Keepin' The Blues Alive

CBS Board Members at Large

Dick Gilland

We call Dick Mr. Congeniality. You can see his positive presence at every CBS Blues Sunday, and our Taste of Charlotte Beer/Wine Tent would not happen without his devoted energy every year. We cherish and salute our CBS Bluesman, who has more "get up and do it" than those 1/2 his age.

Rick Kite

One of the newer members to the board, Rick has tackled many of our chairs, and also donated the 2018 Fender Squier we are raffling off to raise funds for CBS this year.
In his spare time(and he will say "what is that?") you can find him at nearly every single Blues show in town.
Rick has also managed to capture some pretty impressive autographs on our guitar.

Betsy Norton-Stowe

Our Queen of Hospitality, no one can keep things running as smoothly as Betsy.
She is also the longest running member at the IBC every year, with 13 years under her belt.
Always wearing a smile, a great attitude and the life of the party, Betsy is a valuable At Large member we absolutely love.

She is found at many outside events volunteering to work our merch & membership table.

Nick Polyzos

We call him "The Keeper of the Big Bang" Nick makes sure our Drum & Cymbals are available for every Blues Sunday event, helps to work the door on our Blues Sundays, and is one of the first to volunteer for outside events, whether it is Taste of Charlotte, or our merch/membership table at Blues shows around town.
He is also our official time-keeper for our Blues Challenge every year.

Flynn Wolfe

For the past 3 years, Flynn has handled the organizing and staffing of one of our biggest fundraising efforts: the Taste of Charlotte Beer/Wine tent. It is no easy task and he has managed to keep all the balls in the air, with the help of two of our pros Dick & Betsy, and the fabulous volunteers of our membership.
He is also pivotal in ensuring our out-of-town talent is taken care of.
Flynn is found at shows enjoying the music and volunteering for the CBS Merch area...and if we need an autograph, Flynn will hang out next to the bus all night to make it happen.

Ray Otstott

Musician and music lover, Ray is one of the newest members of our board. He is also our Membership AND Merchandise Chairman, and Flynn has volunteered to back him up on both.
Photos from events are found on this site as he is never without a camera and a way to capture the moment.
He also writes some great music reviews, so check those out elsewhere on our site.

Randi Salvatore

Randi is one of our newest members this year, and has been on the move ever since...seriously! She has been traveling the world and has managed to help work on marketing pieces for CBS while on the road and has been found at events volunteering when back in NC. She will be back to stay for a while, and has been invaluable as she manages the 2018 Solo/Duo Challenge on September 2 and the Band Challenge October 7. Her background in Events, Marketing & PR are huge assets to the new board this year.

Cameron Farquhar

Cam has been working in the music industry for one of the most respected artist agencies "Intrepid Artists International" and agreed to join us this year.
His positive influence, boundless energy and absolute devotion to the blues has made him a welcome and fun addition to our board.

He is also great at marketing and PR and has presented some fabulous ideas we will be implementing this year.

Advisor

We are lucky to have several really strong past presidents who are still actively involved in CBS.
Rick Ballew is one of those.
After having served for many years in various capacities, then as Vice President, and then finally President, Rick has continued to be at nearly every single meeting since leaving the office in 2017.
You can find him at our events as the supreme Emcee and his monthly donations from his vast collection of Blues CD's collected over the years, and aired on his "Smokin' Bluz" radio show, has generated an unbelievable additional to our coffers, which has allowed us to bring in some really outstanding talent. We are grateful to have his guidance and wisdom as we continue forward.

Advisor

Jeri Thompson served as President of CBS for several years, and continues to be a valuable resource for information .

First President :Beth Pollhammer

Beth was instrumental in the formation of Charlotte Blues Society in 1993. We will always be grateful for the leadership she has shown, and are never afraid to call and ask her for advice.

Charlotte Blues Society