Lena Thomas celebrated her 25th anniversary with the Gretsch Co. on Jan. 26, during The NAMM Show last month. As the daughter of Fred and Dinah Gretsch, she represents the 5th generation of Gretsch family leadership. Thomas was joined by fellow fifth-generation Gretsch family members Lucas O’ Connor (a.k.a. Lucas von Gretsch) and Heather Roller. Fred and Dinah’s grandsons, Logan Thomas and Daniel Gretsch, were also on hand representing the Gretsch family’s sixth Generation.
A large, multi-layered cake was unveiled and enjoyed by countless well-wishers including guitarist Doyle Dykes, Gretsch Senior Product Manager Joe Carducci, and several Gretsch guitar artists including Jason Lee, Lynda Kay, and Ethan Nguyen of Minor Strut with bandmate Aiden Kundhardt. Gretsch drum artists also joined in the celebration including Alvino Bennett, Mark Schulman, Steve Ferrone, and Gretsch Drums Brand and Artist Relations Manager, Andrew Shreve.
Since officially joining the company in 1994, Thomas has worked in virtually all areas of the business: purchasing, inventory control, manufacturing costing, production scheduling, quality control, office administration and more. She was an integral part of managing the Bigsby Vibrato business and even managed the Ridgeland, S.C., drum factory for two years. Today, Thomas also manages the cool GretschGear apparel and merchandise store.
“I am blessed to have been a part of the Gretsch legacy for the last 25 years,” said Thomas. “And I look forward to being an integral part in the future to ensure Gretsch continues for another 136 years.”
“Fred and I are very proud of Lena and her 25 years of dedication and service to the worldwide Gretsch community,” said Dinah Gretsch. “Plus, she’s a super daughter and a super mother as well.”