Trade Regrets: Fred Tinker

On January 25, NAMM‘s Dan Del Fiorentino sent the following message:

Co-Founder of Rodgers Instrument Company, Fred Tinker passed away last month. He was 93 years old.

Fred and Rodgers Jenkins formed the Rodgers Instrument Company in 1958. The partnership began when their church asked if they would join the team to help purchase an organ.  Fred and Rodgers thought they could build one instead. Over the years the company introduced many innovative products, including being the first to use transistors in a musical instrument.  Fred not only led the engineering department, he also hired many key engineers over the years, including George Kirkwood.  Fred remarked during his NAMM interview that he felt lucky to have worked with such talented people!