John Tarpley

John Tarpley likes to echo the message his great-grandmother lived by when she established the family business over 100 years ago: the customer is most important. Since taking over the business, along with his cousin David in the 1990s, John has strived hard to do just that. Running four locations and expanding to Internet sales requires listening to his managers, employees, partner and customers--a skill John is good at. He has also been active in industry groups such as AIMM and the MIG group as well as serving on the Board of Directors for NAMM. Thanks to his support of the NAMM Oral History program we were able to capture interviews with his father and uncle, who ran the business from the 1950s until the 1990s, as well as John’s cousin David who is his partner today.