President's Corner

	Darby Brandli, CBA President
	MONTHLY MESSAGE January 2013

January 2013 President’s: CBA Membership Contest

The California Bluegrass Association is now in our 4th decade as an all-volunteer membership Association. Four Decades!! Over the years membership increased to a high of almost 4000 active members (making us the largest bluegrass association in the world) and slowly decreased in the last couple of years to around 2500 active members (still the largest in the world but for how long?).

Originally, all CBA events (including our monthly Bluegrass Breakdown) were financed by membership dues with profit from our Father’s Day Festival to help us “grow” the event and pay for other costs. The CBA now has other revenue streams and a separate Youth Program Fund. Memberships are enormously important to us and the declining membership numbers are worrisome and beginning to have a financial impact. Our dues have not increased in years ($25 single/$30 family).

Membership entitles you to discounts which reimburse the cost. With an increase in activities, the membership value is increasing in discounts alone.

The most important message a membership sends is you, the member, support what the CBA is doing. We are organized to preserve and promote bluegrass, old time and gospel music. Our Bluegrass Breakdown editor, Mark Varner, continues to amaze and delight us with a professional, award winning vehicle distributed nationally. Our events are geographically distributed throughout California and range from our nationally acclaimed Father’s Day Festival to smaller festivals and concerts and campouts. ]

Our Music Camps have a reputation as among the best worldwide. Our Great 48 Hour Jam (free) has grown to include hundreds of people from throughout the state. We increased the number of California Bands to appear on stage by adding a California Showcase Band program and Vern’s Stage to our Father’s Day Fest and by expanding regional events. We support our music teachers and luthiers and music stores and venues with advertising on our website and publications. Our Youth Program continues to expand to expand to ensure the youngest among us are introduced to the music and supported by the CBA. We encourage attendance at our events by young people by deep discounts or free admission. Our website is open (for free) to bands and venues and other organizations to advertise and to promote events. We have formed relationships with other organizations and events to meet our mission and assist them with outreach.

We urge you to renew your membership or to consider joining the CBA. Members whose memberships have expired in the past and now renew may keep the “old” number (low numbers are status symbols) because we keep records. Our membership chairman, Bruce Campbell, will research our data base and re-issue your original number.

For the month of January 2013 we will conduct two lotteries: one for new members and one for renewing members. For those of you who join /renew in the month of January, your name will be put in a “hat” for a drawing for a CBA Jacket (one for new members, one for renewals).

Joining/renewing is easy on-line (costs $1 extra) or by sending in the renewal form found in the Breakdown ($.45 postage). Remember in order to volunteer for the Father’s Day Festival or to purchase Early Bird Tickets or to enter the Full Hookup Lottery you must have a current CBA membership. Families who wish to borrow instruments from our Lending Library must be current members.

We encourage the bands whom we support, promote and hire to consider memberships as essential for their members. Our ability to continue to increase and improve what we offer depends on the message that membership sends: I support the California Bluegrass Association and its mission.

Posted: 1/10/2013