jaywolfe Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 After 24 years Lane Zastrow has resigned from his Marketing position with Heritage as of last Friday. Although an independent Representative and not employed by Heritage Guitars, Lane was "the" marketing guy. Lane setup dealers, serviced their orders & issues & was the liaison between dealer & builder for all those many years. Lane also produced Heritage's few brochures & price lists on a shoestring budget. Having been VP of Marketing with Gibson for many years, Lane brought years of contacts & experience to Heritage. He is particularly skilled in the arena of International distributor-dealer relations. The Kalamazoo boys preferred to craft their instruments & leave the marketing to their old friend Lane. Did Lane do a great job? Did he get adequate support from Kalamazoo? Were there a few complaints & issues? Was it a sometimes smooth & often bumpy ride? Yes to all, however I appreciate Lane Zastrow's tireless efforts, successes & failures, warm & humorous personality, his lovely wife Sue who helped at all NAMM shows, the annual BBQ's at their Brentwood, TN home with Heritage guys playing Bocci Ball on the lawn & some fine Nashville Guitarists playing various Heritage Guitars on the patio (Thom Bresh was playing there one year) during summer NAMM, The wonderful dinners during winter NAMM with an eclectic group of characters. Lane was always the host with the most & he always caught the check with a BIG smile. The Heritage boys never did anything like that, and Lane was their personalty, their "front man." He lent a touch of class to that rag tag bunch of almost worn out wood workers we all love & admire. It won't be the same without Lane, but we will remember him fondly and wish him well with his endeavors. You're a class act Lane. If you own a Heritage Guitar- there's a piece of Lane in there somewhere. Jay Wolfe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tulk1 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Jay, thanks for that update. In fact, the fate of Lane has been brought up a few times since the PSPII since he was MIA. He was ever the ambassador at PSPI, providing the pack with lots of swag, shaking hands and pretty much running the show right after the tour. I am personally familiar with his ability to get things done at the 'zoo, as he was instrumental in getting my Millie NFH off the ground when that project had stalled. For me, his presence in the Heritage fold will be missed, altho' probably not as much as our dealers and providers will miss him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersteel Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Thanks for the info, Jay. Is there any decision on who will take his place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chico Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Thanks for the info, Jay. Is there any decision on who will take his place? It would seem to me that Mr. Margol could handle those responsibilities, or farm them out. As to Lane, I wish him nothing but the best and thank him for his contributions over the years in telling the Heritage story. I never met him. my uninformed .02, chico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaywolfe Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 Is there any decision on who will take his place? As of yesterday the position is open. Anyone interested should call Vince Margol at the K-Zoo. BIG shoes to fill. Vince can't truly handle it because he he's still an Attorney & has full hands at 225 Parsons. Jay Wolfe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Met him only once, at PSPI. He seemed a class act, good guy, a gentleman. I always hate to see the purveyors of old school leave an empty space like this. Hope his shoes might be filled ably, and that he enjoys a well deserved retirement. Thanks for the note, Jay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitArtMan Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I met him at Winter NAMM this year. While I was sad to see the smaller booth and missed the other boys Lane and Wife were very polite and commneted on my HOC T-Shirt. Happy retirement Lane! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaywolfe Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 Happy retirement Lane! I should've been clearer. Lane is NOT retiring- just moving on to other endeavors. Some may also know that Lane & crew made the Heritage Amp line in his Brentwood shop. Lane tells me to look for thing to happen with the Amps. He now has patents on the circuits & has interest from another Guitar line to have their fine name on 1 or 2 of those awesome Amps. Can't wait! Jay Wolfe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thundersteel Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 As of yesterday the position is open. Anyone interested should call Vince Margol at the K-Zoo. Uh, Brent? Sounds like your dream job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golferwave Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 That's sad news for everyone in the Heritage "family" including all of us here at the HOC. Thanks for the info Jay and I wish Lane the best in his new business ventures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Happy retirement Lane! I should've been clearer. Lane is NOT retiring- just moving on to other endeavors. Some may also know that Lane & crew made the Heritage Amp line in his Brentwood shop. Lane tells me to look for thing to happen with the Amps. He now has patents on the circuits & has interest from another Guitar line to have their fine name on 1 or 2 of those awesome Amps. Can't wait! Jay Wolfe If Lane's amps are anywhere near the quality, tone and looks of the Heritage Amps...Sign me up for a 30 watt, 6L6 combo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsanders Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 If Lane's amps are anywhere near the quality, tone and looks of the Heritage Amps...Sign me up for a 30 watt, 6L6 combo! still have my 3 Heritage amps (Vic head, Brit II, Colonial) & love 'em. will follow with great interest. say, how 'bout Brent and Jay tag-team the Marketing/evangelism effort! most of what i know about Heritage i've learned from Jay & co. over the past 8-9 years...got the first Millie DC from Jay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Uh, Brent? Sounds like your dream job! Hummm... i dont have a marketing degree, but i know the product pretty well...maybe i should....................nahhh Lane is a great guy and i wish him all the best in traveling and fishing!!! LOL :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikenov Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Would have loved to try a Britton. Now I may eventually have that chance. Best of luck to him on his new venture. And who know, maybe this is a chance for Vince to change gears on how they market Heritage too. Change is never easy but often good for everyone involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pushover Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Uh, Brent? Sounds like your dream job! Funny scary.. This was the first thought that came into my head also... Not necessarily that it's something Brent would necesarily want to do, but as in something he'd be "really good at". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitArtMan Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I hope he's not crossing over to the dark side... http://jobview.monster.com/President-Gibso...S-79302298.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentrocks Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I hope he's not crossing over to the dark side...http://jobview.monster.com/President-Gibso...S-79302298.aspx LMAO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golferwave Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Henry goes through Presidents faster than anyone. In the duties section it says "Reports to the CEO" Thay left some thing off of that. Should say "Reports to the CEO who is a world class A--hole" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjsanders Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Henry goes through Presidents faster than anyone. In the duties section it says "Reports to the CEO" ... makes me wanna grep thru LinkedIn and locate all the former prezes... (oops forgot to wish Lane success and all happiness) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincelewis Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 After 24 years Lane Zastrow has resigned from his Marketing position with Heritage as of last Friday. Although an independent Representative and not employed by Heritage Guitars, Lane was "the" marketing guy. Lane setup dealers, serviced their orders & issues & was the liaison between dealer & builder for all those many years. Lane also produced Heritage's few brochures & price lists on a shoestring budget. Having been VP of Marketing with Gibson for many years, Lane brought years of contacts & experience to Heritage. He is particularly skilled in the arena of International distributor-dealer relations. The Kalamazoo boys preferred to craft their instruments & leave the marketing to their old friend Lane. Did Lane do a great job? Did he get adequate support from Kalamazoo? Were there a few complaints & issues? Was it a sometimes smooth & often bumpy ride? Yes to all, however I appreciate Lane Zastrow's tireless efforts, successes & failures, warm & humorous personality, his lovely wife Sue who helped at all NAMM shows, the annual BBQ's at their Brentwood, TN home with Heritage guys playing Bocci Ball on the lawn & some fine Nashville Guitarists playing various Heritage Guitars on the patio (Thom Bresh was playing there one year) during summer NAMM, The wonderful dinners during winter NAMM with an eclectic group of characters. Lane was always the host with the most & he always caught the check with a BIG smile. The Heritage boys never did anything like that, and Lane was their personalty, their "front man." He lent a touch of class to that rag tag bunch of almost worn out wood workers we all love & admire. It won't be the same without Lane, but we will remember him fondly and wish him well with his endeavors. You're a class act Lane. If you own a Heritage Guitar- there's a piece of Lane in there somewhere. Jay Wolfe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoslate Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Greetings, Vince! Good to know you're still lurking now and again. I'm already looking forward to the holidays, so I can put your disc back into rotation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pro-fusion Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Wow, Lane has been doing this job for a long time. Hope it was a happy parting of the ways. Hopefully, the change works out well for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuz Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Greetings, Vince! Good to know you're still lurking now and again. I'm already looking forward to the holidays, so I can put your disc back into rotation. +10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Best Christmas CD EVER! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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