William R. Gard Scholarship Winner Announced

NAMM, the International Music Products Association, announced today that Luke Veronda of Kankakee, Ill., is the recipient of the 2004–2005 William R. Gard Memorial Scholarship.

The scholarship, established in the name of former NAMM Executive Vice President Gard, invests in the education of promising students interested in contributing their talents to the music products industry.

Veronda currently attends Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., as a marketing major, and has worked as a salesman for the past six years at Veronda’s Music in Kankakee. After graduation, he plans to use his experience and education to launch a career at his family-owned music store or at a regional or national sales company within the music products industry. Throughout the years, Veronda played violin and trombone in his school music program, and learned to play acoustic and bass guitar outside of school.

Veronda was selected from several qualified candidates by the Professional Development Committee of the NAMM Board of Directors.

“Luke demonstrates the qualities that best epitomize the Gard Scholarship,” says Randy Beck, NAMM’s director of professional development. “He’s a talented, dedicated, well-rounded young man who has worked for his family business and plans to make a career in the music products industry. We expect that he’ll be a great asset to the industry after he’s completed his education ... and with this scholarship, hopefully that will be a little easier for him to accomplish.”

Eligible applicants must be enrolled as a full-time student at an accredited four-year university and work at least 400 hours annually at a NAMM Member company. The award of $2,000 per academic year is renewable for up to three years.

For details and further eligibility requirements, interested parties can contact NAMM at 800.767.6266. The next application deadline is March 31, 2005.