DJzone DJ Magazine

Dennis E. Hampson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Online Disc Jockey Association Inc. (CODJA) and Jim Griffin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Association of Mobile Entertainers and Operators (CAMEO), announced last night at a special Hamilton Ontario meeting of CAMEO members the merger of these two professional DJ associations. The merger includes both the CAMEO National office and their CAMEO regional operations in Ontario with CODJA.

CODJA is currently Canada’s largest national professional DJ association with close to 900 DJ service members across Canada representing over 2,000 DJs. CAMEO is a national professional DJ association with chaptered members in Ontario and independent members in Western Canada. The merger will provide a wider range of national benefits and expanded programs to CAMEO members.

The newly merged association will be operated under the management of CODJA. CODJA Chairman Dennis Hampson will be added to the Board of Directors of CAMEO and take management control of CAMEO immediately. Jim Griffin has appointed three of CAMEO’s management team to supervise this transition and the wind down of CAMEO over the next two months. CAMEO will continue to operate under the CAMEO name until September 30th and current memberships will continue until the end of the year.

• CAMEO’s former Chairman Jim Griffin will now join CODJA as the new Vice President of Regional Development.
• Former CAMEO President Doug Gordon also joins CODJA as the new Regional Membership Coordinator of the Golden Horseshoe Region.
• CAMEO Executive Jan Foss-Pederson joins CODJA as the new Team Leader of the former CAMEO South Central Ontario (Hamilton) chapter, now the new CODJA Golden Horseshoe Networking Group.
• Other appointments of CAMEO management to CODJA are pending.

I am pleased to give our members the benefit of CODJA’s excellent leadership and benefits through this merger

“I am delighted to have these talented and devoted CAMEO executives and members as part of the CODJA team now and to once again be working with my long time friend and former CDJA colleague and VP Jim Griffin” says CODJA CEO and President Dennis Hampson. ”The market and technologies of our industry are changing, and we have to change with them. We are going to build a better DJ association together” adds Hampson.

“I am pleased to give our members the benefit of CODJA’s excellent leadership and benefits through this merger,” says Jim Griffin, CAMEO Chairman. “It will be great to be working with my former association and trade show partner and good friend Dennis Hampson again and I am pleased to be a part of the newly expanded CODJA management team. I know that along with the whole CODJA team we will take this association to the next level and beyond in the industry.

This merger is a vital start to the CODJA goal of partnering with and bringing together other Canadian and American DJ associations into a unified body to lead and manage the growing DJ service entertainment industry in Canada.