Ramblings On My Mind – Greg Johnson, CBA President

Ramblings On My Mind-March 2021

Ramblings On My Mind October 2019We are getting closer to this year’s Muddy Awards, which will be held on Wednesday, November 6 at the Alberta Rose Theatre. Make sure that you complete your ballots and return them promptly. Remember that if you feel that somebody other than those selected by the nominating committee should be on the ballot, you are free to fill in your own choice as a write-in vote. Voting is a privilege of being a member of the Cascade Blues Association, and usually those who complain the loudest about the results are those who are not members to begin with. So if that is the case where you feel that somebody else should be recognized, sign up and become a member, then you can cast your selection for your those you feel are deserving.

We are also looking for sponsorships for this year’s Muddy Awards to help defray the expense of the event. We have sponsorship levels ranging from $250.00 up to $1000.00 with several perks for the various amounts offered. Ask our board members for more information.

I would also like to take a moment to give thanks to Kent Drangsholt at The Garages Satellite Pub. When The Eagles Lodge had an unforeseen closure for a couple weeks that took place last month we found ourselves in a situation where we needed to relocate our membership meeting with limited time to notify everyone about the temporary change. Kent did not hesitate. He canceled the event already booked for that night and told us the room was ours for the date. Thanks to all of our members who made it out. The Garages is a large room with nice sound and a welcome addition to the West Side blues scene. We hope that those who showed up liked the space and will plan on attending more events there in the future. Kent told us if we ever find ourselves in such a situation again, he is more than glad to help us out. Thank you Kent.

Aside from the Muddy Awards coming up, we will also be moving into an important time of the year for the CBA’s future next year. The elections will take place again this December and if you have an interest in running for one of the officer positions please let it be known by sending your intent to run in writing to us. This can be submitted to any of our board members online or by mail to Cascade Blues Association, PO Box 6566, Portland, OR 97228. We request that if applying for a position such as Treasurer that you have some form of accounting/book-keeping experience; Membership Secretary entails use of spread-sheets and the ability to keep up-to-date with our members’ expiration dates, sending out reminders to renew and issuing membership cards. All officer job position details can be found on our website (cascadebluesassociation.org) within our by-laws in the drop-down menu under “About the CBA.”

If you want to help out without becoming a board member, we can always use volunteers in various capacities throughout the year, such as delivering BluesNotes or helping out at events and meetings. Speak to our volunteer lead Richard LaChapelle or any board member and we can add you to our team.

Also coming up will be this year’s Holiday Party in December, always one of the most fun events of the year. Keep an eye posted in the BluesNotes and online at either our website or Facebook pages for upcoming details. If you would like to offer items that can be placed in a silent auction, please let us know. All contributions are gladly welcomed and appreciated.