Pam Brown has never met an opportunity to help that she hasn’t embraced.
She is packing her life with ways to reach out: building community, performing essential duties in her small town, promoting music and music education and leading the Oregon Bluegrass Association.
And Wasco County residents, school children and the bluegrass community are all better off for her presence.
A roundabout way to Oregon. Pam grew up in Florida, where she developed her love of music while studying flute. After college, she taught music and band to K-12 students before spending a year teaching in China.
Moving back to the U.S., she thought, “I can do anything I want, so this is a good time to make a switch.” And a big switch it was. She landed in San Francisco, using digital and email marketing at a time when the world was relying more and more on computers and phones for information.
From Bay Area bluegrass to Shaniko. During the pandemic, Pam realized that if she was going to work remotely, she could do so from wherever she liked. So, she moved from the sprawling, dense Bay Area in California to the town of Shaniko, population 25.
And it’s all because of bluegrass.
Like so many classically trained musicians, Pam could read music effortlessly – but she couldn’t improvise. And she didn’t have experience singing. She saw bluegrass as a way to develop all the skills to round out her musicianship – and have a lot of fun in the process.
Pam immersed herself in the genre by getting involved with The Handsome Ladies – a group of Bay Area women dedicated to teaching jam skills and helping others get more comfortable singing and playing together. She also joined another jam in which she met accomplished players who, she said, “helped me set my goals high.”
Which eventually led her to festivals, including the Tygh Valley Bluegrass Jamboree.
Some friends she met at that festival said, “Let’s go to Shaniko and do some picking. And we just never left.” (“We” is Pam and her partner, Mark, who bought the gas station in Shaniko, where Pam now works as general manager.)
Jump right in, Pam! And jump she did. She said, “In a small community, we all wear many hats. So, I’m the city council president. I also serve as the city’s water system operator, making sure that the drinking water stays at safe levels of chlorine, overseeing monthly tests and that sort of thing. And then I serve in the rural volunteer fire department, and I’m also an EMT.”
Whew.
But why stop there? She and some friends also started the Shaniko Music Sanctuary, a nonprofit supporting music education, of which she is executive director. And she took over managing the Tygh Valley Jamboree.
On to the OBA. Pam is a great organizer with the vision to appreciate collaborative work. After starting the Shaniko Music Sanctuary, she reached out to the OBA to see how the organizations could work together. Although she began attending meetings just to listen and learn, she soon found herself a board member.
And when the long-serving president Clayton Knight decided it was a good time to take his leave – having ushered the organization through the rugged “no music, no jams, no interaction” years of Covid and out the other side successfully – Pam moved into the role.
“It seemed like a good opportunity to build community, to support music education and performances and,” as it states in the bylaws, “the preservation of bluegrass and related music. I thought I might bring a unique perspective as someone who has put on events, who has studied music and is an amateur musician. I saw a whole lot of opportunity for connecting more and more people to bluegrass.”
Pam also is a successful grant writer and manager who will apply those skills to the OBA. She already used her expertise to fund and organize the Rural Oregon Artist in Residence Program. Ashland performer musician Jimmy Fretwell is the first such artist. He spent a week in May visiting schools and performing for the community.
The program also invited long-standing OBA band Corral Creek Bluegrass Band to cross the mountains.They spent time in Sisters, jamming with young players, teaching fiddle classes and exposing students to bluegrass skills.
Goals and actions. Pam has been busily recruiting people from around the state to help the organization become more effective and responsive. She said until recently, so few people were engaged as volunteers that it was hard to even find the time to return email inquiries. And the organization has always been almost entirely Western-Oregon focused. She would like to see that change.
With communication a principal goal, it’s already obvious how much new outreach is in place.
The new website is appealing, easy to navigate and more interactive. You can now join or update your membership through the site, as well as voting for board members. And an informative, easy-to-read e-mailed newsletter gives a behind-the-scenes look at people and events. Facebook groups associated with regional bluegrass have frequent updates – and invite feedback.
The board has reached out to membership to learn its priorities. Members’ top three areas are more jamming opportunities; more educational sessions and material; and more shows and festivals.
And Pam received some comments that made her realize the importance of reaching out beyond musicians. She got a note saying, essentially, “My wife and I don’t play music, but we love to listen to it, so don’t forget about us.” The writer encouraged her to include newsletter articles addressed to listeners, as well as pickers. “That’s the community building,” Pam said.
Hoot and Holler: Pam, along with the other board members of the Shaniko Music Sanctuary, already have made a mark in a big way on Oregon bluegrass. They established the Hoot, Holler & Sing Bluegrass Campout, scheduled this year for May 22 - 25. It not only kicks off the festival season, but it marks the first place outside of the Willamette Valley to host the OBA’s annual meeting. And a sensational finish to Saturday evening will be the band contest – six top regional bands competing for a $6,000 prize.
And in her spare time (does she have any?): Pam continues to work on her guitar and singing skills – and has returned to the flute to see how her classical training can inform her current musical passion. And she participates in jams throughout Wasco County when she can.
Meanwhile, her thoughts are never far from her goal of building community. “When we learn peoples’ perspectives, we can create opportunities for everyone to come together to watch, to listen, to play and to learn. And the more that happens, when someone becomes invested in the OBA, they are more likely to tell their friends, ‘Hey, bluegrass is really great. I’m going to this festival, and you should come – you’ll have a really great time.’ And that’s the strongest type of promotion we could ask for.”
Watch for Pam at the Hoot and Holler – and join her in building community through the OBA!
