Second-generation owner Jerry Portman (right) with his wife Myra.
could bring to it,” he said. “As the store progressed, growing the B&O side of the business was the area I worked in more than any other product area.” And as Portman’s grew, so did its role in the Savannah music community. The retailer helped establish school band pro- grams throughout Savannah and Chatham County, expanded its reach into surround- ing communities and eventually developed a business spanning four stores, music academies, rentals and repair. “As the years went on, [we became more focused] on the band instrument business,” Jerry said. “When I was in high school and college, none of the schools in Savannah even had band programs, so we helped build those programs. Before
I was even involved in the business, my parents had helped start the band program at Effingham County. They didn’t have a band director and couldn’t find one. There weren’t many band directors around at the time, since most people who could play were either going pro or playing in a college band. So, they got the wife of the Georgia Southern band director, who was also a band director herself, to come out to Effingham County once a week and teach the beginning band program. That got the program started, and it’s since become one of the most well-populated programs around outside of Savannah.” Jerry eventually took on the role of an ed rep for the store, and began help- ing the family expand its B&O business
GROWING SCHOOL MUSIC PROGRAMS Jerry’s parents, Ben and Pearl Portman, opened Portman’s in 1936. The store’s offerings included band instruments, con- certinas, harmonicas and other instruments of the day. Electric guitars and keyboards were still years away, and, at the time, Savannah only had a handful of places where musicians could shop for gear. Jerry began working in the family business in the 1950s when he was eight years old. Summers and holidays eventu- ally turned into after-school hours during high school and college, giving Jerry a front-row seat to the business and the rapidly changing MI industry. “The more I could do at the store, the more I could learn and the more value I
34 I MUSIC INC. I OCTOBER 2026
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