Exit Message from the President 

On Inauguration Day your Suncoast Blues Society had a board meeting and held our annual election of officers.  We set a new and important milestone by selecting Terri O’Brien as the first female President of the Suncoast Blues Society.  No one deserves to hold this position more than her.  Most departing presidents leave the board, I have decided to stay and try to return some of the loyalty and support she showed me. She deserves your utmost respect.

James Randolph will be our Vice President and will still run our fundraising efforts and his successful Outreach programs.

Jesse Smoot will remain our very able and helpful Secretary.  Jesse and Pat Smoot have become two of our most valued board members.  It’s been great having them aboard. Cheryl Spradling remains on the board and we look forward to the great things to come from her new role as the Facebook administrator.

Finally, Scott Morris stepped up in a big way to accept Terri’s former position of Financial Officer.  I would like to state that without Scotts’ friendship, technical skills, and plain loyalty I would have failed miserably at my job.  I really can’t give this man enough credit.

I am going to still oversee Events and Membership duties, in addition to the Content Committee for Social Media.

Although all positions are filled, we now have no voluntary alternates, which have been a vital part of our board.  Almost all the members of our board started as alternates, including myself.  We are currently looking for at least two people who have skills in publishing, writing, printing, editing, promotions, technical and social media experience that can assist this hard-working board.  If interested, please submit a short bio  to bluesnews@suncoastblues.org telling us what skills you possess and how you might be able to assist.

I would like to thank some people who have offered the board assistance during my tenure.
To Mark Thompson this might be the last time I thank you, but seriously thanks.

I would like to give a big thanks to Tom (T-Bone) Hamilton and West Bay Media for the great job they did in designing and maintaining our new website  Tom is a true professional and has been a pleasure to work with.

Special thanks need to go to Franc Robert who has helped the SBS behind the scenes for many years. Franc now attends our weekly content committee meetings and cool graphics.  We are all happy to have Franc as a friend and valued associate.

Thanks again to Sheree E. and Go Tonight for all her assistance with our calendar. I really do miss Don’s smiling face.

For the first time in a while, we are planning to participate at some events.  As of right now the Tampa Bay Blues Festival is planned for April 9^th, 10^th, and 11^th.  We rented a tent – come and find us at our usual TBBF spot!  We will also be attending with a booth the Pasco Blues Fest on February 6^th.

One last exciting bit of news:  Jack Sullivan, my old boss at Blues Music Magazine, has graciously offered his support to SBS.  Soon, your Suncoast Blues Society will be posting blues material from Jack on our web site. Thank you, Jack!

I would like to thank everyone for the opportunity I was given to be your president.

Thanks!

Lafayette Reid