Pianos
Joe Seawright was a piano designer and engineer for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi, beginning in the early 1970s. Joe created several improvements to the workflow of the operations as well as designing new features to the piano line of products. When the Greenwood factory was...
Bob Sowell had a long run as a Baldwin employee, beginning in 1969 in the Greenwood, Mississippi, factory and running until 2010 in Trumann, Arkansas, when the Gibson Guitar Company owned the company. Bob specialized in safety and helped create many of the Baldwin plants operational manuals as they...
Glenda Mims was hired in 1978 in the purchasing department of the Greenwood, Mississippi, Baldwin plant. She remained with the company when it was sold and the Greenwood plant was closed in 2001. Then she was transferred to Trumann, Arkansas, where she remained for a few more years. Her delightful...
Rodney Ethridge was the plant manager for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi beginning in the early 1970s. He began working in the engineering department and rose to manager, overseeing several departments within the plant. The plant was considered by many in the industry to be a...
John Maher began his career as an employee of a retail store in Illinois before joining the sales team at St. Louis Music Supply. He worked for the wholesaler for 11 years and traveled to dealers, creating programs and promotions to help them with sales while at the same time developing new and...
Dick Christian has spent his entire career in the piano and organ business and has made many friends along the way. His support for the industry led him to the role as president of the National Piano Travelers Association. Having worked retail before joining the teams of Thomas, Baldwin, Wurlitzer...
John Kozar is the founder of Piano Productions Press in Philadelphia. This music publishing company was formed to release the works of the First Piano Quartet, which began broadcasting a 20-minute radio program in the 1940s that ran for 12 years. The amazing output of the quartet were mostly based...
Craig Knudsen cut his teeth on the industry as many people who have come to service in leadership positions. He started working for the Wurlitzer Company during college. After graduating from Harvard Business School, he took a job with Yamaha and focused on increasing the number of music makers...
Leona Yousling was married to one of the most beloved members of the Wurlitzer Company team of the 1960s and 70s, John Yousling. John created many of the sales training classes, which he provided in several countries over 2 decades, becoming an influential teacher to many who have later became...
Richard O’Donnell was vice president of Yamaha Corporation of America at a very historic time in the company’s growth and development, the 1970s. Richard worked on several projects including managing the operations for the Everett Piano Plant in Michigan, which Yamaha purchased to expand its piano...