Discussions

I am writing to express my gratitude and to give credit where it is due. The  
Annual Band Jam For Cancer was held at the 40 here in Brandon over the Thanksgiving weekend. I have been organizing and putting this event on every year for twelve years now and this year we raised the most money so far with a total donation of $8000. This is by far our biggest donation to date. In total the event has raised close to $60,000 for Cancer research with all monies being given to the local Brandon chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society. This would not be possible without the help of many people. First and foremost I would like to thank Heidi Howarth and her staff at the 40. She essentially gives me her bar for one weekend every year and allows me to book the entertainment and take all donations at the door. She also contributes with a donation of her own at the end of the weekend. She is a great person and I am happy to know her and work with her every year.  
 
I would also like very much to acknowledge and thank all of the bands that took part this year and every year. We had a total of 18 bands over three nights with all of them donating their time and talent free of charge. The local music community comes together every year for this event and there have never been any issues with ego or attitude. Brandon and the surrounding area has a lot of great musical talent and a lot of young bands have played their first bar show on a real stage with a real sound system at the 40 as part of the Band Jam For Cancer. I have had one band, The Judes, make the trip all the way from Winnipeg for four years in a row to play for free just because they believe in the cause and want to help. Shattered, a band from Estavan, SK has also made the trip to Brandon for free again just to help out. The number of bands in and around Brandon itself is too great to list here but there have been many repeat performances over the years including 18 Rabbit, DEZL, and Making Gravy. I am indebted to every band that has ever played the event over the years. They all perform for free and selflessly and they all deserve the support of music fans in the area and I could not put this event on without them. Thank you.  
 
Last but by no means least I would like to thank the many volunteers over the years that have helped me immensely. The volunteers who come out help with taking donations at the door, selling 50/50 tickets and anything else I have asked them to do. Again, these people do this without getting paid and on their own time. The list of names is very long but they all know who they are and what they’ve done for me and I love them all and thank them all from the bottom of my heart for everything.  
 
I started this event in order to honour the memory of Georgette Williams for everything she did for me in my own musical endeavours. I keep doing it every year because of the love and support I get from the local music community. Brandon has so many talented musicians and I wanted to write this to give them the thanks and the credit they deserve. Thank you all,  
Chris Kemp