The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a group of twelve entertainers, promoters and radio personalities met at The Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto, Ontario and formed a Board of Directors to help promote Canadian content. The group included Jury Krytiuk, president of Boot Records, Bod Dalton, a promotor, Sean Eyre, DJ Lindsay, radio personality Harold Moon who worked for BMI Records, Jack Starr of The Horseshoe Tavern, Barry Haugen of RCA Records, Vic Folliott of Brantford Radio, Mary Butterill of CAPAC Publishing and Ben Kerr who was a prominent promoter and Brent Williams, a notable countr