2024-25 Candidates for the CBA Board of Directors
Please read each candidate’s statement below and get your vote in by the deadline:
October 19, 2024 at 12 noon PDT
David Boggs
Read David’s statement
Karen Celia Heil
Read Karen’s statement
Ashley Readel
Read Ashley’s statement
Bert Daniel
Read Bert’s statement
Joel Keebler
Read Joel’s statement
Tyler Stamets
Read Tyler’s statement
Lani Way
Read Lani’s statement
Robin Frenette
Read Robin’s statement
Ted Kuster
Read Ted’s Statement
Phoebe Leigh-Suelfow
Read Phoebe’s statement
Andrea Zelones
Read Andrea’s statement
Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival not just continue to exist, but to thrive. I’m hoping to work with like-minded folks who share the goal of a thriving CBA and Father’s Day Festival. I’m one of the CBA membership coordinators for the Sacramento area and a volunteer broadcaster at KVMR radio. I’ve been interested in music my whole life, but it has become a bit of an obsession as an adult. One of my favorite activities is attending live music events (mostly bluegrass, americana, and folk) with friends and family.
I’m Ted Kuster, a banjo player living in Petaluma and a CBA member since 2008. I used to be the Regional Director for San Francisco, and now help CBA members run jams and other gatherings as the statewide Regional Activities VP. I believe bluegrass and old-time music are for everyone, and I’ll always work hard to make that a reality.
The CBA project I’m most proud of was launching Bluegrass Pride as a CBA project, and then spinning it off as its own national nonprofit. Other good memories include leading the fundraising effort to replace members’ instruments lost in the Camp Fire; helping to build out our new membership database; and publishing J.D. Rhynes’s California Bluegrass Cookbook.
I think sharing the love of bluegrass and old-time music, among both listeners and performers, is the central aim that all our activities should be measured against. That means prioritizing youth and adult musical education; expanding our membership numbers throughout California; and building even more outstanding regional jams and gatherings.
My name is Tyler Stamets, and I am running for the Board of Directors of the California Bluegrass Association. I am an enthusiastic and active member of San Diego’s acoustic music community. I am a native of Julian, CA and a long-standing business owner there and I serve as the President of Julian’s Chamber of Commerce. My extended family and I have been attendees at, and great supporters of, the Julian Family Fiddle Camp. I am excited that CBA has become the sponsoring organization of this important annual event. It has been a great honor to serve this past year as a member of the Board of Directors, and I feel that the work is just getting started. I will continue to be an asset to the CBA in continuing the positive relationship between the community of Julian, the CBA, and the Julian Family Fiddle Camp. I wish to be an active part in helping CBA achieve its mission to encourage appreciation, understanding, enjoyment, support, and performance of bluegrass music statewide, especially in Southern California.
Hi! I’m Phoebe Leigh-Suelflow and I’m currently on the Board of Directors. I’m running for a third term, so please vote for me.
I hope you know me as the Volunteer Coordinator. I know I have the “funnest” job in the CBA. I get to meet and work with all of you, and together we made 2024 the best festival ever (OK, I said that about 2023, too, but it’s true…). If you didn’t join us this year, I hope you’ll consider volunteering next year. It’s our 50th and we’re getting even better!
I love what bluegrass is: bluegrass and old-time is music to be shared. It’s about community. We like to get together to hear the music, to play music together, to be with other people who enjoy this music, and to invite others to join us in sharing our music. The music brings us together.
My goal on the Board is to make our community even better by communicating and inviting everyone in. Communicating involves listening, as well as keeping everyone informed. We can do this with the Breakdown, the CBA website, Facebook and targeted special interest and geographical emails. It also involves hearing your ideas on what the CBA should be doing. More jams? More concerts? More on-line events? More educational content on-line? Community also means coordinating with regional directors, and working with local groups with similar interests so that we can combine our efforts. Our goals are the same: we want more bluegrass music!
Our community gets even stronger when we all volunteer. I’m inviting everyone to get involved as much as they want to be. Don’t be afraid — it doesn’t have to take a lot of time or special skills — we want you as you are! Your skill may be hosting a jam, or (like me) baking goodies for a jam (ask me for my Blueberry Boy Bait recipe), spreading the word about events, helping at the CBA table at a festival and talking with people about what we do, or welcoming a new member. A big part of my job is to make your volunteer experience as rewarding as it can be!
I’m active locally in the Long Beach Dog Park Bluegrass Jam. Despite the valiant efforts of many fine teachers, I remain a not-so-good fiddle player. But I’m dedicated. I did take my fiddle to Antarctica with me two years ago. We now have several new penguin CBA members.
In a previous life I was an accountant and an attorney, wrote boring stuff for tax journals and practitioners’ manuals; and did pro bono work for Bet Tzedek and the Inglewood Legal Aid clinic, providing free legal services to the community. Although I’m happily retired and no longer spend my days talking with IRS auditors, I still get to work with finances. I’ve taken over the position of CBA Treasurer. We’re busy modernizing our accounting system and making our financial reporting more transparent. Good books! That’s another reason to vote for me!
Please vote for me. And keep in touch – fiddlingphoebe@gmail.com.
I am a long time CBA member and I care very much about the future of our organization and the music we support. I am a physician but mostly retired now so I have the opportunity to devote my time to serve on the board if you elect me.
If you are a regular visitor to the CBA web site you may already have some idea about my take on the Bluegrass music scene from reading my regular welcome columns. Maybe you have had some fun with my trivia questions as well. The welcome columns are a good start but let me spell it out more directly. These are some of the principles I stand for:
#1) Inclusion. The CBA is a democratic organization. That’s why you are voting–and do make sure to vote (hopefully for me). If elected, I will be your representative and I can’t do the job properly unless I hear your input. I want to hear your ideas even if I have never met you.
#2) Support for our music. Bluegrass, Old Time and Gospel music is somewhat threatened these days. Our local bands and local festivals need our full support because they face stiff competition from pop culture bands with more exposure.
#3) Look to the future. Preserving our music means passing it along to the next generation. I know our CBA youth programs are second to none. We should be proud of that but we should do even more to ensure that they have the resources to do even more. More importantly, we should encourage volunteerism and create leadership opportunities for our youth to make sure our music has a bright future.
#4) Optimize the FDF. Our signature event has suffered some speed bumps in recent years with aging and attrition of the volunteer crew, then COVID-19, etc. Thanks to our leadership the festival has kept rolling but the future is still uncertain. I would like to help preserve the atmosphere of the festival I first came to love more than a quarter century ago. It can be done.
#5) Outreach. What are we doing as an organization to have our music experienced by people who have never been exposed to it? We need to support efforts to bring our music to schools, fairs, local jams and other venues that might expose more people to the great music we are privileged to be a part of.
#6) Cross fertilization. I would like to hear from you about this controversial topic. How do we preserve the core essence of our music without being distracted by outside influences? Sure, we could draw bigger crowds to our festivals by booking popular bands that don’t really play Bluegrass, Old Time or Gospel. And maybe the mixing of musical influences would help musical evolution on all sides. But it’s a tough call. I think our first priority should always be the music our mission statement defines, but I am not opposed to stirring the mix a little.
Thanks,
Bert Daniel
Greetings CBA Members!
I’m seeking my 5th term as a CBA Board member. It’s been a very busy year for festivals and other events! Despite challenges due to the ever-increasing costs of venues in California, we continue to “grow the grass” in Southern California and other previously under-represented areas. South State 48 is in its 4th year, and we helped the Friends of the Recreation Park Band Shell (FORPBS) produce the first annual Long Beach Bluegrass Festival.
Some of my goals for the coming year are:
- Continue to collaborate with other like-minded music organizations and CBA Regional Directors in the diverse Southern California region to establish more programs, jams and events and encourage participation among all levels of pickers and grinners, especially young people.
- Work with the Social Media team and Website teams to implement strategies that will establish CBA as a leader in the bluegrass and Old-time music communities and increase sponsorship, membership, and interest in the CBA, especially with young people.
- Continue to work toward establishing California as a destination for bluegrass, old-time, and gospel music by working with members, other non-profits, and venues to establish a network to support touring bands from all over California and other parts of
the country, and publicize their events to increase audience participation.
Thank you for your consideration.
Robin Frenette
Long Beach, CA
As we experience our 2024 Summer here in California, our CBA board and volunteers continue to connect with and serve our CBA members by holding live gatherings and events, as well as connecting with online outreach, and in print. The board works to be even more relevant and engaging by keeping its stellar ongoing programs afloat, while creating additional projects into the future. The current board, blessed with talented and forward thinking leadership, has done impressive work! And there is always more to be done.
I have been an active member of the California & West Coast Old Time, acoustic and roots music communities for decades. I bring these communities’ voices to the board. Through my work at music camps and festivals beyond California’s borders, I consider myself a member of the Old Time music community in the Southeast, and greater U.S., and bring this wider connection to the Board.
I have served as board liaison to the CBA’s Summer Music Camp, helping steer the Camp through its leadership transition in 2022. I’ve been involved in many CBA San Francisco Chapter events, starting with the inaugural Gay Pride Parade float band. I serve as director of the monthly Feral Friday San Francisco Square Dance that the CBA proudly sponsors. I am on the board of the Berkeley Old Time Music Convention.
I experience the CBA from the perspectives of being a member, a board member, and as a musician, having performed at our Father’s day Fest on all 3 stages, as well as at many of the square dances. I play locally and on the West Coast with the bands Plaid Strangers, the Knuckle Knockers, and KC & the MooNshine Band. I have also performed with Paul Brown, Eddie Bond, Suzy Thompson, Rafe Stefanini, Nokosee Fields, Hank Bradley, Mike Bryant, Maria Muldaur, and others.
My interests on the board include furthering the cross-pollenation of the Old Time and Bluegrass communities by promoting additional participation from Old Time. As your Old Time director, I am running (with volunteer help!) our yearly Golden Old Time Campout, coming up August 22-25. I will continue to be active in my role as board liaison to our highly successful Summer Music Camp, and as chair of the board’s D.E.I. committee. I will continue to support live music and dances in our communities, with an interest in creating workable licensing scenarios for small venues in order to stop ASCAP/BMI predatory practices. Thank you for your support in the past and in the future!
~ kAren Celia Heil
Once upon a distant time, Joel was a member of The Stringbeans, voted Knoxville’s (Tennessee) Best Bluegrass Band. He is a big fan of the Del McCoury Band, Steve Martin, and Country Gongbang!
Joel formerly volunteered with various contra dance organizations. These days, he is busy pickin’ at home with his family and enjoying all the great bluegrass and old-time music in California.
I am the vice chairman of the board and International Bluegrass Music Association coordinator. This year, we selected the Korean bluegrass band, Country Gongbang to perform at our festival which sparked our first Global Connection project. I invited the band to extend their stay in California to create greater opportunities for cultural exchange with our community. Our members were engaged and generous in every way, from lending instruments and finding additional performance opportunities to offering homestays, and of course, building musical bonds. This is but one way our programs provide enriched experiences in bluegrass.
I do outreach to our other bluegrass partners, sponsors and media to assist in promoting our organization and events we produce. I have been the primary grant writer and am always looking for new ways to support our youth program and engage new families. This is a very active time for the CBA with the board currently involved in strategic planning to build our capacity to take on new initiatives that broaden our reach and provide stability for the organization. I would be honored to have your vote.
Greetings CBA members,
My name is Andrea Zelones (fiddle/mandolin player) and I am running for my 3rd term on the CBA Board of Directors. I’m also CBA’s Corporate Secretary (2 years) and recently became CBA’s Southlands Regional Director (San Diego & Imperial Counties). I actively participate in various CBA committees with goals of diversifying events in California and increasing membership and participation in CBA. I’m still developing relationships and proactively promoting bluegrass and old-time music throughout California and encouraging K-12 participation at local jams and events.
I’m a current and active Member of CBA, San Diego Bluegrass Society (SDBS), North County Bluegrass & Folk Club (NCBFC), Southwest Bluegrass Association (SWBA), Songmakers, San Diego Mandolin Orchestra (SDMO), and Classical Mandolin Society of America (CMSA). I also hold board positions with other musical associations besides CBA (NCBFC, SDBS, Summergrass, SWBA, and SDMO).
Thank you for your consideration.
Andrea Zelones
San Diego, CA