MBA Procedure

Overview

The Maple Blues Awards is a national program, organized by the Toronto Blues Society, with the support and participation of blues societies across Canada.

The awards exist to promote blues music across Canada, and to recognize outstanding achievement in the field. 

There are specific awards for recordings, but all other Maple Blues
Awards are for the artists' overall achievement and contribution to
Canadian blues in the previous year. Nominees are not required to have
issued a recording. 

Except for "International Entertainer of the Year," nominees must be
citizens or residents of Canada. 

In the case of "Recording of the Year" and "Producer of the Year," the
recording must have been commercially released by a Canadian label
during the thirteen months preceding the Nominating Panel's
deliberations, which begin on October 1 of each year. 

Procedure

The Maple Blues Awards Nominating panel is composed of independent blues
experts from all parts of Canada. Most are blues DJs or music
journalists. Individuals who are eligible for nomination in any award
category many not be members of the panel. 

The Panel selects each year's nominees based on their own knowledge of
the national blues scene, and of their local areas. The nominating
process involves two distinct stages: in the first stage, the panelists
identify artists they think should be considered; in the second stage,
the panelists vote for their choices, using a weighted-voting system.
Those votes are tabulated to produce the final ballot, which normally
has five or six nominees, plus a space for "write-in" candidates, in
each category.

Voting for the Maple Blues Awards is open to all supporters of Canadian
blues. The vote itself is conducted on the web, using special software
and other procedures to ensure the integrity and security of the
process. 

On completion of the voting, totals are compiled by the computer, and
further checked for accuracy by the Chair of the Nominating Panel and by
a representative of the law firm Levinter & Levinter, before being
approved for announcement at the annual Maple Blues Awards Gala.

The Nominating Panel

The members of the Nominating Panel for the Tenth Annual Maple Blues
Awards were:

Chair: Ian Angus, CIUT-FM (Toronto ON)
Willy A., FM 98.5 (Waterloo ON)
David Barnard CKLN-FM, icebergradio.com (Toronto ON)
Dan Behrman, Radio-Canada & CBC Radio-One, (Montreal QC)
Jim Burnett, Co-op Radio, (Vancouver BC)
Deborah Cartmer, CFBU-FM, (St. Catharines ON)
Dan Cherwoniak, CBC Saturday Night Blues (Edmonton AB)
Doug Cox, Producer (Cumberland BC)
John Detcheverry, CKUT-FM (Montreal QC)
James Doran, Choose The Blues Productions (Smiths Falls ON)
Kevin Doyle, CKMS-FM (Waterloo ON)
Michel Dubois, CKRL-FM (Quebec City QC)
Benoit Fortier - FM-103 CKOD (Valleyfield QC)
Mako Funasaka, Talkin' Blues Media (Toronto ON)
Maurice Ginzer, International Blues Festival (Calgary AB)
Cam Hayden, CKUA-FM & Edmonton Blues Festival (Edmonton AB)
Julie Hill, CKLN-FM (Toronto ON)
Tim Holek, Freelance Journalist, (Chatham ON)
Al Kirkcaldy, CFFF-FM & Peterborough Examiner (Peterborough ON)
Eric LeBlanc, CFUV 101.9 FM (Victoria BC)
Bill Lucas, CHLY-FM, Nanaimo Blues Festival Society (Nanaimo BC)
Sandy MacDonald, Music writer, Halifax Daily News (Halifax NS)
Blaine Morrison, The Blues Own (western Nova Scotia)
Paul Norton, CFRO-FM & CiTR 101.9 (Vancouver BC)
Randy Renaud, CHOM-FM (Montreal QC)
Andy Sheppard, CBC After Hours (Winnipeg
Brent Staeben, Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival (Fredericton NB)
Bruce Stovel, CJSR-FM (Edmonton AB)
Liz Sykes, President, Ottawa Blues Society (Ottawa ON)
John Taylor, Freelance Journalist (Toronto ON)
Eric Thom, Writer, Blues Revue (Toronto ON)
John Valenteyn, Maple Blues Magazine (Toronto ON)
Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail (Toronto ON)
Brant Zwicker, 98.3 CIFM (Kamloops BC)