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Elayne was an Ottawa/Ottawa Valley girl, born and raised. While living in Merrickville in her early teen years, she was introduced to country music via the great traditional tunes being played by CJET Radio out of Smiths Falls. Fast forward a few years to 1972, when Elayne married Ralph Carlson and began enjoying country music 24/7.
In 1977, Elayne was a member of the Ottawa committee that produced the very first, and highly successful, Country Music Week in Canada, and she remained on that committee for the second Country Music Week held here in 1981.
In January 1987, the late Keith Smiley, a member of the Hall of Fame Board of Directors, approached her about joining the Board as the Secretary and de facto record keeper. In 1995, when the Board decided to change its Induction Ceremonies from its previous dinner format to a major show at Centrepointe Theatre, Elayne took on the additional position of Seating/Program/Script Coordinator for the show and worked tirelessly with the small team of Board members, both in the months leading up to the show and during its presentation to ensure that the inductees each year were treated with the respect and recognition that they so richly deserved. Elayne held the secretary position until mid 2013, making her one of the longest serving members of the Board. It had been her honour and pleasure to have been involved with over 85 inductions.
Unfortunately, on Oct 10th 2013, Elayne lost her battle with cancer, 11 years to the day after her husband Ralph passed away.
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