Greetings from the President

I realize that it’s been some time since I published a letter to the membership. Life has been exceedingly busy over the last several months and it is well past due. I have several things I want to bring to you.

First I want to thank my fellow board members and my volunteers. Without them we would not have an organization. I also want to acknowledge all the Host Bands and the Jammers that faithfully show at our Jams on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, and the owners and staff of Grape Street Bar & Grill that allow us to meet there. Jams are consistently well attended. It is our goal to share this music we love with the public and to promote it to those that might not be familiar with all the varied styles of Blues.

Our members are also an important part of this equation, your annual dues and donations at the jams are what allows us to continue with our mission. All board members are volunteers and do not receive payment for their time but there are fees to be paid to maintain our 501 3c non-profit status and a few minor expenses throughout the year. If you know you are due to renew your membership please go to our website and take care of that, it is appreciated.

Our October 2024 Revue was a great success. We highlighted a couple of local bands, Brisbane Project and TC and The Reactions. We were also proud to showcase some out of the area musicians. Ben Rice and The PDX Hustle may be well known to some here because they do play in the Valley a few times a year and Ben’s family has a generational connection to the Rogue Valley. Our other out of the area group was a collaboration of Michael Osborn formerly of the Bay Area, now Portland, Dave Meylan from Portland and a well-traveled drummer and highlighted Chris Cain who is well known in the Bay Area and a recording artist with Alligator Records. If you missed it, you missed a great afternoon of music. Be sure to watch for what we have planned for this year.

There are a few things that I would like to ask of you as members and supporters, jobs that we need people to do. Currently we are looking for someone to be our Treasurer. I would like to find someone that has some bookkeeping or accounting background and be familiar with spreadsheets. I am also in need of a Secretary to take notes at our board meetings and to send them to board members with action items noted. In addition, I would like someone to take over maintenance of our Facebook page and social media and to produce our announcements for each jam. Some graphic art knowledge and good computer skills would be needed for this one.

If you are interested in any of these or in being involved in the planning of and behind the scenes work for our next Revue we’d love to talk to you. Hope to see you at a Jam soon.

Linda Huffman President, Rogue Blues Society www.rogueblues.org email: roguebluessociety@gmail.com