A Letter from Joe Mullins

Thanks, IBMA!

A Letter from Joe Mullins, chair of the IBMA Board of Directors. photos: Willa Stein

As we enjoy the holiday season and plan for a new year, I would like to offer a few thoughts regarding our association’s past, present, and future.

I am honored to serve our board of directors as chairman and grateful for the support and encouragement from our membership. When I was asked to accept a nomination for a board seat just over two years ago, I had no idea such an appointment was in the near future, but I have a passion for every constituency our association represents and will do my best to communicate effectively and lead with integrity.

When I was first asked to consider board service, I accepted because I believe wholeheartedly that the IBMA has made major contributions in creating better opportunities for each member of the bluegrass community. As we reflect on the past, our association was created out of necessity. By the 1980s, passionate and professional leaders of our industry knew we could improve each sector of the bluegrass music business if we created an association. By inviting artists, promoters, broadcasters, record labels, retailers, associations, educators, engineers, and more to work together and establish common goals, the founders of the IBMA helped create a brighter future. How thankful I am for the perseverance of those who invested and sacrificed a vast amount of time and resources to give our association a firm foundation.

That future they envisioned over thirty years ago is now! I am always very emotionally moved during the Hall of Fame inductions at our annual awards shows. Having the great fortune of enjoying lifelong family friendships with many of our genre’s finest performers, I’ve cried buckets of tears as we honored the Stanleys, the Osbornes, Lawson, McCoury, and all the others. During our 2015 awards show, I had a few thoughts about our association that I hope our readers and members will appreciate.

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International Bluegrass | December 2016

One of the most respected female entertainers in all of music took the stage representing the IBMA. Alison Krauss was certainly blessed with gifts and talents the world seldom sees. But consider this, the IBMA was founded in 1985; Krauss signed with Rounder Records in 1985. Before the IBMA, opportunities for female artists were far too rare. Our association continues to celebrate all bluegrass artists, regardless of gender, race, nationality, or age.

Thanks, IBMA! Krauss has won more Grammy Awards than any other singer in any genre and is the most awarded female artist in Grammy history. Before the IBMA, there was not a Grammy Award category for bluegrass. Thanks, IBMA! As Krauss so eloquently presented a detailed history and in-depth perspective of the great Larry Sparks, I was so grateful to be in the audience and thankful to be a member of the IBMA. Sparks’ music has been part of my life since day one. He began his career in the Ohio neighborhood where I grew up and my dad played on Sparks’ first album.

While thousands in the bluegrass community have long respected the music of Larry Sparks, his Hall of Fame induc-

tion put his name into Associated Press news releases worldwide for the first time. Before the IBMA, there was no official International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame. Thanks, IBMA!

Did you have a part in any of our recent IBMA accomplishments: the Hall of Fame celebrations, Distinguished Achievement Awards, the Grammy Educational Seminar, Leadership Bluegrass, or the thousands of dollars our trust fund distributed to bluegrass community members in need this past year? If you are not a member, why not? If you are grateful for the opportunities we all enjoy to see and hear bluegrass presented and promoted professionally, worldwide, then I encourage you to contribute. I said contribute because if you are a member but you are not participating in the support and encouragement of IBMA efforts, please consider finding a part to play.

Inspire others to become members or provide a gift membership to someone or an organization. Please remember, if you don’t pitch in your part, one day you won’t have a part to pitch in!

The IBMA has accomplished so much and benefited so many, including thousands in the industry and millions

of fans. Let’s celebrate our accomplishments in the new year. I’ve been part of the bluegrass community all my life.

Right now, we have more opportunity than ever with performers working all year, not just in festival season. Recordings are released each year from dozens of creative labels and hundreds of inventive, inspiring bands. Quality instruments are available affordably, and donor and scholarship programs put them in the hands of youngsters everywhere. The future is bright!

Lastly, please note I have continually written the IBMA. We are the International Bluegrass Music Association, an association of music industry enthusiasts with the common purpose of respecting the past, celebrating the present, and planning for the future.

The IBMA is not just one week out of the year with a great business conference, awards show, and weekend festival. The IBMA is you, me, and hundreds of other members, supported by a dedicated staff at our office, working long hours to ensure that we keep accomplishing our goals. I’m glad to pitch in my part and I trust you will as well. Thanks, IBMA! -Joe Mullins

NEW: GIVE THE GIFT OF IBMA MEMBERSHIP Here’s a thoughtful gift for the bluegrass lover in your life: give the gift of IBMA membership. You can purchase any level of membership online. (You may also download a form at the same link, if you prefer a mailed-in application.) And you’ll be able to download this new gift certificate to give to that lucky someone.

From: ibma.org

International Buegrass

| December 2016

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