Heroes Camp Recovers from Devastating Windstorm Damage

One of the basketball court spaces at Heroes Camp in Mishawaka, Indiana, featuring gear sourced through Guitar Center Professional.

— Faith-based sports ministry suffers massive damage as a result of a severe windstorm, and GC Pro and its AV integration affiliate Accutronics step up and stay with the organization through 15 grueling months of rebuilding, culminating in a joyful reopening in September —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, October 6, 2015 — The winds came on the night of July 1, 2014, and what they left in their wake was devastating. Heroes Camp, a sports ministry in Mishawaka, Indiana, that for 26 years has provided guidance and activities for area youth with its three basketball courts, a kitchen, locker rooms, a recording studio, and even a barbershop, had its ceilings torn down and its floors flooded. Over the next 15 months, Heroes Camp battled back, culminating in a grand reopening on September 12. Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts, along with its Affiliates Program partner Accutronics LLC, was happy to be part of that miraculous comeback.

GC Pro sourced a wide variety of audio, video and lighting products and systems, including a QSC PA system, Da-Lite projection equipment, Shure and Sennheiser microphones, Atlona video products, Rapco cabling and Mid Atlantic racking. Many of these products were delivered through the Mishawaka Guitar Center store, which had long been a supplier for Heroes Camp’s MI needs, and they were installed and integrated by Accutronics.

Ryan Nigh, GC Pro Account Manager, remembers that he, Accutronics Owner Mike Love and Heroes Camp Executive Director Patrick “P.J.” Perri were just about finished with the paperwork for some upgrades to Heroes Camp’s existing systems along with some new products when the winds struck overnight. The next morning revealed the extent of the damage. What had been a relatively small upgrade project now turned into a recovery and rebuilding task, with substantial support from the community that Heroes Camp had been part of for a quarter of a century. “PJ had sent me a video of the damage and it was terrible,” Nigh recalls. “We all got together and determined what could be salvaged and what needed to be replaced. We were putting together a plan that would get them back to where they had been before the storm and then some, as cost-effectively as possible, because throughout the entire time they were also battling with insurance companies.” Nigh credits Toby Klingler, Manager of the Mishawaka Guitar Center store, for giving local store support, and logistics coordinator Jon Newby, for handling all of the special orders and shipping. “Everyone gave a hundred percent to get Heroes Camp back on its feet,” he says.

The recording studio space at Heroes Camp in Mishawaka, Indiana, featuring gear sourced through Guitar Center Professional.

PJ Perri concurs, citing GC Pro’s experience dealing with insurance issues. “They understood the critical difference between contents and structure,” he explains; how, for instance, a speaker on the floor can be considered in the contents category but once it’s hung from a wall or a truss it becomes part of a building’s structure — a critical distinction to an insurance adjustor eyeing liability limits. “I was very impressed with the knowledge and insight they were able to bring about insurance matters. That was very helpful.” And Perri was also happy with GC Pro’s choice of integrator, noting how Accutronics’ Mike Love was able to make the facility’s recording studio look better than ever. “It looks as good as it sounds,” says Perri. “He hid the wiring very artfully and everyone who comes in comments on the sleekness of the studio. Everyone involved was just awesome.”

“I was happy to help,” says Ryan Nigh. “GC Pro has been around a long time and we’ve accumulated a lot of experience – not just in professional AV but in everything connected with it,” he says. “But it was especially gratifying to see Heroes Camp come back, and see how the community and companies like Nike, Foot Locker and even the Chicago Bulls come together to help, because this was all for a much greater cause. We were glad to be part of that.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

===

About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Bellevue Christian Center (Bellevue, Nebraska)

The Bellevue Christian Center, in Bellevue, Nebraska, featuring new audio, video and lighting solutions sourced through Guitar Center Professional and installed by Whiteley Solutions.

— AV systems integrator Whiteley Solutions relied on GC Pro to execute a lengthy and varied equipment list for a Nebraska church that needed to renovate two auditorium spaces over a strict timeline —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, September 24, 2015 — The Bellevue Christian Center, in Bellevue, Nebraska, had a big project to tackle: the renovation of an auditorium that would be used as a temporary sanctuary so its existing sanctuary could also be renovated. It was a huge project, one that generated a lengthy equipment list for audio, video and lighting, and one that would require every item from that list to arrive exactly on time, to keep to the project timeline and to assure that the congregation would have a suitable sanctuary every Sunday during the renovations. That’s why the AV systems integrator on the project, Whiteley Solutions, turned to Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. “We knew they’d have what we needed, and they’d have it on site when we needed it,” says Zach Anthony, the Senior Systems Engineer at Whiteley Solutions.

The equipment list was substantial and included lighting systems from Martin, Chauvet, Altman and Elation; audio products from Yamaha, RCF, Sennheiser and AKG®; and video platforms from manufacturers including Vaddio, Blackmagic Design and Da-Lite. The project was scheduled for two phases, the first taking some audio and acoustical products into the church’s auditorium to allow it to be used to hold Sunday services. Once that was done, the work switched to the existing sanctuary, where the vast majority of the equipment purchased through GC Pro would be utilized.

GC Pro’s depth of inventory and logistical capabilities were crucial to the project’s success, says Anthony. “We’re a young contender in the AV industry,” he says, referring to the very recent merger of Whiteley Solutions with another regional AV systems integration company. “What GC Pro gives us for complex projects like this is a one-stop vendor that can supply us with everything we needed on this job — every part, every product, every bolt. And they can do it at competitive prices. And on a project like this, time is critical. They simplified the process for us and the client.”

GC Pro also supported the project by taking care of the logistics, arranging for shipping from Dallas to the suburban Omaha job site. Jeff McDaniel, the GC Pro Account Manager that Anthony worked with, says this is what GC Pro does every day. “We have the broadest selection of equipment in the business, so even the esoteric items are able to be sourced immediately,” he explains. “And GC Pro has locations all over the country, so getting it to a remote job location on time isn’t a problem. There’s no other company that can offer that level of service.”

Zach Anthony agrees — the Bellevue Christian Center project was scheduled to finish on time, with the opening on June 7. “I’ve been working closely with GC Pro for five years, and they have never let me down,” he says. “It’s been a rewarding relationship, for me and for my clients.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

===

About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

GC Pro Returns to Rubber Tracks

— As an authorized dealer for Panasonic Professional Products, GC Pro chooses PT-DX800ULS 8000-lumen XGA projector with ET-DLE150 lens for comprehensive projection system —

— All equipment was installed by GC Pro Affiliate Program member Koko Brothers Entertainment —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, March 14, 2013 — Converse, Inc.’s innovative Brooklyn-based recording studio and live performance venue facility, Converse Rubber Tracks, is a community-based studio designed to generate interest in music recording and live music performance among young and aspiring artists. The facility was fully outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment and instruments sourced by Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, for its opening two years ago. Now, GC Pro is back, supplying Rubber Tracks with a new round of technology that adds an entirely new video element to the facility.

Key items installed at Rubber Tracks late last year, in a large open multi-use and performance space between the facility’s two recording studios, include a Panasonic PT-DX800ULS 8000-lumen XGA projector with a Panasonic ET-DLE150 lens, a Da-Lite Cosmopolitan® Electrol® 106x188 projection screen, and a Gefen GTV-AUDDEc-N 4X1 HD switcher with integrated audio decoding. The installation was done by Baltimore area-based Koko Brothers Entertainment, a member of GC Pro’s innovative Affiliate Program.

What GC Pro was able to do was supply and coordinate a completely turnkey solution for Rubber Tracks. “All it took on the part of the client was a single phone call to set the entire process in motion,” says Billy Walker, Senior Account Manager, GC Pro Northeast / Mid-Atlantic, who had previously also matched Rubber Tracks up with GC Pro Affiliate program member Malvicino Design Group of Forest Hills, New York, which provided acoustical design and treatment for the facility. “We offered the customer several options in terms of equipment and helped them make decisions as to which ones were best suited for their needs. Then we connected them with our Affiliate Partner Koko Brothers Entertainment, who has done numerous projects for GC Pro customers. Basically, GC Pro made all the arrangements to assure that all of the equipment was there in time for the installer to work with it, and we’re here 24/7 if any issues arise after installation is complete. We take care of everything.”

Angelo Kokkinakos, Vice President of Koko Brothers Entertainment, adds that the synergy between their company and GC Pro was evident on this project. “Often, integrators find it challenging to work directly from a spec sheet that someone else created; with GC Pro, our understanding of each other’s strengths really plays to the customer’s advantage, since GC Pro lets us look at the project ourselves and make recommendations as to what products will work best,” he explains, noting that being able to see the Rubber Tracks performance space ahead of time led to his recommendation of a high-lumens projector to assure a high-definition result.

Says Walker in conclusion, “We find that our clients like this kind of comprehensive project management. It’s less for them to think about. One phone call, one payment, one vendor.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

===

About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.