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2009 Guild Dealer Summit a "Resounding" Success
Guild dealers enjoy an afternoon performance by Willy Porter at the Guild factory in New Hartford, Conn.
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Nearly 50 North American retail dealers from across the United States and Canada attended the official "coming out party" for the new Guild factory at the 2009 Guild Dealer Summit, Sept. 20-21 in New Hartford, Conn.
The two-day event was designed to introduce new dealers, key dealers and their guests to the next chapter of Guild's continually unfolding history and to the latest line of meticulously crafted Guild guitars.
It's a history that has taken an especially significant turn in recent months, as Guild has returned to its New England roots after years on the West Coast-New Hartford is less than 100 miles from Guild's longtime former home in Westerly, R.I. And that "new" factory there in New Hartford is actually a 200-year-old textile mill that sits right next to the Farmington River.
Guild set up shop at the factory in late 2008, with new D-55 dreadnought models appearing in December of that year. New models have gradually been added to the production line throughout 2009; the facility is now home to the D-50 Bluegrass Special, D-40 Bluegrass Jubilee, F-50, F-50R and, most recently, F-412, F-512, F-30 Aragon, F-40 Valencia, F-47M and F-47R models.
Once a full line of guitars was in production, the time was deemed right to invite dealers over for an up-close look at the new Guild.
Dealers and their guests arrived on Sunday, Sept. 20, amid perfect New England weather and the factory's picture-postcard rural surroundings. They were given a factory tour on Monday morning, and after lunch were treated to a performance by Guild artist Willy Porter. Afterward, the dealers made hand-selected choices from more than 200 Guild instruments built there in New Hartford.
By all accounts, the event was a resounding success. By Tuesday, Sept. 22, for example, Sean Morrissey, sales director for The Perfect Guitar in Baton Rouge, La., enthused in an e-mail blast to customers that "The new factory is top shelf, and the product coming out of this facility is on a whole new level of quality and craftsmanship. The look and feel maintain the tradition of Guild's legacy, but the attention to detail and engineering improvements make today's Guild better than ever."
The Guild factory. |
Dealer luncheon at the factory. |
Guild tunnel vision. |
Made to be played. |
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