s the TouchStone™ STARs program moves into its fifth year, TouchStone National Coordinator Dick Cruise has announced his retirement and handed the reins over to Yamaha Piano Division Promotion Manager Sandi Graves.

The program recognizes outstanding salespeople for their knowledge and achievement in sales, professional skills, and customer service. Through in-store plaques and other recognizable symbols of achievement, it provides assurance to customers that they are doing business with the best in the music industry.

At the Piano Division’s request, Cruise helped put TouchStone together from scratch not long after his retirement as a District Manager for Southern California. Under his direction, the TouchStone program grew to include dealers across the country, a variety of special training seminars, a meticulously designed dealer training manual, and frequent trips to visit Yamaha plants in Japan. All TouchStone STARs visit Yamaha Music Manufacturing, the piano facility in Thomaston, GA.

Sandi Graves has been involved in the program since 1995, handling the trips to Georgia and Japan for participating dealers. Graves started her career at Yamaha in September of 1985 as a Customer Service Representative in what was then the Keyboard Division.

In 1989 she became the Dealer Sales Manager for the Dealer Sales Department. She returned to the Keyboard Division in 1995 as Promotions Manager responsible for overseeing the success of programs like: Truckload Sales, Grand Piano Fairs, Specialists Program and Clavinova Festivals.

As the leadership of the TouchStone program changes hands, Yamaha is also pleased to welcome the newest sales professionals to attain the status of TouchStone STARs: Caryn Wunderlich-Gott of Southern Nevada Music in Las Vegas, NV; Robert B. Morgan of Lancaster Music Co. in Gainesville, GA; and Oswaldo “Oz” Fonesca of Ray Morgan Piano Co. in North Palm Beach, FL.

Sandi Graves