Chairman Allan Varela: During the mid-'70s, Allan Varela was in the vanguard of musicians who produced records independent of the major labels. His self-titled LP received much regional airplay in the Northeast and along the Atlantic corridor. In the '80s, as owner of Sunlost Records, he turned to production and recording other musicians, using early state-of-the-art digital technology. In 2000, he was appointed Executive Director of the Greater Port Jefferson/ Northern Brookhaven Arts Council, which was a tiny organization at the time. With Allan's knowledge of the broad spectrum of the arts, he was crucial in the development of the Port Jeff Arts Council (as it is familiarly known) becoming a vibrant and thriving member of the Long Island Arts community. In 1997, Allan arranged a house concert by world-renowned pianist Arnaldo Cohen, who gave a premiere performance which was streamed live on the internet, a first in the Classical world. Allan also serves as a New York State Council on the Arts' Decentralization Grant Panel member. Allan has also written many articles about entertainment in the digital age for Variety, and is currently digitizing the immense photographic and historic archives of Northern Brookhaven township. Allan lives on the North Shore with his 12-year-old daughter. www.gpjac.org and www.sunlost.com

Founding Chair Richard G. L'Hommedieu . Lifelong music aficionado Rich L'Hommedieu is the person whose vision has brought the Long Island Music Hall of Fame to fruition. In addition to being a performing musician, he has considerable experience in the support fields of music and video: he is a published songwriter, was a live sound engineer from 1978 to 1984, taught songwriting techniques for the Smithtown School District in 1988, was the owner and operator of Midnight Circus, a recording studio, from 1980 until 1991, and was a music promoter and band manager from 1988 to 1994. He was also the owner of Long Island Media Group, which was a video production facility. He gained Island-wide prominence as the owner and publisher of Long Island Entertainment magazine, which he bought in 2002. Rich was employed by the Long Island Railroad for many years, and was Video Producer for the LIRR from 1990 to 1994, including creating an animated forensic reconstruction used by the FBI in their "Confined Space" training program. A dauntless volunteer, Rich often donates his time and effort to worthy causes, including Lending Comforts to the Sick, which is a not-for-profit group based in Suffolk County. Rich can be heard regularly as an on-air personality at WUSB 90.1FM, and is passionate on the topic of music education and scholarships for music students. Rich lives in Nesconset with his wife, Toni, son JP and Toni's mom.

Executive Vice Chair & Founding Member James Faith is the owner of James Faith Entertainment & Productions, and is a promoter and producer who has been booking entertainment for over 25 years. In addition, he is General Manager, and responsible for booking the 7000 seat Brookhaven Amphitheatre Arts & Cultural Center in Farmingville. He is the co-founder (with Dennis Wilson) of the "Count Basie Orchestra, Invitational High School Festival", a two day scholarship event that awards over $100,000 in college scholarships to graduating high school seniors, heading for music related colleges and universities. All Long Island high schools are invited to attend and participate; participating colleges include: Stony Brook University, Mannes School of Music, New York University, Berklee School of Music and Five Towns College. Jim has promoted or produced: Tony Bennett, the Beach Boys, Marilyn Manson, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, B.B. King, Dr. John, the Count Basie Orchestra, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Mountain, Hot Tuna, Pat Benatar, Michael Feinstein, George Benson, James Cotton, Debbie Harry, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Smokey Robinson, James Brown, Ashanti, John Scofield, Train, Blue Oyster Cult, Vanilla Fudge, Judy Collins, Spyro Gyra, Eric Burdon, moe., Steve Winwood and many, many more! (Full list upon request). He is also the producer of several popular festivals, including the American Music Festival in Port Jefferson and the The Great South Bay Music Festival in Patchogue, and has produced events at the Tilles Center, the Waldorf-Astoria, the Staller Center, Lincoln Center, and fundraisers for WLIW Channel 21, St. Charles Hospital, and of course, the 2006 Inaugural LIMHOF Induction Awards Gala featuring Billy Joel, Joan Jett and a host of others.

2nd Vice Chair Tom Bensen. A veteran of the professional sound industry for 30 years, Tom Bensen began his career as a broadcast announcer and engineer working for a number of NY area radio stations. He later moved into the professional audio industry and held positions with various manufacturing companies. In 1986, he formed Metropolis Audio Marketing, Inc., one of the largest independent pro audio representation firms in the US, and served as its president for ten years. He sold his interest in the company in 1996 and joined Crest Audio where he remained until the company was sold to Peavey Electronics. He accepted the position of Director Marketing for the Professional Sound Division of Group One, Ltd. Of Farmingdale, where he was employed for six years. In December 2004, he formed his own technology company, RF PRO, which specializes in finding new emerging technologies and bringing them to market in the professional sound industry. In July of 2005, Tom teamed up with John Lee, former owner of Crest Audio in the formation of Powersoft Audio, USA, Inc., where he also serves as Vice President. In addition, Tom is President, co-developer, and co-owner of PRAM Technologies of White Plains, NY, a manufacturer of long-range wireless industrial control devices designed for the professional production industry. He is married with two children, ages 10 and 20, and resides in Port Washington. His wife of 27 years, Roberta Facinelli, is a syndicated radio personality who appears on the Doug Stephan Show weekday mornings and who is an independent radio programming content producer. Roberta is doing the Press Corps co-ordination for this event.

3rd Vice Chair Tom Needham is the current host/executive producer of New York's longest-running film-related radio show, WUSB's The Sounds of Film. His documentary, Countdown to X-Day, won the Long Film Festival's best documentary award. He also produced and hosted the successful Manhattan cable show, New York Jazz, which featured jazz legends like Herbie Hancock, Stanley Jordan, Cyrus Chestnut and Lionel Hampton. Tom has also been a leading Long Island educator. For over ten years, he has been in charge of Floral Park Memorial High School's Gifted and Talented Program, as well as an English and Media teacher.

Secretary Amy Tuttle got her start in the music world as a visual artist, becoming known for her pencil portraits of musicians -including sketches from life of Harry Chapin, Buzzy Linhardt, Jim Dawson and more - and as a graphic artist for Churchmouse Graphics. She created record album covers for a number of groups, including Renaissance, Varela, and various artists on the New York-based Makossa record label, as well as posters for the Capitol Theater in Passaic, NJ, and the SAB concert series at SUNY Stony Brook. She is actively involved on a volunteer basis in the production of two highly successful concert series: First Saturday, featuring nationally known folk, blues and bluegrass acts, and The Hard Luck Cafe, featuring local and regional acoustic acts, as well as an annual free concert held in Heckscher Park, Huntington in conjunction with the Huntington Arts Council. She books the Music on Main free music series for the Port Jeff Arts Council and was active in the Northport Arts Council's Sundays @ 7 series. She is responsible for booking and promoting the 50-plus free concerts, covering many music genres, that the Islip Arts Council presents annually. She has recorded with Bill Ayres, Angels in Overdrive, the Gone Tribe and Varela. She has also worked extensively with special-needs individuals, and in historic restoration. A tireless champion of independent musicians, Amy hosts a podcast called Six String Island on Podarama.com. Amy is the Vice-President of the Folk Music Society of Huntington, is the Artistic Director of the Islip Arts Council, and serves on a New York State Council on the Arts' Decentralization Grants panel. She lives with Bob Westcott, her husband of 23 years, in Mount Sinai. www.fmshny.org and www.islipartscouncil.org

Treasurer Tony Traguardo, MLS, who resides in Westbury, is an archivist who has been collecting rare music and video footage for nearly thirty years. By day, he is a Media Librarian and Multimedia Technician for the Port Washington Public Library; this allows him to make use of both his undergraduate degree in Broadcasting, and his Master of Library and Information Science. During his 'off hours' he can be found lecturing at various Long Island libraries, producing his show '4F' for Podarama.com, teaching at Stony Brook University, working to build up his voiceover business (Word of Mouth Studios), or taking the stage with his 60s/70s cover band 'Shindig!'. Tony served as the main scriptwriter for LIMHoF's 2006 Gala program and assembled the video presentations accompanying each induction with the help of the Board's other archivist, Barry Fisch.

Richard Arfin. Richard Arfin grew up in Massapequa Park during "The Long Island Sound" days and followed them into a career in the entertainment business, from radio through Internet to Podcasting. In 1969, at the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, he was Assistant Head of Security. In the early '70s, he worked at WNEW-AM and WNEW-FM in New York, and was Music Producer/Co-Manager of The Dixie Hummingbirds when they won Best Soul Gospel Grammy Award in 1972. He has published numerous copywritten pieces of music, produced recordings, written articles about Long Island rock history for Rolling Stone, Bim Bam Boom, Crawdaddy, Goldmine, et al. Richard has a long history of community involvement: he has served on the Advisory Board of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Suffolk County, on the President's Council of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island, was a member of Founder's Circle, Promote Long Island Inc., and was Vice President of LongIsland.Org. An early proponent of the internet, he was Founder and President of Long Island Online Services, Inc. d/b/a Long Island Globalink starting in 1992. Richard is President and C.E.O. of Podarama Studios, LLC. www.podarama.com His article ''Beaches, Bars and B-3's: A History of Rock and Roll on Long Island'' can be found online at our website, www.limusichalloffame.org Richard has two grown daughters and resides in East Hampton.

Annette Babich. Annette Babich is the founder of Annette Babich Events. She is the Long Island Chapter Leader of the Association of Bridal Consultants. She is a member of the International Special Events Society and National Association of Female Executives and has also served as Vice President of the Garden City Historical Society. Annette is a graduate of New York University Stern School of Business. She has appeared in a number of publications including: Modern Bride, The Knot, Quest, Wedding Bells, Distinction Magazine, Time Out NY, Esquire, New York Times and Newsday. She appears in the book 'City Wedding' by Joan Hamburg and has been featured in the Japanese Television news show segment 'Oh My New York'. Her company, Annette Babich Events offers more than 15 years of experience and expertise in the Events Industry. Her partnership of skilled industry veterans successfully plan and execute all types of events including corporate, galas, entertainment and weddings. Annette Babich Events serves many roles, as advisor, coordinator, supervisor, financial Planner and mediator. From creative inception to successful completion, Annette Babich Events provides all the details relating to the events and their personal hands-on approach ensures flawless execution of these events to exceed client expectations. Annette Babich Events is U.S. and internationally based. From corporate affairs to personal engagements, they cross all continents. IPO events orchestrated by the team have taken place in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. They have planned a wedding in Pamplona, Spain, during the Feast of San Fermin – 'Running of the Bulls', which was featured in the Styles Section of the New York Times. Among the diverse projects that have been developed and/or executed by the Annette Babich Events include an Ameriquest Capital Group Office Opening Event, Blackstone Group Initial Public Offering, CIT Investor Day, Colonial Trust Properties Investor Day, Freescale Roadshow, Genworth Financial – Closing Dinner, Global Consulting Group Itau Securities Annual Conference, UBS/Piper Jaffray Merger Training Sessions. She has also created events for many important area corporations and non-profits, including the 2006 Long Island Music Hall of Fame Annual Gala. Visit Annette Babich Events at http://annettebabich.com/.

David Baram. David Baram began producing concerts while a student at Hofstra University in 1972, working with Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Billy Joel, Miles Davis and others. In 1976, he was employed by Phil Basile and Concerts East as House Manager at the Calderone Concert Hall in Hempstead, Long Island, and eventually went on to produce shows for Concerts East at the Nassau Coliseum, Madison Square Garden, Shea Stadium, Providence Civic Center and large scale concert venues throughout the northeastern United States. Following his years with Concerts East, Baram joined with Michael 'Eppy' Epstein in operating the legendary My Fathers Place Nightclub, in Roslyn, New York. MFP was well-known for its long-running Tuesday night live radio broadcasts on WLIR-FM, weekly reggae concerts, and nightly presentations of world famous artists in a relaxed club setting. Taking a cue from their love of reggae music, Eppy and David also branched out into full scale tour production, booking, and management for many major reggae performers as well. While at My Fathers Place, Baram enrolled in Hofstra Law School, and began his second career as an attorney in the 1980s. For the past twenty years, he has been a partner in the Law Firm of Baram and Kaiser, specializing in transactional, contract and business law, civil litigation and bankruptcy. Baram & Kaiser maintains offices in Garden City and Long Beach, New York. Through the years Baram has worked with artists such as Aerosmith, Santana, James Brown, The Allman Brothers, Billy Joel, The Police, Muddy Waters, Johnny Winter, Jethro Tull, Kiss, ZZ Top, Neil Young, Count Basie, Hot Tuna, Jerry Garcia, Yes, The Ramones, and countless others. For more than a decade Baram has also been the chairperson of the Board of Directors of Long Beach Reach, Inc, a non-profit organization providing a comprehensive range of professional services for individuals and families. Baram lives with his beautiful wife, two daughters, and Frank the daschund in Long Beach, New York.

Bob Buchmann: It was 1974 when a kid named Bob Buchmann, soldering iron in hand, built a 100 watt AM station in his basement so that he could be right next to his hero, Don Imus, on the local dial. After a knock on his parents' door from the FCC, Bob went legit, converting the pirate AM station into the first mass-distributed cable-only radio station. That plug got pulled when it was time for college in Ithaca, New York. When Bob joined WBAB/Long Island in 1979 as VP/Programming, the station was the fourth-ranked rock station in the market. By 1982, WBAB evolved into the Long Island leader, and had never been beaten by any other rock station, even those based in New York. Until 2001, that is, when it was beaten by Q104.3. That's in part because Bob took the leap into America's largest market by accepting on-air and Program Director duties at Clear Channel's Q104.3, WAXQ, New York. The station rocketed in rank from 14th to become a top 5 player in Adults 25-54, and often is the top Male-targetted station in the market. Bob is a board member of Friends of Karen, Special Olympics, the Long Island Music Hall of Fame and Charity Begins at Home, founded by long-time friend Billy Joel. He's also winner of the Harry Chapin Man-of-the-Year Award from Long Island Cares for his efforts to fight hunger. He lives in New York City and has 2 children: Katelyn, 19 and James, 18. http://www.kerric-ent.com/bobuchmn.htm

Michael Ferrari is a noted and respected champion of the Long Island local music scene. He is the Publisher and Creative Director of Aural Fix Communique, Long Island's first and only publication dedicated to the region's music scene, as well as a Managing Editor for The Inside Connection, a national music magazine. In recent years, Mike has served as a Director of the Long Island Music Coalition. He also hosts and produces two Long Island-based radio programs: a weekly webcast called Aural Fix Transmission on WebRadioWCWP.org (Saturdays from 4:00PM-6:00PM), and The Indie Connection Show on RadioX which broadcasts on 94.7FM, 94.9FM and 104.5FM on Fridays from 8:00PM to 10:00PM. In addition to his support of local music, Mike is a singer, songwriter and performer for the Long Island-based music project Reign of Angels. He holds a B.F.A. in Graphic Design from the School of Visual Arts and a M.S. in Interactive Media Arts from C.W. Post University. Mike resides in West Babylon with his wife, Lori and their cat, Princess. More information available at www.auralfix.com and www.insidecx.com.

Barry Fisch has been involved in the music industry on Long Island for over thirty years. His first taste was as music director of his college radio station, WNYT, on the campus of the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury. After numerous positions at a variety of Long Island based music stores and distributors, he settled in at one of the major label distribution companies, Polygram Records. During his nine year stint there, he worked in a sales and marketing capacity with all major record store accounts in the New York and Long Island areas under the positions of Singles Sales Specialist, Account Service Rep, and Artist Development Rep. The relationship with music store retailers Barry developed during his Polygram years still stands today, as he works within the New York and Long Island areas as an independent sales and marketing representative for various indy music distributors based in other parts of the U.S. Barry is also a music video archivist. He has received numerous credits supplying archival footage for television networks and independent film companies from his own personal archive, which he began collecting in 1978. Barry now resides in Hicksville.

Mark G Gresser DPM. Known far and wide - across Long Island and into Memphis - as Doc Blues, Mark Gresser's CD reviews and cogent commentary on the Long Island music scene is much appreciated by readers of glossy periodicals. He has served as Music Editor at The Improper, is the Chief Editor of Backyard Blues and is a regular contributor to Long Island Pulse magazine. A founding director and currently the President of the Long Island Blues Society, Mark is often heard on the air at WUSB 90.1FM as a blues and zydeco programmer, and presents the blues news on RadioX. Very active in the community, he serves as Vice President of the Miller Place-Mount Sinai CDM Chamber of Commerce, and is the promoter/programmer for the annual Cedar Beach Music Festival in Mount Sinai. Through the LIBS, Mark has brought many nationally and internationally renowned artists to Long Island, including Corey Harris, Hans Theessink, Mitch Woods, Bob Malone, Chris Thomas King, Rod Piazza and Studebaker John. He has been instrumental in developing events which benefited breast cancer research and autism awareness, and has also volunteered as Chief Medical Officer at the Clearwater and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festivals. He emceed for 10 years at the Blues 2000 and Beyond festival, and was awarded a "Blues Angel Award" by the LIBS in 2004. Mark is a board certified podiatric physician in private practice since 1985 at North Country Podiatry with offices in Mount Sinai and Center Moriches. He received his NYS Secondary Science Teacher Certification in 1999, and is presently an Associate Adjunct Professor at Briarcliffe College. Mark and his wife Carolyn have two children, and live in Mount Sinai. www.liblues.org

Susan Herbst has been lurking about the Long Island music scene for - well - a really long time. While studying at School of Visual Arts (BFA) for children's illustration, she was recruited for graphic design and photography duty by her brother's [new] band, The Touch. This eventually led to a long stint as a graphic artist for a printing company that specialized in local and national, bar and nightclub promotional pieces. Though a series of "degrees of separation" she met the band Reckless Abandon (aka Captain Vic). Eventually pressed into "social directing" duties for the band, she also designed their cd Musical Train Wreck (and later Captain Vic's Good Night Ladies). It was at the 1996 Good Times Music Festival that she met Rich Hughes of the Long Island Music Coalition (and former Board member of LIMHoF) and by 1999 was a Board member of the LIMC. In 2001 she was recruited by John Blenn (formerly of Good Times) to assist with his monthly entertainment magazine the Long Island Entertainment News. When he sold it in 2002 to Rich L'Hommedieu, Sue became the Art Director and (sole) Graphic Designer (which essentially means that she got to boss herself around), upgrading and redesigning the look of the magazine (as well as a host of other DIY duties). When the magazine ceased publication in 2004, Sue thought that things would quiet down and she could have a "normal" life. But, as fate would have it, only for a short time. In 2006, Rich L'Hommedieu again recruited her for a new project, to produce the promotional and printed program material for the Long Island Music Hall of Fame's First Induction Gala. So, here we are today. Sue has designed cds, promotional material and logos for local artists and companies including Dave Isaacs, JP Blues, LIMC, Omnipop, and Once Upon A Dish. She is also involved with Diabetes Research Institute Foundation, and has done work for Rhett Syndrome Research Foundation. In addition to her graphic design experience, she has had her illustration work shown at the Society of Illustrators, designs and sells her own line of Christmas cards, and does custom painting on ceramics and furniture. Most recently, she illustrated the posters and promotional material for Great South Bay Music Festival.

Jeffrey James is an arts consultant who has worked with many composers, instrumentalists, conductors, orchestras and chamber ensembles and arts related organizations in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America since 1981. He was Operations Manager for Long Island's Nassau Symphony Orchestra from 1988 to 1991, when he opened Jeffrey James Arts Consulting. He is the Executive Director of the Vakhtang Jordania International Conducting Competition and a juror and Special Adviser for the Ibla International Music Competition in Italy. He is President of 4Tay Records and created ClassicalCDs.net, an Internet-based sales outlet for independent CD companies and International Composer, an interview site that debuted in Spring 2004. Locally, he has served on the Boards of Directors of the Nassau Symphony Orchestra, the American Chamber Ensemble, the Gemini Youth Symphony, the New York Foundation for the Arts SOS Panels, the NY State Council on the Arts' Decentralization Program Advisory Board and the LI Arts Council at Freeport. He lives in Farmingdale with his wife Lisa, a renowned poet. His website is at http://www.jamesarts.com

Charles McKenna is a founding director of the Long Island Blues Society, which was established in 1995. He served on the Board of Directors as Treasurer from 1995 to 2004, and as President from 2004 to the present. A true Blues music aficionado, Charlie has been a key person involved with the production of the Riverhead Blues Festival, one of the largest free festivals in New York State, since its inception in 1998. Charlie also helped establish the Long Island Blues Challenge, in which the winners are sponsored by the LIBS to compete at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. Charlie worked at Stony Brook University College of Engineering from its first year of operation in 1963 until his retirement from the Research and Development Facility, Department of Physics at Stony Brook in 1997. Since that time, he has devoted his full attention to the support of roots music in all its forms. Charlie lives in Centereach and has two grown daughters and three grandchildren. www.liblues.org

Denis McNamara began his career as an on-air personality in the early days of FM radio at New York's WNEW-FM. In the late '70s, Denis became Program Director at WLIR, and steered the station from its freeform progressive rock roots in the late 70's to the premiere Modern Rock station of the 1980's. Denis is unanimously credited with almost single-handedly creating the New Wave and alternative radio formats that defined a generation and swept the nation. When most rock stations drifted to the more commercial AOR format, Denis bucked this trend by seeking new and innovative music. He was also known for his now-famous concert series and his support of local bands. Because of his prodigious knowledge and intelligent style as a radio host, Denis became a much sought-after interviewer, and was a favorite of many of the bands who changed the direction of music during that era. As punk and New Wave started to become popular at the end of the 1970s most rock stations ignored these genres, but he once again bucked the trend by playing artists that were breaking new ground. You can find information about the format of WLIR at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLIR and a great interview Denis conducted with the Cure at Interview: It's Piracy I Tell You

Norm Prusslin is Director of the Media and Interdisciplinary Arts Minor/Living Learning Center programs at Stony Brook University. A member of the SBU staff/faculty for 33 years, Prusslin has also served as General Manager of WUSB 90.1FM and Advisor to all student media organizations at SBU. Prusslin is President of the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (the nation's largest college radio station membership organization) and is a member of the Board of Directors of the L.I. Press Club Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He is a member of College Media Advisors, the Radio-TV News Directors Association and the Broadcast Education Association. Prusslin holds an adjunct teaching appointment at Five Towns College and is a recipient of the Hall's Long Island Sound Award for lifetime contributions to the music community on Long Island.

Chairman, Music Industry Advisory Board: Sammy Ash is a third generation music retailer and Sam Ash's namesake. Sammy has been in the music industry in various positions all his life from working as a kid in the warehouse to developing and improving the look and feel of the company. Since Sam Ash Music is expanding he really has his hands full. Besides looking over all of the 45 locations in 16 states, he is developing and opening two new superstores in Atlanta and Dallas. On the personal side he has a wonderful wife and partner, Rachel and four amazing boys. Sam is a guitar player, buyer and collector and has designed and built dozens of guitars.