Featured
Scene maker Kathi Kretzer Sayler shares the keys to her success
Source:
Palm Beach Post
Date:
January 2, 2012
WHO SHE IS: Kathi Kretzer Sayler opened her first piano store, Kretzer Piano, on Military Trail, in 1985. She’s the dealer for Yamaha pianos in Palm Beach and Martin counties. In 2009, she moved to a smaller store off Indiantown Road in Jupiter to cut expenses. Sayler’s passion is working with young musicians.
A bright red blazer and bare feet perfectly portray the personality of piano store owner Kathi Kretzer, a fun and feisty Florida girl with a signature sense of style.
Featured
For Kathi Kretzer, piano business struck right chord
Source:
Palm Beach Post
Date:
August 19, 2011
Kathi Kretzer opened her first piano store in 1985 after The Baldwin Piano Co. offered her the opportunity to have her own store in either West Palm Beach or Charleston, S.C.
The Leesburg native, who majored in music education at Florida State University, had never been to Palm Beach County before.
"I drove around West Palm Beach and up and down Ocean Boulevard in Palm Beach. I liked the area. I never went to Charleston," said Kretzer, who had worked for Baldwin for 10 years earlier in Chicago and Atlanta.
The Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beach County recently held the 16th Annual Giraffe Awards dinner in the Cohen Pavilion at the Kravis Performing Arts Center. The awards are an integral part of Women's History Month. They are presented to women who have "stuck their necks out," whose focus, initiative, dedication, perseverance and risk-taking made a difference to other women in the workplace and the community. Giraffe Award Honorees have served as role models and mentors for other women and, through their leadership, promoted professional development for women in both the workplace and community.
MMR talks with Kathi Kretzer of West Palm Beach, Florida's Kretzer Piano to discuss her quarter-century in the business, get her take on the current state of the market and learn how she remains successful in an ever-changing retail climate.
Featured
Kretzer Piano Making Beautiful Music in Jupiter, Florida
Source:
Pearl River Piano Retailer Spotlight
Date:
June 14, 2010
Kretzer Piano and Kathi are the force behind "Kretzer Kids" which is a group of twenty hugely talented local students who use their piano-playing and vocal skills to entertain at nursing homes and assisted living facilities throughout Palm Beach County. Although their primary function is to entertain senior citizens, they also perform at organizations such as the Chambers of Commerce, Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs, Executive Women functions, Leadership Palm Beach County, women in Leadership Program and other community events. The students have worked with music therapists from Hospice to learn how to relate to patients. They perform classical, popular, jazz and religious music and bring JOY everywhere they perform, Many of the former Kretzer Kids have gone on to study music at such prestigious colleges as Juilliard, Cleveland Institute of Music and Berkeley School of
Music. more...
Kathi Kretzer, Owner of Kretzer Piano, took $15,000 from the sale of her house in Atlanta and invested it in a West Palm Beach-based piano store in the mid-1980s. Nearly 25 years later, Kretzer Piano, now in Jupiter, remains synonymous with quality keyboards—and music education—in Palm Beach County.
How she gives back: From the moment this daughter of a minister opened the doors to her business, she endeavored to raise music awareness by promoting up-and-coming talent, raising funds for the arts in local schools and providing opportunities to those less fortunate.
“It’s been such a gift to be around music, and it’s enhanced my life so much,” Kretzer says. “I wanted to bring that to others.” Has she ever. more...
Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County: Give the Gift of Music
Source:
Palm Beach Post
Date:
April 15, 2009
Kretzer Piano and the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Beach County are encouraging community residents and businesses to do some "spring cleaning" by recycling unused musical instruments so children can have the opportunity to play. "Children who take music lessons learn discipline, patience, coordination and the rewards of hard work," Kretzer said. "Participation in playing a musical instrument has been proven to increase a child's ability to learn basic math, science and reading skills. We developed this program because we want to give every child with an interest in playing a musical instrument, the opportunity to do so."
Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce Presents Yearly Awards at Breakfast
Source:
Palm Beach Daily News
Date:
June 12, 2008
With the fundraising portion of the morning completed, Bone introduced Kathi Kretzer, named Business Leader of the Year. He listed her accomplishments and involvement in the community since founding her West Palm Beach piano business, noting that she had been the musical director for the Palm Beach Chamber for more than 20 years more...
If Kathi Kretzer did nothing but sell pianos, her achievements would impress. But her promotion of music education makes her one of the best-known businesswomen in Palm Beach County. The president of Kretzer Piano at 860 N. Military Trail, she has been named Business Leader of the Year by the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce and will receive the award at a chamber breakfast June 12 at The Breakers. more...
