Unwritten Song; Cam Bohman

The farthest reaches of the United States might not be the place you'd look for a musical superstar. Even more, that superstar may not look like we expect our superstars to appear. In 1966, in  the still rugged town of Anchorage, Alaska, a bright eyed and ambitious young teacher named Cam McCarrey began a career in music education that continues to this day. 2016 will mark her 50th year as a music educator in Alaska, which has seen thousands of students intersect with her dynamic personality, unparalleled energy, and awesome inspiration . More than that, Cam continues to build a legacy about so much more than "just" the incredible music she and her students have created. As we will discover in this documentary project, her committment to teaching provided her with the vehicle to do what mattered even more than the music; growing and inspiring incredible human beings.







My own story with Cam began in 1972, when my family moved to Alaska and my oldest brother joined the choir at West Anchorage High School. As we started to go through Cam's massive collection of pictures, documents, and keepsakes the following picture was literally in the first handful digitally scanned.

This was the Harvest Harmonies concert of 1972?, held in the school cafeteria. My brother is in there somewhere, and it is one of my earliest memories of anything. When I joined the music program nine years later, and participated in my own Harvest Harmonies concert, I thought back to this seminal experience, that has so many rich details I could remember. I recalled the hay bales, the bright plaid shirts, the streamers from the low ceiling, and even one of the songs performed, "The Other Day I Met A Bear".  

What I didn't expect, when I received the first batch of pictures, was to find a great photo of this wonderful memory! But, I want you to look closer. In front of the hay bales is a little boy kneeling down and watching the show. He's got a plaid shirt on, brown hair, and fairly large ears! That's me! At least, I'm pretty sure it is. Even if it isn't, I know 100% that he represents me, a little boy in love with the show, and longing to be on the big, bright stage.

Here I am, all those years later, with some friends, Jim Hamilton, Tyler Crenshaw, and Todd Seeley, from one of our performances. It isn't perfect, but it does make me giggle.


And this one, with Sherman Caruthers and Todd Seeley:



Over the last thirty years since I graduated from West, with all four years spent in the choir program under Cam Bohman, I have often reflected on my experiences, and have made it a point to ask every one of my peers I could find, both my contemporaries and those who came before me, to express their thoughts when I mention the name of Cam McCarrey Bohman. Based on my own perceptions, and after years of incredible stories, I hatched the concept of producing a documentary to try and capture the extraordinary story.

The idea sat on the shelf for a long time, until I met Lee Butterfield, recently an award winning BP Teacher of Excellence. Lee's story is amazing all on it's own, and he embodies so many of the same qualities as a teacher and human being that make Cam Bohman's story so compelling. In 2014, Lee successfully dreamed, wrote grants, and rallied the effort to create a brand new curriculum based around the use of full scale digital production/studio equipment. Each day, his students at South Anchorage High School prep, script, shoot and produce an in-house news show to deliver that day's announcement and information across the school campus. As part of his class projects, I have access to soem great young filmmakers, and state-of-the-art camera equipment. Far from sloppy, homemade videos, the production value of everything these students produce is professional and amazing. Out of that exciting environment, several students have committed to the multi-year project of helping to film, edit, and produce this documentary. It seems fitting to honor a superstar teacher's career with the efforts of incredibly talented students, who are inspiring and being inspired today. 

I have already begun to conduct on-camera interviews and gather written stories, and as I always suspected, the same thread is running through each and every one. Almost as if reading from a script, the comment continues to resonate that Cam Bohman "changed my life. I wouldn't be who I am today, if it hadn't been for her impact and influence in my life". Here's a picture of Cam today with one of my classmate, Tammy. Mrs. Bohman and her husband, Bill, adopted Tammy when she was in high school. I can't wait to tell that story, and it represents the deeper meaning of Cam's life, and why we all love her so much.


So, here is where we are now. The wheels on this documentary project are beginning to turn and there are three elements.

1. The main documentary, which serves to honor Cam McCarrey Bohman and the impact her life has made on so many. Our goal is the moon! Wide distrubution, maximum exposure, and a high quality final product.

2. A companion documentary that will be produced from the same source materials, which will be targeted to local governments, school districts, and educators to highlight the critical importance of the Performing Arts to overall education and future success.

3. An archival set of materials, memories, stories, and testmonials for those who know and love Cam Bohman, and for Cam herself to know more fully, just how extraordinary her life has been.


Our goal is to produce this film as a non-profit entity, and I have already spent my own money to get a business license, corporation setup, website domains, and more. The next step is to try and raise some seed money to pay for the membership to a non-profit fimmakers service, purchase some specialized hardware for storing massive amounts of video data (60 minutes of 4K HD video is more than 60gb of data storage!), acquire some computer hardware for compatibility between my own resources and the school resources, and other startup materials and online tools. I have personal experience in all of these areas, and access to other professionals along the way, as well as experience administrating and guiding non-profit ventures. It is unlcear if donations made at this time will be tax deductible, but that is something we will try to make happen. If I receive any donations here, the very first order of business will be to finish the application to independent filmmakers cooperative, after which ALL donations to future campaigns will be tax deductible. In addition, we are already seeking the assistance of Alaskan foundations for grant money, where our concept has been met with great interest. Furthermore, we will be seeking assistance from some of our corporate friends who support education and the arts, as well as nationally affiliated grant programs.

I had been preparing paperwork to tap into Alaska's Film Tax Credit program, which I was very optimistic about, since we wouldn't be creating another lame Alaska reality show...  But, that program is falling victim to budget cuts, and legislative vendettas.

So, there it is...  When I approached Cam about this idea last year, she was bemused and puzzled as to why it, or she, would interesting to anyone. After further conversation, and encouragement from her family, she agreed to be my subject. I am humbled that a large part of the reason she agreed, is because I would be at the helm of this project. I think that reflects that she has some idea of how deeply I love her, what she stands for, and the indescribable contribution she has made to my, and many others' lives. I'm hoping you will entrust the project to me as well, even to the point of donating to help make it happen. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.