The general meeting for this month will be held on Tuesday, January 13 starting at 6 p.m. at:

Please note the special time and meeting location.

This month's technical class will be by Alex Appel, RPT, current member and former president of the New York City Chapter PTG. The topic of Alex's presentation will be "Concert Work vs. Field Work."

The December meeting was our annual Holiday dinner party, which was held on Tuesday evening December 2 at Tesoro Ristorante in Westbury.

Reminder: PTG dues for the upcoming year 2015 were due by December 31, 2014. Everyone should have received their annual invoice from the Home Office. If you have not done so, please submit your payment as soon as possible before the grace period expires.

We all have certain customers who request that we remove our shoes before entering their homes, whether because they have a white carpet, they are germophobes, they are Asian and it is their custom, they have a new floor, or for other reasons. Out of respect for them and their business, we are obliged to comply. However, in reality, it is not a particularly convenient nor safe practice for us. We could easily drop a tool or case panel on our foot and stub or break a toe, or injure ourselves in other ways And there have been times, in my eagerness to get started with my work, when I have removed a shoe and the laces got knotted, which was a real annoyance and delay. I now carry a pair of disposable surgical paper booties in my briefcase, and when required, only take a moment to put on or remove, which prevents all kinds of problems, honors my customers' wishes, and generates good will.

Michael Slavin suggests: Here is an interesting article, that although is not specifically about pianos, reflects exactly the state of our industry and profession: Pulling Out the Stops at Hartford's Austin Organs