In 1974 Eberhard Finke took over the vacant position of editor of the Oldtime- und Bluegrass magazine "Country Corner" and also was quite active as organiser of concerts with Oldtime- and Bluegrass Music.  In 1981 he started the "Bluegrass Buehne", the only magazine about  Oldtime- and Bluegrass Music for the German speaking population. It is our hope that he will continue to be its editor for a long time to come. His achievenments were widely within the international music world and a few years ago he was even nominated for an IBMA award. In the end he came only second to the editor of a Japanese Bluegrass magazine.
In 1970 he was married to Monika. She very much supports him in all his efforts concerning the "Bluegrass Buehne" magazine. Besides this, they always have taken very good care of many of the visiting Bluegrass musicians from all over the world. Their so-called "Bluegrass Hotel" in Ulm in southern Germany is known throughout the Bluegrass world. Without Eberhard und Monika Finke, there would have been no more  German Bluegrass scene.
Everything they do for the Bluegrass music they do for the love of the music. They are not the kind of people to think of making any profit from their great hobby. The subscriptions for Bluegrass Buehne hardly make up for the bare costs of printing the magazine.
It would only be fair to reward their 'engagement' and efforts they made for Bluegrass music in Germany, the countless trips they made carrying around the musicians payed out of their own pockets, the many nights they lent their home to the musical guests (for which even their children should move from their own rooms), the excellent reviews about all the musical events throughout both Germany and accross the border and the always-ready advise and help given freely to all concerned with the honor of presenting them with the European Bluegrass Pioneer Award.
It was my intentionally nominated both Eberhard and Monika for the award, because of the merits of Monika, always working in the background, have been just as important and impressive as those of Eberhard

He was one of the most enthusiastic Bluegrassers that the United Kingdom has ever seen. The late Jan Jerald was the first to conceive the idea of the British Bluegrass Music Association - BBMA - and was present at its inauguration in the year 1991.

Although unable to sing or play himself, Jan immersed himself in everything that was Bluegrass. He organised tours for American musicians and was the tours driver on many occasions. At first there were no pure Bluegrass clubs in the United Kingdom and Jan Jerald was the first person to establish a meeting place for Bluegrass fans in the shape of the London Bluegrass Club. He took over the 'British Bluegrass News' magazine from Phil Morley in its early days and he was instrumental in its development. he took responsibility for the writing of the bulk of the articles, the editing and the distribution. After his death in 1995, he was found to have amassed an enormous collection of recordings which were given to the 'British Sound Archive' by his widow.