OH Taxonomy
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...
Doug Segars was the controller for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi, beginning in the early 1970s. Over his 25 years with the company, Doug oversaw the time studies in many of the company’s factories beginning with the operations in Greenwood. Doug studied the cost of the...
Joe Ussery was the supply manager for the Baldwin Piano factory in Greenwood, Mississippi when he first joined the company in 1973. He later helped manage the raw materials for Greenwood as well as other Baldwin factories in the United States including Holly Springs, Mississippi, and the Conway and...
Don Oriolo grew up in a very creative home. His father was the cartoonist behind such characters as Casper the Friendly Ghost and Felix the Cat. Don developed a passion for music as a child and played in bands growing up, as well as writing songs. His introduction into the music products industry...
Rick Shubb has always been fascinated with bluegrass music and its instruments. He has recorded and performed often playing his five-string banjo. He grew up in the Berkeley area and met many performers including the members of the Warlocks that would later become the Grateful Dead. Rick designed...
Marty Golden is the founder of the Canadian music distribution company JAM Industries. Marty began his career in retail, first working for his father in a pawnshop and later a music store. He began making his own line of guitar amplifiers he named JAM (which is comprised of the first letter of his...
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...
Jim Whitehill provided a very important overview of the products and politics of the Norlin Music Company, which was originally named Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI) when Mr. M.H. Berlin formed the company in the 1920s. In the late 1960s and early 70s, the Norlin company, headed by Mr. Berlin’s...
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...









