Eight New Board Members Elected at NAMM's Annual Meeting of Members

NAMM Chairman Stephen West presided over the 2003 Annual Meeting of Members yesterday. After introducing past presidents in attendance, West called for the vote of the new slate of NAMM Board of Directors. The following NAMM Members were elected for service from 2003 to 2006:

Sam Ash, executive vice president of Sam Ash Music Corporation, a full-line retailer based in Hicksville, N.Y.

James D’Addario, president and chief executive officer of J. D’Addario & Company, Inc., a manufacturer of strings and accessories based in Farmingdale, N.Y.

Paul Damiano, vice president of marketing and sales for Kaman Music Corp., a manufacturer and distributor of accessories, acoustic fretted instruments, brass instruments, electric guitars, sound reinforcement equipment and stringed instruments based in Bloomfield, Conn.

Anthony J. Falcetti, president of Falcetti Music, Inc., a full-line retailer based in Springfield, Mass.

George L. Hines, president of George’s Music Stores, Inc., a full-line retailer based in Berwyn, Penn.

Chris Lombardi, chief executive officer of Drum Workshop, Inc., a manufacturer of drums and hardware based in Oxnard, Calif.

Robert W. Palmer, executive vice president of operations at Conn-Selmer, Inc., a manufacturer of brass, string and woodwind instruments and accessories based in Elkhart, Ind.

Greg Way, vice president of St. John’s Music Ltd., a Toronto, Canada-based retailer of band instruments, sheet music and supplies as well as guitars, amps, drums and keyboards.

West then recognized outgoing NAMM Board Members who have successfully completed their service to the association: Bill Dollarhide, president of Dollarhide’s Music and Sound in Pensacola, Fla.; Craig Gigax, president of Meridian Music Company in Indianapolis, Ind.; Janet Godin, special accounts manager of Godin Guitars in Quebec, Canada; Scott Goodman, president of Samson Technologies Corporation in Syosset, N.Y.; Michael Greene, president of Greene Music in San Diego, Calif.; Bill Harvey, vice president of Buddy Rogers Music in Cincinnati, Ohio; Chris Martin, chairman and CEO of C.F. Martin & Co. Inc. in Nazareth, Penn.; and Eddie Toporek, founder and chairman of the board of MBT International in Charleston, S.C.

Following the announcement of incoming and outgoing Board Members, Joe Lamond took the stage to present Sesame Workshop’s Gary Knell with NAMM’s “Music for Life” Award.

“Through [our partnership with] Sesame Street, we’ve been able to reach out and take the research that has been done linking early childhood education with student success in school—math, science, reading—and deliver that message to a global audience in 149 countries,” Lamond said. “You’ve had an impact on my life, you’ve had an impact on the association and definitely an impact on the industry, and most importantly, the millions and millions of children who now have music in their lives because of you and because of Sesame Workshop.”

During his acceptance speech Knell stated, “Five songs on every show, every day … you can see the reach of what we’re talking about, getting music and showing the power of music to children and their parents around the world. We are introducing kids to instruments and music from all over the globe—Alaska to Florida, Japan to South Africa, Spain to Brazil to China … I am so honored to accept this Music for Life Award on behalf of my colleagues at Sesame Workshop—past, present and future.”

The meeting was adjourned after the presentation, as no new business was initiated by attending Members.