try in the world,” Jonathan Hendrix, Spicer Music’s COO, said in his acceptance speech. “And the fact that we get to serve our com- munity … and we get to do it together, it’s such a great blessing.” This year’s honors featured a heightened international flavor with 10 international retailers being nominated in the 10 top awards categories. Beyond Spicer’s Retailer of the Year win, top honors went to the following companies: Turramurra Music in South Wales, Australia, for Best Community Retail Store; Swee Lee in Singapore for Best Store Design; Zuhal Music in Turkey for Best Marketing and Sales Promotion; Pro Audio Star in Brook- lyn, New York, for Best Online Engagement; Five Star Guitars in Beaverton, Oregon, for Best Omnichannel Operation; Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center in Wheaton, Mary- land, for Best Customer Service; Shilo Music Center in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, for Best Music Lesson Program; Spicer’s Music in Auburn, Alabama, for the Music Makes A Difference Award; and Zeswitz Music in Reading, Pennsylvania, for the Innovation Award. {namm.org}
Spicer’s Music’s COO Jonathan Hendrix, center, accepts the Retailer of the Year award on behalf of the dealership.
SPICER’S MUSIC NAMED RETAILER OF THE YEAR S picer’s Music, the Auburn, Alabama- based full-line dealer, was named Retailer of the Year at the newly rebranded NAMM Retail Awards.
innovation, community service, omnichannel retailing, online engagement, store design and more. As NAMM has done for the past 15 years, the awards included naming the NAMM Top 100 Retailers from around the world. “We get to be part of the greatest indus-
During the Jan. 21 ceremony held at the Anaheim Hilton during The 2026 NAMM Show, 110 retail awards were given out for
NAMM Announces 8 New Board Members N AMM announced during its annual meet- ing of members at The 2026 NAMM
Show that eight newly elected board mem- bers will be joining its board of directors. The new members will serve a three- year term through January 2029 and will provide oversight and support of NAMM’s vision, mission and objectives. NAMM’s board of directors consists of 24 directors elected by the NAMM mem- bership, each serving three-year terms in slates of eight. “We are thrilled to welcome this new class to our board of directors,” said John Mlynczak, NAMM president and CEO. “NAMM is indebted to the talented coalition of industry leaders that choose to volunteer their time to guide our global organization into the future.” The new board members include: Antonio Ferranti, president of Proel North America; Chris Hutnick, president of Lienau AV As- sociates; Jeff Bertrand, owner of Bertrand’s Music; John Stephans, CEO of Avedis Zildjian Company; Jonathon Breen, president of The Music Shoppe; Ryan Richman, vice president
From left: NAMM CEO John Mlynczak, School of Rock’s Stacey Ryan, Eastman Music Company’s Ryan Richman, Maxwell’s House of Music’s Whitney McGuire McNicol, Lienau AV Associates’ Chris Hutnick, Proel’s Antonio Ferranti, The Music Shoppe’s Jonathon Breen, Bertrand’s Mu- sic’s Jeff Bertrand and NAMM Chair Chris White. Not pictured: Zildjian’s John Stephans.
of Eastman Music Company; Stacey Ryan, president of School of Rock; and Whitney McGuire McNicol, co-owner of Maxwell’s House of Music. Chris White, NAMM Chair and president and CEO of White House of Music, thanked the outgoing board members during the annual meeting of members and lauded
their ideas and expertise, which have ben- efited the organization and its members as a whole. They are Lance Day of D’Addario, Josh Faust of Faust Harrison Pianos, Fran- cois Kloc of Buffet Crampon, Kim Koch of Saied Music, Stacy Montgomery-Clark of SABIAN and Bryan Ottens of Peter E. Schmitt Co. {namm.org}
34 I MUSIC INC. I APRIL 2026
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