Women in the Music Industry
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...
Ellen McDonald is a passionate music retailer who has strived to create programs and events that encourage her community to take part in active music making. Hartland Music, located in Hartland, Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee, is home to over 2000 weekly music students and has become the...
Gayle Beacock and her brother are second-generation music storeowners with a flair for business and a passion for encouraging music making. Gayle’s parents started Beacock Music to build relationships with band directors, a position her father held for many years. Gayle brought new and creative...
Dorothy Schwartz was one of the original members of a girls Barber Shop style group that was brainchild of a girlfriend from high school in her hometown of Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The group called themselves The Chordettes. Dorothy traveled with the group performing at Barber Shop fairs and programs...
Carol Buschmann grew up in Sheboygan, Wisconsin where she joined the all girls singing group the Chordettes just a year after it was formed in 1947. She stayed with the group until they disbanded in the early 1960s after having several top selling albums and two hit records in the 1950s including “...
DeDe Guth joined the customer service team at Yamaha’s band instrument factory in Michigan in 1980. There she learned first hand the company’s philosophy and attention to customer satisfaction. Ten years later she was offered a job in Elkhart, Indiana to work at the Gemeinhardt Flute Company, where...
Lillian Siegh played a vital role in the inner workings of NAMM for over 35 years! William Gard hired Lillian as a secretary in 1949 and for a time she was the office manager before becoming Mr. Gard’s executive secretary. She helped plan many of NAMM’s events and was instrumental in the parties...
Cynthia Hoover has devoted her career to the history of musical instrument making in America as curator at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. Her love of the subject has resulted in many important exhibits and publications on musical instruments since her arrival at the Smithsonian in...
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...
Lori Supinie has been an active music maker since she was a child. Throughout her life she has provided music and music lessons to others as well as being a strong leader within the music products industry. She began working for Senseney Music in Kansas and soon took an active role in the store’s...