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2129—First Avenue, N., St. Petersburg, FL 33713 727-822-3460 www.bringemusic.com |
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It was another wonderful time at FMEA this year! We had plenty of opportunity to meet and greet music educators hailing from all different towns across the state and also to kick off our 50th Anniversary! And of course we took pictures! So, enjoy these candid shots of the show, the actual building of our booth, some of our more colorful customers, and packing back up! |
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Booth Beginnings! When we arrive at the Tampa Convention Center on January 4th and enter the Exhibit hall, we are greeted with 4 white tables and a bare floor. It’s up to our great staff to transform this spot into an exhibit booth which will be the meeting place for hundreds of educators, students, and their parents for the next 3 days. These two pictures show the white columns that are part of what will become booth #5021! |
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Booth Building... These photos show our steady progress—the carpet we brought along has been put down along with the center section of rubber mats (to preserve our backs during the convention—the floor is HARD). The guys are constructing our booth display which was specially designed and built for Bringe Music by our favorite handy guy, Dusty Durst. This is our 12th year using it and it still looks great! Thanks, Dusty! |
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...and Building! On the left you can see our tables as Joan and Dan survey their handiwork. On the right, you can see the lattice-style booth walls have been hung and the tables have been arranged inside the booth. Some of the gang take a moment for the photographer but work is not done. Now we begin to open up the many boxes of products we brought over from the store and set up our display. Before leaving the convention center, the booth will be completely set up! |
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Ready To Go! Our booth is done and ready! Complete with 50th Anniversary decorations and helium balloons (which unfortunately lost all their buoyancy by the next day –ugh!), our work for the day is done. Meanwhile, outside the exhibition hall in the Convention Center, early bird educators are registering for the show! |
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Opening Day At The Convention! On the right you see the crew, sporting our brand-new Bringe Music 50th Anniversary tee shirts! What a good-lookin’ bunch we are! These two happy ladies on the right are a couple of our first customers. Music stands are always a popular item at FMEA, especially on the first day of the convention when kids realize they left their music stand at home! Oops! |
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International Customers! These good looking kids performed on Thursday night to the delight of all those that attended the concert. All the way from Japan, most spoke little to no english but Debbie had no trouble communicating with them,helping the kids buy exactly what they wanted! And, as you can see, these youngsters had no trouble understanding the words, “smile for the camera!” |
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Some Of Our Band Director Friends! Leslie Bruce, band director at West Port Middle School in Ocala, stops by the Bringe Music booth to say hello and show us some great pictures of her miniature cows which she raises with her family! On the right Mary Jo Blair, band director at Dunedin Middle School in Dunedin, checks out our drumstick and mallet selection with an associate! |
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Cool Guys Tom Viking, band director at Seven Springs Middle School in New Port Richey, looks sharp as ever with that snazzy tie and wide smile! Meanwhile, John Creachbaum, National Sales Manager for the Conn-Selmer Company chats with our very own Bill Findeison. We talked Bill into forgetting his retirement for a day and joining us in the booth to meet and greet. We even gave him his own 50th Anniversary tee shirt! Those who know Bill won’t be surprised to see him holding an FSU license plate! |
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More VIP’s Visit The Booth! Alonzo Braddon (left), our north Sumter, Citrus, and Marion County school representative, stops by the booth to get his picture taken for our website. He attended the convention with his lovely wife, Mary. Bob Winslow also came by to say hi. Bob is a fantastic pianist who formally taught at the Bringe School of Music and is presently on the faculty at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa. |
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All Good Things Must Come To An End! Well, although we sold lots of goodies over the 3 day convention, we didn’t sell everything so on Saturday at 1:00 pm when the exhibit floor officially closes, we packed up, disassembled, and loaded up the truck for our return to St. Petersburg! We finally pulled into the Bringe parking lot around 4 and by 5, the truck was unloaded and returned to the rental company. All in all...a successful end to a successful show! |
