Merrymakers Performer of the Year
Merrymakers is proud to work with a talented stable of 22 entertainers who travel throughout Nebraska and Western Iowa to serve our senior population.
One is the most recent recipient of the Jim Johnson Entertainer of the year Award, Kim Eames, who has been with Merrymakers for the last nine and a half years. She was discovered by our most veteran entertainer Joe Taylor. It seems Kim’s husband suggested that Joe listen to his wife perform, and Joe was instantly sold on Kim’s work, and eventually got her the audition that brought her on board with Merrymakers.
She recalls her first promo photo with Merrymakers was taken at the Gretna Community Center together with a woman called Goldie, who was about to turn 100. “I asked her when her birthday was, and she told me it was August 23rd. We shared a birthday, and I thought ‘it was meant to be’- a great start singing with the seniors.
She is an energetic and a positive performer who has a large range of musical styles she can bring to any given show. She can easily tailor any set to the audience she meets. “There was one performance that included a daycare, so I even wound up singing “The Wheels On The Bus” for the very youngest members of the audience,” she said.
“If I’m in an age group like mine I play The Eagles, Linda Rondstat, James Taylor, Neil Diamond, or Dan Fogelberg. I like all different kinds of things”.
Kim makes entertaining look effortless and easy. It might be due to a non-stop smile, her high-energy performance style, or maybe it’s just due to the 40 years of performing experience she has.
She picked up guitar at age 11, and started playing the 12-string guitar, her signature instrument, at age 12. At 14 (yes, 14!), she started her professional career playing with a group called the Royal Blues Band. They played mainly private parties and wedding receptions she recalls, playing polkas, Carpenters songs and “pretty middle of the road stuff” as she described it.
She sees her work with Merrymakers as more than a one-way street. She gets as much from her audience as much as she gives.
“The stories I hear from seniors move me. I’m supposed to be moving them, but when I get stories from them that move me…” She paused and went on, “Several gentlemen (WWII vets) have told me that when I do “Sentimental Journey”- that they heard it as they were getting off the ship to come home and they tear up. It takes them to a moment that’s unforgettable for them. They recall it so clearly that when they tell you- you’re there. It’s like watching a movie.”
Kim also appreciates what she brings to her audience. “Normally they enjoy the music so much. It really is therapeutic. If they came in sad, I’m hoping they leave happy.”
She also comes to her performances with a healthy sense of perspective. To Kim, the audience is not just a roomful of seniors. The audience is made up of people who all have stories, and family and history. She recalled two people she has met that illustrate this idea: “You meet so many interesting people with Merrymakers. I met the guy who played trumpet for Dinah Shore at one show.” She paused and reflected, “We look at these people and I realize we’re all going to be in a seat like that some day and I’m going to say to someone ‘I used to sing once’. Are they going to believe me, or do they care? But this had made me look at it totally differently.”
She also tells the story of a 104-year-old senior in Plattsmouth who came here after spending most of her days in Hawaii to live near her last surviving nephew. She used to dance for Bob Hope and went out on his USO tours.
40 years of entertaining has it’s full measure of stories, like having Bob Hope walk in on her performance when she played Harry’s Pub in the Hilton, or breaking bread with Tom Jones at the next table at Maxims, or playing in front of stars.
One of her biggest celebrity moments happened when she performed at Peony Park when she was a senior in high school. She recalled that at the time she was doing poorly in government class, and it turned out to be a rally for future president Jimmy Carter. “Here I was singing for Jimmy Carter and I could care less about government at that time. I shook his hand and met his wife, and at the moment I didn’t even know it.”
Kim continues to perform with a high level of energy which escapes no one. “A man asked me where it comes from,” she said. “It’s a gift from God. I know it’s a gift from God. I thank him every day, and it’s my job to take care of it. Hopefully I do that well.”
We are thankful that she does.