JUNE 20 I GITC I OUTREACH
GAMA, Fender Aid GITC Program

When a new Guitars In The Classroom (GITC) Amigo program was without instruments due to a communication mix-up, Rob Sulkow, director of the Guitars and Accessories Marketing Association (GAMA), did not hesitate to act. He reached out to his organization’s constituents, asking if any company could come up with 15 acoustic guitars to ship the next day.

The guitars were needed to supply a northwest Michigan migrant schools training program. The 15 participating teachers were traveling from all over the five-county area and from around the state. The class was scheduled to take place in rural Traverse City, Mich., in five days.

Within an hour of his e-mail being sent, Sulkow received an affirmative response from Bob Morris, director of education for Fender.

“It just seemed like the right thing to do,” Morris said. “Anyone who can touch someone musically is a friend of mine. And at the end of the day, all of us at Fender couldn’t be happier to do something like that. We can’t do it every day, but what we were able to do here is a lot more important than anything we could receive in return.”

The instruments arrived in time for the class, and GITC instructor Amy Martin was on stand-by to tune the guitars and distribute them to the teachers.

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