Elkhart IN

Glenn Holtz was raised in the music products industry. His father, Ed, was a sales manager for Ludwig Drum Company. Glenn spent 9 years as Selmer District Manager then 2 years as Field Manager. He left to be President of Gemeinhardt Flutes for nearly 20 years, and as a sales manager for Selmer. In...
Merle Johnson was a past president of the famous EK Blessing Company in Elkhart, Indiana. Emil Karl Blessing opened a small brasswind valve company in 1906 and soon expanded his products to include cornets and trumpets. Over the years the company grew to include Mr. Blessing’s sons, who played a...
Bob Ziems (it sounds like "seems as in Ziems it seems") was a dedicated member of the testing department at CG Conn from 1941-1971 and later with Selmer. However, it was what he did for a hobby that became most important to the NAMM Resource Center. As early as 1937, Bob took photographs of every...
Charles Bickel was working on the bench at Selmer when George Bundy decided to try a different plastic emulsion for his idea of a plastic clarinet. The first try was not successful. Mr. Bickel recalled the look in Bundy’s eyes when the first Resonate clarinet was tested, “We all started to clap and...
Abe Wollam was a close associate of Bud Reglein. Beginning in the 1940s, Abe worked with Bud at the jj Babbitt Mouthpiece Company out of Elkhart, IN. Abe developed strong engineering skills, which proved to be invaluable as the company grew over the years and required specialized tooling. As...
Rocky Giglio has been a strong leader in the development and marketing of the jj Babbitt mouthpieces product line. For years. Rocky has listened to customers and professional musicians for ways to improve the line, all the while keeping a focus on the traditions and quality so closely associated...
Rob Palmer served as president of UMI (United Musical Instruments) in the final years of the company before the brands it manufactured were sold to other companies. UMI played an important role in the transition of several products in Elkhart, Indiana, during the 1990s and early into 2000. At the...
Danny Henkin was one of the true characters of the music products industry. He began his career with G. Leblanc Corporation and later worked as sales and marketing manager for Gemeinhardt Flutes – that is, before he bought the company. His background was in advertising and over the years he grew to...
Bud Reglein’s uncle formed a small mouthpiece company in Elkhart, IN and named it J.J. Babbitt as he felt it sounded better than Jessie James Babbitt. Bud took over the company in 1939 and, in the 1940s, engineered a custom facing machine to ensure each mouthpiece made could be consistent, thus...

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