2024 HURRICANE SEASON AFFECTS MI BUSINESSES
I n the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton this fall, MI retailers and suppliers in Florida and North Carolina were hit hard. Hurricane Milton, which hit Florida on Oct. 10, and Hur- ricane Helene, which made landfall on Sept. 26 and caused severe flooding in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, created a complex impact for MI businesses. David Hosler, co-owner of Seven C Music in St. Petersburg, Florida, which specializes in high-end guitars, described his store’s firsthand experience dealing with Hurricane Milton: “The whole city [was] pretty much a di- saster,” Hosler said. “We closed the store on Tuesday afternoon [Oct. 8], and we opened back up on Tuesday [Oct. 15] and put guitars back on the wall. We didn’t have internet. There was no water available and no sewer available for at least a day. The whole beach area was wiped out. There’s at least 20 per- formance venues that are either completely gone or who knows what’s going to happen to them. It’s pretty disastrous.” To prep for natural disaster emergencies, Hosler said Seven C staffers boxed up guitars to prevent damage. “We probably got 40 guitars that were water damaged,” Hosler said. “We’ve got them in controlled environments, trying to see what can be saved. People have been walking in with entire collections that went underwater, vintage instruments, everything, and we’re doing all we can to help them.” Evan Rubinson, CEO and president of Meters Music, which is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, said challenges included severe shipping delays and functional work delays without internet or power. “Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, making landfall within two weeks of each other was absolutely devastating for nearly three- quarters of Florida,” Rubinson said. “As for our Meters Music operations here in Tampa, it felt like we [were] closed more than we [were] open over those three weeks. Between perpetual power outages, lack of internet, flooding, team members’ homes being destroyed and shipping providers canceling most services for our area, it was a challenging time.” Also headquartered in Tampa is Violin Shop Tampa, where Hurricane Milton struck dur-
Seven C Music’s David Hosler (left) Joel Hosler.
ing the critical school music rental season. “The local music community faced sig- nificant disruptions due to the hurricanes, particularly in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties, where schools were shut down for cleanup efforts, including power restoration, flooding and debris removal,” said owner Ethan Morency. “For students who took their instruments home, we had parents reach out or bring in instruments damaged by water that seeped into the cases.” Farther north in Asheville, North Carolina, is custom guitar designer Aluminati Guitars, which remained without power for a week after Hurricane Helene and without inter- net for nearly two. Despite the operational hurdles, owner James Little emphasized that the primary challenge was the financial impact caused by the lost revenue during the closure. One silver-lining, however, was Aluminati Guitars was able to continue paying employees throughout the hurricane-induced shutdown. “We were fortunate enough to be able to pay our employees during this time,” Little said. “They were able to go and volunteer and do things without having to worry about being able to live in the meantime.” Also in Asheville is legendary synth brand Moog Music, which took swift action in re- sponse to Hurricane Helene by suspending all operations to focus on the well-being of its employees. While the company had sufficient materials to continue production, access to
and from the facility was disrupted due to extensive damage in the area. “One of Moog’s core values is ‘Humbly Work Together,’ and this came alive as the people at Moog rallied to help themselves, their fami- lies and their coworkers,” said Joe Richardson, Moog’s president. “The team stayed in contact through group messages, checking on the well- being of colleagues and former employees, and providing updates about their safety and local conditions. Employees coordinated efforts to distribute essentials and even set up a com- mand center at our main production location to facilitate communication and logistics.” Just south of Asheville sits Serek Basses, a boutique bass maker in western North Carolina that’s still grappling with the aftermath of Hur- ricane Helene, which left a significant mark on its wood shop when a 100-foot pine tree toppled onto the shop, creating a hole in the roof and exposing essential equipment to rain damage. Serek Basses took donations through social media and Venmo to gather supplies. “We filled up a trailer full of supplies to bring back down to the area, and then the remainder of those proceeds was coordinated to local chari- ties,” said Jake Serek, owner. “There’s a wood supplier, Green River, and its warehouse [was] completely destroyed. We’re going to team up and buy some of the wood that they’ve been able to salvage from the flooding and build a series of instruments [where] proceeds will go back to hurricane relief.” MI — Kimberly Kapela
16 I MUSIC INC. I DECEMBER 2024
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