Gretchen Willoughby, Operations Manager
Gretchen is our operations manager - which means she runs the company! Gretchen oversees all operations of the company, including the monthly production schedule for all our custom instruments. She has demonstrated the unique ability, ala "Radar O'Reilly," to answer any question from anyone - including Dave Monette - before the person asking can even finish speaking! Samantha or Jason handle most client communications, until instrument delivery is imminent. Gretchen is the only non trumpet player in our shop - but she is more arts oriented than just about anyone on the planet, and she has been surrounded by Monette clients all her life, including her husband, Monette shop foreman Dean Willoughby.
Jason Gunderson, Customer Relations Manager
Jason Gunderson came to Monette in the Summer of 2010, and thousands of you have already talked to him by phone, email, or met him during a shop visit! Jason is here to answer any questions you have about our mouthpieces, instruments, body use and breathing concepts, scheduling a shop visit, and just about anything else Monette-related you can think of. Dave Monette has said many times that Jason is better at telephone consultations than he is! Feel free to contact him with your questions! Email volume is quite high at times. Jason usually responds to emails within a few working days, and is often available immediately or at least same day for a callback on telephone consultations.
Jason's been a Monette instrument client since he took delivery of his Prana 1 C trumpet in 2005. When he's not on the golf course, he's active as a performer in the Portland area. In July 2012, Jason traveled to Assisi, Italy to play in a two-week chamber music festival, and Handel's "Let the Bright Seraphim" and Copeland's "Quiet City" were among the works performed. Jason is from Aurora, Colorado and received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in performance from the University of Northern Colorado. He is a former student of our friend and instrument client Dr. Rob Murray.
Sam Suskin, Office Manager
Sam Suskin is usually the first voice you hear when you call our shop. If you have any questions about the status of an order or shipment, Sam will be happy to help you out. She's a trumpet player who is a Portland native and former student of Dave Bamonte and Jerry Webster. Sam is also an active performer and trumpet teacher in the area. She's played our equipment for years, and we're glad to have her in the shop!