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April 2015

Michael “Louis” Owens -Jamaica -Lifetime Member, Director

Michael “ Louis” Owens started buying records in 1972, his first being a Marvin Gaye record.  In 1984 his serious indoctrination into the vinyl record collecting business took place when his uncle Gersham “ Doc” White brought a set of over 300 45’s for him from Canada. These were all doubles from Doc’s personal collection and heavily influenced his musical appreciation.  Things have never quite been the same since then as it relates to record collecting as “The untrained Hand” as he was once referred to by a prominent music man is now known as “The Silent Master”

Originally from Waterhouse, Louis is a rounded collector of all genres of music.  He always plays to entertain but confesses to getting a buzz when he’s playing Ska.

Louis was introduced to the Collectors fraternity  in a working capacity on a voluntary basis in 2006 by our first President Richard “ Billy T” Elcock ( Elected in 2007)when he was asked to spearhead a team to organize  the MWE “Sit in” that year in Jamaica.

A strong supporter of VRCA he was appointed a Lifetime member in 2007 when the organization was officially formed and registered in Florida.

Eric "Junior" Cyrus Jr.- Florida - Lifetime Member/ Director- Treasurer

A VRCA cornerstone with unwavering dedication. Junior has been with our organization since the very first Sit-in in 1998. A longtime and actively involved Kiwanian he has brought a wealth of experience and organizational skills to VRCA. He was instrumental in the drafting of our By-Laws and also registering our organization in Florida. Our annual magazine has been his “baby”, evolving from its first publication as a mere pamphlet in 2006 to a now professional looking magazine. Editor-in-Chief, on a voluntary basis, along with his team of Roslyn and Ruth Cyrus, Charlotte Smikle, we now have an annually produced magazine of which VRCA is extremely proud.

Junior is a co-host of the Vintage Vinyl show on the collectorskornernow.com network (CKN)- a role he thoroughly enjoys with a seemingly reinvorated zest for the music. Definitely a top vinyl collector whose musical offerings we are privileged to enjoy on CKN and at various venues in and outside of South Florida.  

Caryl Ward, - New York - Lifetime Member, Director - Secretary

A dedicated, reliable member, Caryl is the current Secretary/Director of the VRCA.  He joined our organization in 2010 after being a more than frequent supporter at events prior. His early musical influence came from hearing the various sound systems in the Rousseau Road area in Kingston, Jamaica where he lived. Tres and Merritone Discos he remembers as being amongst his favorite sound systems then. Form early to mid 1960’s as a student Caryl was drawn to buying records with his very limited resources. He was privileged in those days to have experienced the likes of the great Tommy McCook live at Bournemouth and Victoria Pier. Graduating from school in the late 1960’s, entering the working world and now with more disposable income, record stores like Aquarius, Record Plaza and Times Store became his favorite haunts to purchase even more records.  

After a four-year stay in Canada (1972-76) Caryl returned to Jamaica and then migrated to New York in 1980.  It was almost inevitable that with his love of music and records that he would eventually meet Paul Hutton.  As the saying goes, the rest is history.  

A co-founder of collectorskornernow.com (CKN), he along with his co-host, his wife Pat who is the smooth voice of CKN can be heard on weekly programs on CKN. Caryl has a passion (a hobby second only to records of course) for photography and possesses an enviable pictorial record of many VRCA events that he willingly shares.

Curtis Bloomfield - Florida - Assistant Secretary

Curtis "Soul-Gong" Bloomfield an ardent Vinyl record collector and a proud graduate form the Purple side of North Street the famed Kingston College, became a member of VRCA in 2025. A member of the Florida Chapter he was recently elected to the position of Assistant Secretary. Curtis is full of enthusiasm firstly in becoming a member of VRCA and now an Officer.

His father, the late great James San Salvador Bloomfield, is the sole reason why he followed the music collecting path and developed his love for music. Growing up in Jamaica, Curtis's  father often played music every Sunday on his stereo, and if he was in a very good mood, Saturday would be included. In those days Curtis couldn't leave home to avoid hearing
those boring old people's music, as he thought they were back then.
Back in New York he started attending record shows and music sessions and began to make friends amongst the collectors, which in turn helped his musical knowledge and consequently increased his collection. He  thanks all collectors for that growth, because we do learn from each other, but there are a few people
in particular that he would like to mentions; Paul Hutton, Boogsie Morris, Arleen Ralph, Everton Grant, Wesley Simpson, Shadows, Neville Dread, Buck,
Cecil Bartley & Phillip Thompson. In his words Phillip Thompson has had the most profound effect on his collection and is given honorable mention here.
 
 
 

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