Sweetwater Hires 19 New Employees

Sweetwater is pleased to announce the recent hiring of 19 new employees.

Andrew Reina – Sales Engineer. Andrew is a Fort Wayne native. He has worked as a foreman for a landscaping company as well as a collections specialist. He has played guitar for over a decade and enjoys filming TV show and movies.

Daniel Van Werkhoven – Sales Engineer. Daniel is originally from Australia but relocated from Saipan where he worked as a pastor. He has also worked for a pro audio and lighting company in Australia. He has been playing guitar since he was 10 years old.

Jack Wellington – Sales Engineer. Jack is from Port Huron, Michigan where he spent the last 6 years with the Port Huron Music Center as a music instructor, ran their social media sites and worked on their sales floor. He was recently involved full time in 3 different bands.

Phillip Shoaff – Sales Engineer. Phillip grew up in Leo and has worked for the last 9 years for Disc Replay as a regional manager and store owner. He plays several instruments and enjoys writing music and recording in his home studio.

Vaughn Downard – Sales Engineer. Vaughn grew up in Florida but recently relocated from Urbana, Ohio. He attended Dark Horse Institute for Audio Engineering. He has worked for Best Buy as a home theatre specialist. Vaughn plays bass guitar and writes music.

Michael Lombardo – Sales Engineer. Mike is from Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania. He has a degree in music technology from Mansfield University and recently worked for Guitar Center as a high-tech sales Associate. He plays guitar and enjoys writing and recording music.

Nate McClure – Sales Engineer. Nate moved from Norwood, Ohio. He was recently an assistant manager of a local pizzeria and has worked for Sam Ash as a Sales Associate. He plays multiple instruments.

Derek Schweizer – Sales Engineer. Derek is from the Noblesville area where he was a sales manager for Sam Ash. He has also worked for Olive Garden and Amazon. He has been a musician most of his life and really enjoys analog synthesizers.

Dave Cody – Sales Engineer. Dave relocated to Fort Wayne from Bartlett, Illinois. He has spent the last several years in sales for a couple of different companies. He plays bass guitar and has been a member of several worship bands.

Juani Brito – Sales Engineer. Juani is from Hollywood, Florida and was a professional musician working corporate events and weddings. His previous experience includes working for Guitar Center and being a call center supervisor for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. He is a professional drummer who was part of the house band for Margaritaville in south Florida.

Nate Mang – Sales Engineer. Nate relocated from Jacksonville, Florida. He has a degree recording arts from Full Sail University. He was recently an inside sales representative for a building products company. Prior to that he worked for a recording studio in California. He plays several instruments, but his main focus is the drums.

Rich Tucker – Sales Engineer. Rich is from Kansas City, Kansas. He has a music degree from the University of Central Missouri. He has spent the last several years in retail sales. He plays several instruments with saxophone being his primary.

Preston Fulford – Sales Engineer. Preston was recently promoted to the role of sales engineer after having worked in our music store for 2 years. He plays the drums and has performed in various bands and worship teams for several churches.

Matthew Klopfenstein - Sales Engineer. Matthew has relocated for Fort Wayne from Atlanta, Georgia. He has spent the last 7 years as a store manager for Guitar Center. He plays guitar and drums and has toured for many years with a Rockabilly band.

Andy Scheer – Sales Engineer. Andy is a Huntington native who holds a bachelor's degree in Religion from Huntington University. He has worked for 2EE's winery for the last several years in roles such as Music Venue Manager and Assistant Winemaker. He's been playing music for over 20 years and is a member of a local band called James and the Drifters.

Rick Kemery – Senior IT Architect. Rick brings over a decade of technical expertise and has most recently been a Sr. Systems Engineer with Symplexity. Prior to that he was the manager & technical lead of engineering infrastructure for Vocera.

Jack Kinsey - Software Engineer. Jack has joined our marketing & web team as a software engineer with a focus on javascript technologies. He has relocated back to Fort Wayne after spending a number of years in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where he worked for multiple tech start-ups as a developer.

Matthew Sutherland – Manager of Digital Optimization. Matthew Sutherland joins the marketing and web team, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience from e-commerce retailers like Pens.com & Road Runner Sports where he focused much of his energy and skill on site optimization and other digital marketing initiatives. Matthew has relocated with his family from San Diego, California.

Kimberly Nettrouer – Store Manager, Longe Optical. Kimberly joins Longe Optical as a Store Manager. She brings a strong history of retail and service management from companies like DSW, Dollar Tree, Pier One and Bath & Body Works.

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