Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship

The IBMA Foundation has announced today the launch of the new Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship. It will be awarded annually to individuals planning to study broadcasting or sound engineering at college or in a continuing education program with a bluegrass music focus.

With more than thirty years service as a broadcaster in the Washington, DC region, Katy’s is a familiar voice to bluegras lovers in the Capitol area. And to listeners worldwide from her time hosting mornings on Bluegrass Country, the online radio service born as part of WAMU, and now continued as a non-profit 24/7 bluegrass stream based in DC.

Katy and her husband, Bill Brown, have made a $10,000 donation to endow the scholarship for college students. Both are now retired and continue to live in Washington, and are graduates of American University.

The initial Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship will be awarded in August of 2022. The deadline for applications for this and all IBMA Foundation scholarships is June 1. Applications will be posted on the Foundation web site in March.

Fred Bartenstein, chair of the IBMA Foundation Board of Directors, thanked Katy and Bill for their generosity, and encouraged others to donate to this new scholarship as well.

“The professional presentation of bluegrass music has a direct effect on how new fans and musicians are attracted to the genre. The Foundation supports the effort to present the best music on the planet in the best way possible, for the benefit of new listeners and new generations, as well as for loyal fans. We thank Katy Daley and Bill Brown for their generous donation to found the scholarship, and it is our hope that others in the bluegrass community interested in broadcasting and engineering will also support this scholarship. Our goal is to raise at least $20,000, which would generate at least one annual scholarship in the amount of $1,000.”

According to the Foundation, the criteria for scholarship recipients are broad.

“Eligible areas of study include radio, television, digital media, recorded sound engineering and mastering, live sound engineering, and related disciplines. Applicants must plan to become involved in the bluegrass music industry on a professional level and be current IBMA members.”

Katy has also started a personal birthday fundraiser on Facebook to raise additional money for this venture. Her stated goal was $2,000, and of this writing, it has pledges totaling more than $1700.

Daley tells us that both she and Bill feel lucky to have had careers that allowed them to set aside some cash over the years, and are only too happy to pay things forward.

“Every little bit helps, and we feel fortunate to be able to help some other people along their way.”

Tax-deductible donations to the IBMA Foundation can be earmarked to help fund the Katy Daley Broadcast Media/Sound Engineering Scholarship. Further details about donations, and all the fine work of the Foundation to ensure the continuation of bluegrass music into the future, can be found online.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.