Center. “A friend and I met with Mr. Phalen every Wednesday after school for a few months. He taught us the basics on an electric guitar,” she explains. “But it wasn’t until college when I picked up an acoustic guitar that I got serious about playing. The acoustic allowed me to connect on a more emotional level to tell my ‘stories.’ It’s a more intimate experience.” Recently, Dolansky has studied with Patricia Keith whom she describes as "amazing."

Part of Dolansky's story before graduating was helping to raise money to fund the GI Joe Bear Fever bear that stands at attention at Fairview Cemetery. The student effort involved raising funds for the bear that honors Travis Zimmerman who, at 19 years old was killed by a roadside bomb during his Army service in Iraq. Zimmerman was a neighbor and fellow student of Dolansky; Scarlett, Rodney Jr., and adults Janet and Rodney Kulp and Melinda Leffel. (Find the story of this effort on www.bearfever.org.)

Following high school and with a degree from Temple University in philosophy and English, Dolansky’s career goal was to be a writer. A job as a pre-school gym teacher to fund the acquisition of her Master’s Degree led to an assignment teaching junior high school English. But the rigors of meeting the needs of hundreds of students, the expectations of parents, after-school committee and club assignments, focus on standardized testing led to a 70-hour workweek that became untenable.

An invitation from Richard Zuber to consider becoming an agent led her to her current career—a direction that was not on her radar growing up with her mother, an associate real estate broker with the Zuber organization.

But the flexibility and autonomy afforded as an agent provide time for creative efforts and involvement in community events. Dolansky serves as committee chairperson of the Community Outreach Committee for Zuber Realty. And assisting first-time buyers gives her teaching chops a work-out in guiding them through the process of buying a home.

"There's no place like home for the holidays" can be easily altered to "There's no place like a home for the holidays." Stay tuned for her new ad as agent featuring her on the guitar!

Jody is featured in an episode of Jane Stahl’s “B Inspired” podcast available on seven platforms including Spotify, Anchor.fm, Castbox, Google, and Apple.

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