Mike Doern, Courteous Security Volunteer, Bluegrass, Train, Motorcycle & Ham Radio Enthusiast

Mike Doern of Capitola died on October 2, 2021. He worked as a carpenter and school bus driver, but enjoyed many avocations, including being an enthusiastic bluegrass volunteer and music lover. He was 75 years old.

Mike was best known to the NCBS members as the world’s most effective, pleasant, and unfailingly courteous security volunteer. He quietly enforced the rules at the Good Old Fashioned Bluegrass Festival and other NCBS events, greeting every camper and politely reminding them of their responsibilities. Lest anyone in violation of a rule thought that his soft-spoken nature meant that compliance was not necessary, Mike would respond with good-natured, but absolutely unyielding persistence by remaining beside the camper until the problem was completely resolved.

He was a bluegrass music lover who attended many Santa Cruz and South Bay concerts and festivals, at first arriving on his motorcycle with a striking and unique welded chain around his neck and a extensive moustache, but in later years, he roamed events to visit with his friends on his small mobility scooter. He listened to many local bluegrass radio shows and was an active ham radio operator, known as KM6IKE. As a young man, he was an EMS Volunteer in Mamaroneck, New York and later trained bus drivers in California on how to assist handicapped passengers.

He grew up in Mamaroneck and graduated from Rye Neck High School. Mike refused to fly, but loved trains. He regularly made the long journey by Amtrak train to visit his family back home in upstate New York. Michael C. Doern is survived by 5 of his 8 siblings.

Mike Doern

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Summit House Presents The Goat Hill Girls On January 6

The Northern California Bluegrass Society-welcomed Thursday Bluegrass Series continues at the Summit House Beer Garden & Grill at the top of Highway 17,  6 miles south of Los Gatos on the way to Santa Cruz.

Music runs 6:15-8:30pm. Good food and drink is served and admission is FREE.

January 6: The Goat Hill Girls.

January 13: Wildcat Mountain Ramblers.

January 20: Purple Mountain Majesty.

NCBS Plans Active Schedule Of Live Bluegrass Events Following The End of The Current Surge

The Northern California Bluegrass Society is planning an active schedule of live music events that will begin after the passing of the current Coronavirus Surge.

In 2022, Proof Of Vaccination for the Covid 19 Virus will be needed in order to attend NCBS events. This requirement will also be in effect for all or almost all bluegrass events in Northern California this year.

The required vaccines are FREE and WIDELY AVAILABLE.

Two Day Reminder: Tax Deadline Is December 31 For 2021 Donations To NCBS

Two Day Reminder: December 31, 2021 is the deadline for some 2021-only favorable tax treatments of contributions to the Northern California Bluegrass Society, as certain opportunities will expire after this tax year.

The Northern California Bluegrass Society/Santa Cruz Bluegrass Society is an official Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) organization that accepts tax-deductible contributions which are used to support local bluegrass music.

Here is some useful tax planning information for 2021 if you are interested in supporting local bluegrass music with tax-advantaged contributions: For the tax year ending on December 31, 2021 it is possible to deduct cash gifts up to $300 for an individual or $600 for a married couple filing jointly, even if the taxpayer(s) do not itemize deductions — that is, the 90% of taxpayers who take the standard deduction. Gifts must be made by check, credit card or debit card to a qualified 501(c)(3) charity. Volunteers who have unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses will also qualify for this deduction. This provision will expire at the end of 2021. Gifts to charities like the NCBS/SCBS usually have deduction limits of 60% of a donor’s adjusted gross income, but in 2021, the limit has been temporarily raised to 100% of AGI. In addition, donors who contribute more than the limit may carry the balance of the deduction forward for up to five years after the year of the gift.