Joan Kramer

Joan Kramer was just out of high school when she was hired to do some office work at the NAMM headquarters building in Chicago. The year was 1947, a very important time in the industry’s history and NAMM’s own history. The association’s doors had been closed for two years during the war, affected by the shift to war needs as were many of its members. The years following the war were difficult at first but with such a boom, it was an exciting time. Joan worked with Bill Gard and six other office employees on the 1948 and 1949 trade shows. The latter was held in New York City and it was the first time Joan ever made it to the East Coast. When motherhood called in 1949, Joan retired to raise her beautiful family.