Domo Arigato!
The following was written by Ron Knaflic.
In April of 2000, I first visited Edwards for a T350. Previously, I had canceled a few appointments to visit but finally did show up.
And boy was I glad I did.
That day was amazing and overwhelming as Christan fit me to a trombone that I still play and love to this day. What I never imagined that day was the door that was opened and the great friendship I was in for. After mountain biking with Christan during the summer the opportunity came to work here part-time while finishing my undergrad at UW-Whitewater. After graduation, it was a natural progression as Edwards became my home.
At just shy of 10 years with Edwards, a number of great musicians and people I have had the pleasure of fitting makes me smile. I appreciate your trust in us. There are so of many of you that have shaped my life and kept me coming back every day. But let’s face it, playing with trombones and trumpets all day can’t be all work! Some days I would come home and tell my wife about my day. The common response was “Do you actually work at work?”
What will be the most lasting and hardest to leave is all the friends I have worked with. Their kindness, knowledge, and generosity of their lives is very humbling.
Thank you all, most especially Christan. You have been a great friend, mentor and incredibly patient boss. (Let’s continue the first two!)
Wednesday, April 7th will be my last day playing with trombones and trumpets. I am off to different pastures and new challenges. I know the future here is in great hands with many new things to come.
Hopefully I will cross paths at gigs(if I write this, then maybe I will practice more) with some of you. I leave you with something that was posted here once before. It is one of my favorite thank you gifts we have received and it is from the trombone extraordinaire, eccentric, avant-garde, super-duper guy Brian Allen entitled “Domogriego”
