From the early days of the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation with Nicky Coppola as President - getting an Award for Services to the Blues Community on the stage of the legendary Stone Pony in Asbury Park , New Jersey - what a shock at it all !! - Meeting the remarkable Sharon and George Roberts and the amazing Blues Power Blues Society  - Sharon and George introduced me to the real , deal blues - and met so many legendary singers and musicians over those years - Thanks to friend Michael Cloeren and the astounding decades of the Pocono Blues Festival - every summer was truly AMAZING - Diamond State Blues Society in Delaware and that extraordinary blues fest on the water in Wilmington - Great times over many , many summers there - Friends that have left the stage but will always be there with us - Big Nancy Swarbrick , Mel Hood , Bernie Brausewetter , Buddy Fox , Father Hank Dwyer , Dan Swarbrick , Lance Ong - just to name a few - My REMARKABLE Can't Stop the Blues Family - working so hard throughout the pandemic to change the world and help so many in need out there through the power of music - and winning a KBA Award as a result of those truly extraordinary efforts - Father Dan's amazing Splatter Concerts here in New Jersey and all those electrifying artists that Dan brought onto concert stages here in the Garden State - Special Friends Forever - El and Kat Bowman - Prakash Slim - Leo and Denise - Jeff Beck and East Side Mags -David Karr and "The Farm" in PA. - Carlos and Leo - The Nikischer Family and all the good times we had in Botany , Clifton -  Charlie Cox - Larry Mitchell - Bonnie , Pat , Son Lewis , Chuck , Jeannie, Glenn ,Bob Lanza , Jim Lemaire , Rachel , Arthur Neilson , Mike Griot - Don Jay Smith and Bill Brandenburg - Thank you Johnny Copeland and the remarkable Copeland Family - Alexis P. Suter - all the great times at the Morristown Jazz and Blues Festival over the years - with more to come - and Bill Brandenburgs AMAZING Woodbridge Arts series that never ceases to excite and thrill -True friends ALWAYS there for me and the blues music community - the United Jersey Blues Network - what a trip that was - the dozens and dozens of benefits  held over so many years across New Jersey for those  in need - communities affected by storms , musicians affected by health issues -  , musicians and their bands donating time and talents with venues hosting across the Garden State - and the incredible Thursday Night Jams at Drumsticks in Clifton - where folks like Hubert Sumlin and the Debbie Davies Band would meet and jam all night long , each and every week - Working on the film - THE HAUNTING ON THE RIVER - check out the trailers on YouTube - What an unforgettable experience making the movie with so many incredible people - teaching in Elizabeth , NJ by day - then running down to Clinton , NJ to be in Zombie Makeup - so that filming would begin once the Red Mill area was dark enough - and that shot to my jaw - a HUGE punch during a fight scene - left me dazed but not confused - so much fun making that film as well as hard work -Mark - your vision and dedication throughout the project - as an incredible director - YOU ROCK!! - The Summer Sunset Blues Cruise Sails for charity - over 10 years of Sunset Sails into New York Harbor sailing on the historic tall ship A. J. Meerwald - WOW!! - Experiences never to forget - Charlie -Chaz DePaolo - Doc Staubach - couldn't do the Sails without you over many , many years -  my friends - Just about EVERY NJ band played on that deck over those 10 unforgettable years of charity Sails - what beautiful memories -  Thanks to all the club owners willing to book live blues bands - to all the festival producers - the promoters - the publicists - the blues record labels out there keeping the flames alive - MOST IMPORTANTLY - TO THE FANS  - KEEP THE BLUES ALIVE AND WELL........SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BLUES SOCIETIES.....AND MUCH LOVE TO ALL THOSE AMAZING BLUES MUSIC TALENTS OUT THERE  - YOUR FRIENDSHIPS ARE TREASURED - YOUR MUISC YOUR SONGS - TRUE GIFTS WE ALL TREASURE AND ENJOY......