SC State Rep. Garry Smith presenting the Commendation. to Tracy E. Leenman, Owner of Musical Innovations.
Tracy E. Leenman, Owner of Musical Innovations of Greenville SC, has been named winner of the 2016 Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award. The award was presented at the Greater Mauldin Chamber of Commerce’s annual Holiday Banquet on November 17, 2016 by Emily Kaleui DeRoberts, District Manager of Duke Energy’s SC Government and Community Relations Team, and Pat Pomeroy, Executive Director of the Mauldin Chamber of Commerce. SC State Representative Garry Smith also presented Leenman with a special certificate of Commendation and Congratulations from the SC House of Representatives, “thanking her for her hard work, dedication and commitment, and honoring her for her accomplishments.”
The Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award honors individuals or groups who make a difference in their communities or places of work by using their time, talents and compassion to positively impact the lives of others. Recipients of the award help foster a culture of citizenship and service that acts as a catalyst for others to become involved in civic and social activities. The award is designed to recognize outstanding service and civic participation along with the following business values: integrity, stewardship, inclusion, initiative, teamwork and accountability. Leenman was nominated for the award by Elizabeth Burwell, Owner of High Performance Gym, another active member of the Mauldin Chamber of Commerce.
In presenting the Duke Energy Award, Emily DeRoberts noted Musical Innovations’ longtime support for the Greenville County Schools’ music programs, providing instruments for children in need, offering clinics with national-name clinicians, working with directors on recruiting and visiting schools on a regular basis to provide supplies, repairs and other needs.
“We are very passionate about music education,” noted Leenman. “We are active in music advocacy at the local and national levels, and this benefits our customers immensely, especially in light of the passage of the new Every Student Succeeds Act. We were proud to be able to help Greenville County apply – and win – the 2016 Top Communities for Music Education award. No other area school music dealer visits the schools as often or provides the level of service we are able to offer.”
The company is active in supporting school music programs at the state, local and national levels. Leenman has won two SCMEA Friend of Music Business Awards (2009 and 2013) and the KEYS “Keeping the Beat” National Advocacy Award in 2009. She was also honored in 2009 by Phi Beta Mu (Theta Chapter) with the Outstanding Contributor Award, and by the Retail Print Music Dealers Association in 2015 with the Sandy Feldstein Service Award.
Internationally recognized as a major force in the music industry, Musical Innovations has been named to NAMM’s Top 100 Dealer list for four years in a row, and in 2015 were named winners of both Best Customer Service and Dealer of the Year awards. In 2016, they were named among the Top 100 Small Businesses in America by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, winning a “Small Business, Dream Big!” Blue Ribbon Award.
Locally, Leenman is an active member of the Mauldin Chamber of Commerce and the SC (Upstate) Small Business Development Centers Advisory Board. She has been named among the 2017 winners of the WiMN’s She Rocks! Awards, honoring women who display leadership and stand out within the music industry. This award will be presented at the NAMM Show in Anaheim CA, next January.