Ken Shirk
Prior to assuming the International Secretary-Treasurer post in 2023, Ken Shirk served AFM members for an accumulated 21 years as a local officer in Seattle, WA; San Antonio, TX; and Portland, OR; executive board member of the King County Labor Council (Seattle) and Northwest Oregon Labor Council (Portland), all overlapping fourteen years as a member of the AFM International Executive Board, plus an accumulated seventeen years on the Federation’s executive staff.
A classically-trained low brass specialist, Ken primarily worked as a freelance bass trombonist in Seattle and Portland, performing shows, musicals, concert jazz, recording sessions, dance gigs, and extra symphonic work before turning his attention full-time to union work in the late 1990s.