Kansas

Rob Arnold is the general manager for Moore Guitars, a retail store in Evansville, Indiana, which began in 1976 as Moore Music. Rob grew up in a rock and roll household, his father being a guitarist for local bands. Rob’s dad took his young son to see Van Halen in 1984 and that concert changed his life. Rob began taking guitar lessons and by the time he was 15, he had formed a classic rock cover band. While in college he worked for DeWitt Music in Kansas, where he began providing lessons but soon worked on the sales floor and later became the store’s manager. In 1997 he moved over

Glenn Axelton managed a few stores for the famed Jenkins Music Company in and around Kansas City before opening his own store in Manhattan, Kansas. Glenn’s Music soon became a music center for the town and surrounding areas and led to one of the largest music lesson programs in the area. As a repairman, Glenn saw to it that the store created and maintained a well respected band instrument repair service, which has been a key element of their success over the years.

Kevin Damm has held a deep passion for music for as long as he can remember. Inspired by his playing in garage bands with his brothers, he's enjoyed a lifelong dedication to the craft. After earning a comprehensive music education degree from the University of Kansas, he spent a year as a band director, where he came to appreciate the dependable, knowledgeable support of local music store road reps. That experience sparked the idea for his own venture, and in 2003, he opened a small, community-focused music store in Wichita.

Joe De Fio has had a long and exciting career in the music industry, especially in the area of piano sales! His career began in 1968 when he was hired as a salesman for Clark Music in New York. A few years later he began working for Bob Popyk, who focused on organ sales while Joe focused on pianos. Those were exciting times with promotions such as a 24-hour sale that was very successful and great fun. He later opened his own store - The Music Center - and ran it from 1981 to 1991. Associations with Hammond Organs and Jenkins Music followed before Joe opened a second store called P

DeAnn Diller grew up in a small Kansas town, picking up piano at the age of 5 years old.  In the small town she found she was able to be involved with many aspects of music including band and choir.  She studied music education with thoughts of being a band director, while teaching piano as a college student.  One day she met Joe Hume who hired her in his small store.  The school road rep at the time was Denny Senseney who would later purchase the store and rename it Senseney Music.  DeAnn was there for that exciting transition and again when Denny retired and Lori Supinie took ov

Joe Hume was a veteran school band director before he opened Hume Music located in Kansas. His love of school bands continued as a retailer and as such he established new bands and expanded several other smaller school bands. Joe saw the importance of being a strong supporter of the school band directors and participating in as many programs and events as possible. He was also an original member of NASMD and served proudly as president.  

JW Jenkins was president of the large music store chain in and around Kansas City that his great grand father first opened in 1878. His father, Paul W. Jenkins, kept the company running during the Great Depression and provided a great example to JW who expanded the store locations after World War II and dedicated his time to provide support to the music industry. He worked in the store full time from the 1940s until the company was sold in 1969. During that time he also served on the NAMM Board three times, beginning in 1961. He was active with AMC and was a member of the NAMM ExC

Mike Meyer manages one of the three stores in the Meyer Music chain, which his parents first established in the mid-1960s. At the core of the store is the passion for music making which seems to be in Mike's blood. In addition to the lesson, rental, and retail element of the business, Mike also oversees a community program called Band of Angels. This special program teams the store up with the local Fox News channel, who asks viewers to dig out old and unused instruments in their closets and garage to bring to the Meyer's store. The store then repairs the instruments, gets them in

Tom Meyer and his brother and sister represent the second generation of Meyer Music owners. Their parents, Betty and Ted, opened the first store in 1966. Since then they have expanded to three stores, each being run by one of their children. Tom runs the main store and works alongside his parents and hints at the possibility of a third generation taking over the business one day to continue the family tradition. Customer service seems to have been successfully transferred down to Tom, who also focuses on their in-store music lesson program, which is offered in all three store loca

John Meyer grew up in the music business and can remember as a child playing under one of the pianos in the family-owned store his grandparents opened in 1966. His father, Mike, never pushed John into the business but rather encouraged him to discover what he was passionate about and pursue that path. Nonetheless, John’s passion has always been the music business and he has enjoyed taking part in some of the advances and changes within the store, for example utilizing computers and technology to advance processes such as keeping track of lesson schedules.

Johnna Meyer loves the look on the faces of young students when they make a sound for the first time with a musical instrument! Taking part in band night at the schools Meyer Music serves has been an inspiring experience. Johnna and her husband, Mike, are proud of the work they do within their community to support school programs as well as a program they started called Band of Angels. Their community, thanks to a television news program, searches for instruments in attics and closets not being used and has Meyer Music repair them, at no cost, and then offers them to children who

Mitzi Meyer-Phelan grew up in the music store her parents formed. She realized as a teen that the music industry was in her blood and she recalls, with a smile, working with customers to bring music into their lives. Her parents opened three stores, which are now each run by one of their three children. Mitzi manages the Kansas City North store and feels a strong element of their success is getting to know their customer’s needs and being prepared to handle any issues they may have with their lessons or repairs. For her, the store is very much a musical community.

Denny Senseney is a passionate music retailer who began his career as a band director. When he formed Senseney Music in 1984, he sought to provide the service to band directors that he felt was missing when he was an educator. Over the years Denny has played a vital role within the industry serving on the NAMM Board, the NASMD Board and helping establish RPMDA. In addition to his service has been his commitment to music makers of all ages through support of educational programs at every level. 

Diane Sparks and her brother, Donnie, formed a successful singing group in the 1960s. Donnie & Diane performed and recorded a string of hits, most written by Donnie. Diane's husband, Roger Sparks, played lead guitar in the Donnie and Diane band from 1968 to 1974. The Donnie and Diane band was inducted in the Kansas Music Hall of Fame in 2014 with Donnie, Diane, Roger, and the band performing a 45 minute set as they had while touring in Kansas from 1968 to 1974 at the induction ceremonies at Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas. At the height of her careers, Diane joined forces wit

Roger Sparks started teaching guitar lessons in the wake of the Beatles boom in 1964. Just four years later he and his wife, Diane, opened Sparks Music in Arkansas City, Kansas. In 1974, the store held its grand opening at its current location of 315 South Summit in Arkansas City. The couple had the opportunity to expand their business with a second location in Hutchinson, Kansas, in the old Keller Music store. After purchasing Keller Music, remodeling that retail store location, and extensively expanding the retail product offerings, it became evident that a much larger location

Dee Starkey recalls the days when his father, Jim, had a well known dance band in Wichita and played at night while teaching music during the day. In 1954 he opened Jim Starkey Music with a strong focus on lesson programs and hiring the best teachers in the area. His wife, Sally, who he met in high school, played a vital role in the store and the lesson programs. Their son Dee joined the couple in the store in 1979 and has since become president of the company.

Lori Supinie was an active music maker since she was a child. Throughout her life she 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 community activities and educational programs. With a love for print music, Lori also oversaw the store’s sheet music department and was encouraged by the store’s founder, Denny Senseney, to become as active in industry meetings as he was. Lori joined NASMD as well as RPMDA for which she served on

Mike Vaccaro is a true piano salesman veteran! Having worked in the piano business for over 40 years, selling for several retail stores and running his own dealership for over 20 years, Mike has sold his share of instruments! He played guitar in the US Navy Band during the Vietnam War era and among many performances played for the opening of Disney World in Florida. In 1971, with the encouragement of his pal Joe Di Fio, Mike began selling pianos. He worked in Syracuse, New York at Clark’s Music before moving out of the snow to Nelson’s Music in Kansas. It was there that Mike built

Bob Wiley’s father opened a small music store in Kansas in the mid 1930s and specialized in steel guitars. When the sales rep, Charlie Hayes, came into the store with electric guitars from a new company called Fender, Bob’s father was thrilled. In 1947, the store was one of the country’s first Fender dealers. Throughout his childhood Bob played music, he played steel guitar before there were pedal steel guitars. Bob has come to design his own guitars over the years and has remained a well-respected leader in the industry.