EDITOR'S NOTE: I wrote this post in November of 2014. In the course of moving posts from Tumblr to Blogger, I decided that this one is no less urgent today than it was back then. The place of bluegrass as a discrete musical genre has always been precarious, so it's crucial for those of us who love bluegrass music to keep an eye on those who would dilute and destroy it.
Like most of us, Chairman of the IBMA Board, Jon Weisberger, arose from small beginnings. For years, he could be found as “useyourwords” (a screen name that quotes the mother’s favorite, “Use your words, not your fists.”) on bluegrass message boards and e-mail lists, pummeling with his rhetorical fists all who doubted his de-ethnicized, suburbanized vision for bluegrass music. Anyone who opposed Weisberger was subjected to relentless invective and eternal enmity – dished out as withering sarcasm every time the dissenter dared comment on another subject.
Sadly, most people are go-along, get-along types, so Weisberger managed to claw his way to the top of the bluegrass food chain. “IBMA Board Turmoil Continues with Second Resignation” – offers an inside look at what Weisberger has wrought in his time as IBMA board chairman.
The article mentions that IBMA Executive Director, Nancy Cardwell “tendered her resignation” last month. That she did, after two decades of organizational pothole fixing and bridge building. It was Cardwell’s plan to move the IBMA annual convention to Raleigh, NC, where it has received an enthusiastic welcome, rave reviews, increased attendance, and increased profit.
Cardwell “tendered her resignation” immediately after this year’s successful, well-attended, and well-reviewed IBMA gathering in Raleigh, in the wake of another event that followed on the heels of the convention – a closed-door meeting, during which the IBMA Board of Directors gave Cardwell, the architect of their Raleigh success, a vote of no confidence.
As I've said before, if you want to change things, join the IBMA, and vote!
Like most of us, Chairman of the IBMA Board, Jon Weisberger, arose from small beginnings. For years, he could be found as “useyourwords” (a screen name that quotes the mother’s favorite, “Use your words, not your fists.”) on bluegrass message boards and e-mail lists, pummeling with his rhetorical fists all who doubted his de-ethnicized, suburbanized vision for bluegrass music. Anyone who opposed Weisberger was subjected to relentless invective and eternal enmity – dished out as withering sarcasm every time the dissenter dared comment on another subject.
Sadly, most people are go-along, get-along types, so Weisberger managed to claw his way to the top of the bluegrass food chain. “IBMA Board Turmoil Continues with Second Resignation” – offers an inside look at what Weisberger has wrought in his time as IBMA board chairman.
The article mentions that IBMA Executive Director, Nancy Cardwell “tendered her resignation” last month. That she did, after two decades of organizational pothole fixing and bridge building. It was Cardwell’s plan to move the IBMA annual convention to Raleigh, NC, where it has received an enthusiastic welcome, rave reviews, increased attendance, and increased profit.
Cardwell “tendered her resignation” immediately after this year’s successful, well-attended, and well-reviewed IBMA gathering in Raleigh, in the wake of another event that followed on the heels of the convention – a closed-door meeting, during which the IBMA Board of Directors gave Cardwell, the architect of their Raleigh success, a vote of no confidence.
As I've said before, if you want to change things, join the IBMA, and vote!
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