I’ve been playing and singing bluegrass since Monday, April 20, 2015. I can pinpoint the date because it was the first day of Pete Wernick’s MerleFest Camp. We all gathered for the opening session, and Pete led us in our first song. I believe it may have been “My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mountains” — and I had never heard it before, much less played it. That camp was a life-changing experience. It was hard being such a newbie, because I didn’t really know any bluegrass songs, and barely knew how to play a couple of chords.

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My guitar and I waiting for 2015 Wernick Jam Camp to begin!

I was intimidated, but the teachers at that camp created an atmosphere where it was OK to fumble along while I was learning. And I actually got better each day. My fingers were so sore, but I was also so proud!

The overall experience was incredibly fun, and I went home from that camp ready to jump all the way in. I’m now a certified Wernick Method Instructor, and excited about sharing what I’ve learned since then with others on their own bluegrass journey, particularly as it relates to jamming.

I grew up listening to my grandmother sing Jimmie Martin tunes in her kitchen while making biscuits, not realizing at the time that “T for Texas” (a favorite of hers, and it became a favorite of mine) was such a famous song. I just liked the tune and how she sang it…kinda sassy coming from this older woman, and I really liked that too!

Add to the mix my father — a musician, K-12 band and choir director, then school administrator — picking well-known bluegrass tunes, as well as his own compositions, on his 1948 Martin and 1965 Yamaha at family gatherings and camping trips. He also built this big HiFi (complete with a furniture style console), and I can remember those 78s always spinning, always bluegrass. Then came the cassette tapes being played in the garage while he puttered and tinkered, built things, and made household repairs. (He later traded in the cassette player for an iPod and Sirius radio.) I can remember walking through and hearing those high, tight harmonies.

The bluegrass was always there, in the background. The poor guy so wanted someone else in the family to share his love of this particular genre of music, but there were no takers at the time. He was thrilled when I finally jumped in: “Finally, a bluegrass fan in my family!” He regularly sent me CDs of his favorites that started as 78s, converted to cassette, converted to digital, burned to CD.

I was active in school and church bands and choirs as a youngster, but like many adults, I spent the next 30 years pining to get back into music. That opportunity came when, as encouraged by my great friend Susan West, I picked up my dad’s old guitar at the age of 52 and attended the MerleFest camp. Having participated in more than a dozen Wernick Method classes and camps since then, I specifically credit that approach to my successful path back to music. [Note: I had to give the 1948 Martin back to my dad; he needed it to play at the next year’s MerleFest camp! He had a blast, being the oldest person (maybe ever?) to attend a Wernick Method camp at the age 84; he attended again at age 85, picked up the mandolin as a brand new instrument and attended camps again at ages 86 and 87 before passing away in 2020.]

Since 2019, I’ve managed the Wernick Method day-to-day operation as well.

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I am a native West Virginian, attended Marshall University, and earned a master’s and doctorate from NC State University, where I worked for 30 years, most recently as the Director of Technology Services for Academic & Student Affairs. I retired from the university in 2019, but my three decades of leading, training and teaching in higher education serves me well now, as I strive to help others become engaged in playing bluegrass. I focus on practical guidance and basic jamming skills, delivered in a nurturing and fun environment.

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