Marathon Jam

Welcome to the Baltimore Marathon Jam

2012 Jam

There is a lot of hard work by a lot of people that goes into the Marathon Jam. This year people stepped up and went that extra mile to help make our 3rd annual event the most successful one yet. I can't say THANK YOU enough to everyone who worked on this event. It was a very special effort by all !!

Again, because it's free admission, and we don't ask people to sign up, we just didn't know how many people would show. We anticipated a large crowd but we all had some apprehension because of another event not far down the road. But the bluegrass community showed just how much they care and we filled the hall all day and well into the evening. We had around 80 musicians participate through the course of the day and well over 400 people attend. And everyone there opened their wallets and gave & gave & gave. And we were able to raise over $23,800 !!! Amazing !!

Congratulations to our Iron Pickers !! We had 7 this year !! They played all 12 hours !! They were Don Mitchell, Doug Sims, Leann Myhre, Rosetta Greathouse, Jim Adams, Perry Caldwell, & Steve Jocovski. Awesome job !! Leann & Rosetta were our 1st ever female Iron Pickers.

Mr. Ed Chow, Secretary of the MD Dept of Veterans Affairs, was again in attendance representing the Governor's office. And he brought along a very special nurse, Sara McVicker, who had actually been his nurse when he was wounded in Vietnam. Both said a few words and we want to thank them for participating. And Bruce Phillips from Fisher House also stopped by for a while, gave a brief history of Fisher House, and let us know how much he and Fisher House appreciated our efforts.

Special thanks go to :

American Legion Post 276 … Mac & Roy once again did anything and everything they could do to accommodate us. The entire staff was so helpful. We couldn't have done it without them !! http://www.americanlegionpost276.org/
Post 276 Sons of the Legion & Auxiliary … They worked their butts off all day providing us with good food and drink. And at the end of the day, just as they had done last year, they donated all their tips to our cause. It's takes a special person to volunteer at the Legion for one of these events. And it takes an even more special person to give back like they did.
Sponsors … Both corporate & individual sponsors were amazing. They opened up their checkbooks and got us started off with quite a bit of money raised before we played the first song. And a large number of them donated items for our silent auction which was a great success.
Extra thanks to MicroTech, GEICO, McGrew Equipment, Cindy's Liquors, Knights of Columbus, Appalachian Bluegrass, & Four Seasons Hotel Baltimore for their very generous donations.
Young Marines .. They performed the opening ceremony and presented of the colors. Then they led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. The young men & women did an outstanding job and we salute you.
KOC Color Guard … Steve and his crew were incredible with the ceremony at 5PM. Last year they did the opening ceremony but we felt it was so special, and not many were there to see it, so we moved them this year to 5PM. And I believe the crowd really enjoyed this part of our program.
KOC Council #11214 … They did a magnificent job running the shuttle to and from the overflow parking area. They were some of the unsung heroes of the Jam. They spent their day outside working and didn't get to enjoy the music inside. We appreciate their help more than we can say.
Our Sound Guy … John Gerrish did an outstanding job with his sound system to keep us all sounding good. And John spent the entire day monitoring the sound so we could get the best music possible to entertain the crowd. He may have had the toughest job of the day. Even when the music stopped, and we were making announcements, John had to stay right there to keep the sound in check. Hats off to you John !!
Basket Assembly Team … Ever seen so many baskets auctioned off at one event ?? Holy smokes !! Juanita and her team (Linda (Reds), Colleen, Denise, Nila, Margaret, Joann) gathered up hundreds of items donated by our sponsors and put together basket after basket after basket to come up with some great theme baskets to auction off. If you couldn't find one you liked to bid on then you don't like anything !! I was totally impressed. And Juanita's husband Tom may have to go see a chiropractor after he carried all those out of their basement !!
Volunteers … Too numerous to mention but you know who you are. We couldn't have done this without you. Your tireless efforts made a huge difference in the outcome of this event. But we know you all well, and we knew we could count on your help & support. You're the best !!
Pickers … Once again we had somewhere around 80 pickers through the course of the day. And the talent level keeps getting better every year. We appreciate the efforts of all of you helping us fill 12 hours with some very good music to entertain the crowd. And bands like Millers Station, Charm City Limits & Bluegrass Catastrophe highlighted the day.
Attendees … Our success this year, as it has been in the past, was based on the people who attended, and opened their wallets, checkbooks, etc and helped us with their donations. All day long people kept handing me money. Some a little .. some a lot .. but I could tell every time that they were giving from the heart. Our group can't say thank you enough for your generosity.

2011 Jam

Remember the movie "Field of Dreams"? Remember "If you build it they will come"? Well …. We built it …. And they came. And they just kept coming. And they just kept giving!! Our group, The Wednesday Night Garage Jammers, were again overwhelmed by the response of the "mostly" bluegrass community, and our friends, and their generosity.

When you have an event, and offer free admission, and don't ask people to make reservations, you really don't know for sure what kind of turnout you're going to have. So going into this we were all, as would be expected, a little nervous about the success of our event. But when the hall filled up at 1PM we were all sure it was going to be another good one. And it was.

We had approximately 450 people attend through the course of the day and were able to raised over $16,000. Amazing!!

Mr Ed Chow, Secretary of the MD Dept of Veterans Affairs, was again in attendance representing the Governor's office. He didn't bring his spoons to play but took time to address the crowd and stayed for quite a while to enjoy the music. Bruce Phillips from Fisher House also stopped by for a while to let us know how much he and Fisher House appreciated our efforts.

We had 5 guys make the Iron Picker Award this year. They played the entire 12 hours. They were Jim Beam, Dave Mathauer, Ken Caldwell, Roy Dixon, and Don Mitchell. You guys are awesome !! And Roy not only made the Iron Picker but he is part of Post 276 and was very instrumental in helping us put all this together.

American Legion Post 276 … Mac & Roy did anything and everything they could do to accommodate us. The entire staff was so helpful. We couldn't have done it without them !! http://www.americanlegionpost276.org/
Post 276 Sons of the Legion & Auxiliary … They worked their butts off all day providing us with good food and drink. And at the end of the day they donated all their tips to our cause. For me that was one of the most touching & heartwarming gestures of the entire event.
Sponsors … Both corporate & individual sponsors were amazing. They opened up their checkbooks and got us started off with quite a bit of money raised before we played the first song. And a large number of them donated items for our silent auction which was a great success.
Volunteers … Too numerous to mention but you know who you are. We couldn't have done this without you. Your tireless efforts made a huge difference in the outcome of this event. But we know you all well, and we knew we could count on your help & support. You're the best !!
KOC Color Guard … Steve and his crew were incredible with the opening ceremony. We only wish there had been more folks there early to see it. We are talking about moving this to the middle of the day next year so we'll have a full house when it happens. This was just way too special for only a few to see.
Our Sound Guys … John Gerrish & Brian Markley did an outstanding job putting together a sound system that would work well in the Legion. And John spent the entire day monitoring the sound so we could get the best music possible to entertain the crowd.
Pickers … We didn't actually count them, but estimated there were probably 80+ musicians that came & went that day. The turnout was incredible, and the talent was equally incredible. We even had a few well known bluegrass bands represented like Good Deale Bluegrass, Grass Valley Outlaws, Stoney Run String Band & Area 51 just to name a few. We even had some "non" bluegrass bands represented such as Pirates for Sail & Faire Isle. Oh and if 89 yr old Frieda blowing on that harmonica didn't inspire you, then you can't be inspired !!
Attendees … The bottom line is our success was based on the people who attended, and opened their wallets, checkbooks, etc and helped us with their donations. All day long people kept handing me money. Some a little .. some a lot .. but I could tell every time that they were giving from the heart. Our group can't say thank you enough for your generosity.