Glen Kersten

Glen Kersten and his wife had just been married when they rented a small house that turned out to be owned by Frank Lohnes. Mr. Lohnes also owned a music store called Dearborn Piano & Organ. Glen joined the sales team and was introduced to the Rodgers Organ, an instrument he would remain connected with for nearly 60 years. He became the top salesman for Rodgers in the 1960s and later moved into the role of Eastern Regional Sales Manager before serving as manager of the Engineering Division. He worked closely with the company’s co-founders, President Rodgers Jenkins and chief engineer Fred Tinker. As Director of Custom Products, Glen was part of the team that developed the company’s first digital organ, as well as a custom five-manual organ in 1974 that was installed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. That organ and Glen’s team were listed in the Guinness Book of World Records that year under the category of innovations. He used his extensive knowledge of the instruments to write the company’s sales training manuals and to conduct numerous dealer seminars. In 1977, Glen opened his own dealership, Kersten Music Corp., in Seattle, focusing on the Rodgers brand of instruments. He received several sales awards and consistently achieved “top ten” dealer status.