Dick Boak’s 41 Year Intersection with Martin Guitars

Dick Boak, C. F. Martin's recently retired historian, archivist and public persona for more than 41+ years, will talk about how he was able to transition from a bohemian illustrator, musician, and geodesic dome-building luthier woodworker into a dumpster-diving art teacher and eventually an unlikely but highly-driven employee of The Martin Guitar Company. After arriving at Martin as the new kid on the block backed by the confidence and support of Chris Martin and his grandfather C. F. Martin III, Dick was given a long leash to consistently re-invent his job description from design draftsman to prototype maker to founder of the Company Store to heading up Martin’s Sawmill to running the Advertising Department to publishing the company’s long-running Sounding Board magazine. In the mid-1990s, Dick’s collaboration with Eric Clapton catalyzed Martin’s Artist Relations Department yielding more than one hundred significant Signature Model artist collaborations. After authoring five books and managing Martin’s Museum, Dick settled into the vast organization of The Martin Archives. With a vibrant visual presentation and his trademark humorous delivery, Dick will touch upon all of these fascinating life-transitions and more!