One of our faculty members, guitarist Ron Samworth, was diagnosed with cancer this past spring. A summer of chemo therapy treatments led to an operation last week. The treatments and surgery are going according to plan, but Ron has been unable to work for some time now and the recovery will be slow.
Another member of our faculty and fellow guitarist, Bill Coon, suggest that we hold a flea market to raise some funds to help Ron through this difficult time. This method of fund raising was especially appropriate as Ron is a 'picker' and veteran of many flea markets and garage sales. On Saturday, September 26, Capilano Jazz faculty members and many other members of the Vancouver music community showed up with musical goods and services to be sold. Others who couldn't make it on that day sent all kinds of things to be sold. The room was full of vinyl records, CDs, musical gear, and music books. Generous students, musician friends, and people from the community snapped up everything on offer in just a few hours and emptied their pockets for Ron. A very large sum of money was raised.
The feeling in the room was one of tremendous goodwill and community togetherness. Lots of recordings found new homes and everyone really enjoyed hanging out and sending love and positive vibes to Ron. I am very proud of our Cap Jazz family for pulling together as a group to help a friend. Special thanks to Bill for thinking of the idea and organizing everything.
