The IBMA Foundation is pleased to announce that Jayson Clark from New York state has won the prize 1967 D-35 Martin guitar. Jayson wrote, “I am honored to have won this wonderful guitar from the 2023 Strings for Dreams raffle, but even more honored to support the IBMA Foundation. As an educator and active bluegrass musician, the mission of the IBMA Foundation is extremely close to my heart, and it is truly a pleasure to support it. Many thanks to Fred Bartenstein for donating this incredible guitar to the raffle, and I am thrilled to continue its legacy and to be able to use this instrument to help spread the joy of bluegrass for many years to come!”
Erin Webb from Oklahoma has won the Louvin Brothers tribute cowboy boots, custom made by Lisa Sorrell. Erin is a bookkeeper for nonprofits and a longtime fan of Lisa Sorrell’s work. “I’m happy to support a nonprofit foundation working for bluegrass music, and also cowboy boot maker Lisa Sorrell. I’ve always wanted to own a pair of Lisa Sorrell boots.”
Stay tuned for April 2024, when we’ll announce the exciting prize that’s already been donated to the Foundation for the 4th annual Strings for Dreams Bluegrass Raffle! We can’t wait to tell you more about it! This year’s raffle was live-streamed on the IBMA Foundation’s Facebook page May 13 at noon, Eastern time. A total of total of $20,890 was raised in the raffle. Sorrell donated the boots, and longtime IBMA Foundation supporter and current board chair Fred Bartenstein donated the Martin guitar.
Our hard-working raffle promo team included Laurie Greenberg, Kissy Black and her associates at Lotos Nile, and Fred Bartenstein. We appreciate Bluegrass Unlimited, Bluegrass Today, IBMA’s newsletter, and everyone who shared a post in helping us to get the word out—including Foundation board members, committee members, and Leadership Bluegrass alumni.
We had great fun taking the guitar around MerleFest, Nashville, Garner and Raleigh, NC and elsewhere for folks to try it out, have their photos made with it, and make videos so ticket buyers could hear what they might win. Thanks to everyone who helped promoted the raffle fundraiser, including the 80 VIP guitar players and industry folks who took the time to have their photos taken with the guitar, play the guitar, or talk about the boots in a promo video:
Jay Adams (The Churchmen)
Dave Adkins (Dave Adkins Band)
Mike Aehle (Missouri Breaks)
Darin & Brooke Aldridge
Mike Armistead (Tennessee Mafia Strings Band)
Jay Armsworthy (Jay Armsworthy & Eastern Tradition)
Fred Bartenstein (IBMA Foundation, guitar donor)
Greg Blake (Special Consensus)
Dan Boner (East Tennessee State University)
Louisa Branscomb (Louisa Branscomb Music)
Alison Brown (Alison Brown Band, Compass Records)
Richie Brown (Reunion Bluegrass)
Tom Brown (Spatial Effects)
Becky Buller (Becky Buller Band)
Casey Campbell (Reba McEntyre)
Ray Cardwell (Ray Cardwell & Tennessee Moon, Dave Mason Band)
John Chapman (The Chapmans, Acoustic Shoppe)
Harry Clark (East Nash Bluegrass)
Kristy Cox (Kristy Cox Band)
Katy Daley (Bluegrass Stories with Katy Daley & Howard Parker)
Allen Dyer (Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road)
Gabe Epstein (Songs from the Road)
Rick Faris (Rick Faris Band)
Dom Flemons
Eric Gibson (The Gibson Brothers) – boots
David Grier (David Grier Band)
Jacob Groopman (Front Country)
Arthur Hancock IV (Wolfpen Branch)
Mickey Harris (Rhonda Vincent & the Rage)
Chris Henry (Peter Rowan Band)
Chris Jones (Chris Jones & the Night Drivers)
Jeff Huffman (Alan Bibey & Grasstowne)
Fred Kosak (Stillhouse Junkies)
Uwe Kruger (The Kruger Brothers)
Kitsy Kuykendall (Bluegrass Unlimited, former Bluegrass Foundation board chair/president)
Jim Lauderdale
Jack Lawrence
Ned Luberecki (Becky Buller Band, Sirius XM Radio)
The Malina Brothers (Pavel Malina on guitar)
The Malpass Brothers, Taylor and Chris (boots)
Del McCoury (Del McCoury Band)
John McEuen (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Will the Circle Be Unbroken album & book)
Raymond McLain (McLain Family Band)
Ruth McLain (McLain Family Band, Morehead State University)
Stephen Mougin (Sam Bush Band)
Joe Newberry (Newberry & Compton, April Verch & Joe Newberry) – boots and guitar
Dean Osborn (Dean Osborn Band)
Danny & Ryan Paisley (Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass)
Bobby Powell (Nick Chandler & Delivered)
Riders in the Sky (Ranger Doug Green on guitar)
Mary Faith Rhodes Lewis (John Pearse Strings)
Peter Rowan (Peter Rowan Band)
Sav Sankaran (Unspoken Tradition)
Barry Smith
Lisa Sorrell (Sorrell Boot Design)
Larry Stephenson (Larry Stephenson Band)
Kurt Storey
Wayne Taylor (Wayne Taylor & Appaloosa)
Rhonda Vincent (Rhonda Vincent & the Rage)
Melody Walker (Front Country)
Jon Weisberger (Crossroads Music) – boots
Pete & Joan Wernick (Hot Rize, Pete & Joan Wernick)
Marshall Wilborn (Chris Jones & the Night Drivers, Lynn Morris Band, Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview)
We also appreciate videography from David Brewer for the Uwe Kruger promo, design work from Lotos Nile and Erin Faith Erdos, the IBMA staff, Lisa Brewer, the Station Inn, MerleFest, and Barbara Martin Stephens for their help.
The Strings for Dreams Bluegrass Raffle is organized in compliance with North Carolina General Statutes 14-309.15—Raffles. The giveaway is conducted by and benefits the IBMA Foundation. Proceeds directly benefit Foundation programs like project grants, Bluegrass in the Schools mini-grants, and other educational programs. For more info on programs and initiatives supported by the IBMA Foundation, visit bluegrassfoundation.org.
Photos above:
Left – Jayson Clark, guitar winner
Right – Erin Webb (center) with husband Greg and daughter Grace Webb, winner of cowboy boots.
Return to the June 2023 issue of The Cornerstone.
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