During the period of our 14 years as owner (2003-2017) of Gammill, Inc., Fulham & Co. has made every effort to continue the legacies established by Ken Gammill and Paul Statler of building the best quilting machines on the market, and delivering them reliably to our customers. Our strong background in traditional manufacturing industries, however, did not prepare us for some of the unique challenges of the quilting industry. In 2014, Michelle accepted our invitation to come to Gammill and evaluate how we were doing business. She devoted considerable time at Gammill to help us go back and think about the very basics, which was a good place to start. In 2015 she accepted our request to serve as General Manager. Throughout the following years, Michelle worked closely with the Gammill team to identify ways in which Gammill could do a better job serving its customers; and Michelle helped us understand that this is a continuous process, not a one-time event.
Over time, it became obvious that Michelle’s ability to anticipate and meet the needs of the quilting community surpassed what Fulham & Co, was able to provide. We realized that Gammill really needed the guidance of someone who understood the unique relationship that exists among customers, dealers, and the company. For the past four years I have worked closely with Michelle at Gammill and I came to see that she had the knowledge and skills that would serve Gammill well. I believe she possesses the vision and integrity that are so critical to the company’s continued success. Her insight, dedication, and desire to see the Gammill family grow and thrive were what sparked our request for her to assume ownership of the company.
Fulham & Co. is therefore delighted to announce the sale of Gammill, Inc. to Michelle Weaver, who has served as General Manager of the company since June 2015. We are excited about this change in ownership because we truly believe Michelle is uniquely qualified to lead the team at Gammill and serve the many thousands of Gammill customers. We could not be more thrilled that she has accepted this challenge.
Tim Fulham, Managing Partner of Fulham & Co.
All of us on the Gammill team want to assure our customers that no major changes are planned to the way we do business. As always we are striving to provide the highest quality machines with the highest quality customer support. Our dealer network will remain in effect and continue to be strengthened to continue to provide local service, delivery, and education to quilters. We are excited about the many improvements our team is working on and look forward to sharing them with you in the near future.
Michelle’s husband Andrew will be transitioning to work with Gammill, Inc. as well and will no longer be the dealer in the Northwest. (They’d like to live in the same part of the country.) Andrew also brings a wealth of knowledge and skills that the entire Gammill family will now be able to benefit from. Please see the other announcements today for news of the great dealers we have to take on that area, or visit https://gammilldevsite.wpengine.com/dealer-locator/ to find more information. We are also very appreciative that Tim Fulham has agreed to stay on as an advisor to Gammill to help with the transition and provide for a seamless process for everyone at the company and the customers.
Paul Statler adds: “Mildred and I are so happy to still be a part of the team here. I think Michelle is doing a great job of steering the company in the right direction. She’s a very hard-working and honest person and has put together a team full of people with great skills who really care about Gammill and Statler owners. This is the most excited Mildred and I have been about the future of the company in many years!”
Michelle’s desire to have a family of quilters who have the best quilting machines, software, and services has driven the company the entire time she has been General Manager. We are excited to see where her leadership takes us in the future.
Jennifer Smith, Operations Manager
Matt Sherman, Engineering Manager
Aubrey Stephens, Warehouse Manager
Mary Foley, Production Manager
Inocencio Leija, Senior Accountant
Norman McKeague-Foster, Sales Manager
Corey Pearson, Education Director
Rob Webb, Quality Control
Paul & Mildred Statler
And the rest of The Gammill Team
It has been an adventure working with Tim, the team at Gammill, the dealers, instructors and the customers for the past few years. We have an outstanding team. I’m so honored to get to work with all of them. The team at the company are some of the most dedicated people I know. The legacies of Ken and Paul of providing the absolute best of products and services are still thriving today. Our dealers are also vital in carrying on this legacy. They go above and beyond in taking care of the customers in their area. Their breadth of knowledge and experience and deep desire to take care of customers I believe are some of the greatest advantages we have. Our Artists and Instructors also play a vital role in the Gammill customer experience. They strive everyday to help ensure, that in addition to having the best equipment, our owners also have the knowledge to fully utilize it. We all owe them an ongoing debt of gratitude for their dedication and the inspiration they provide. Over the past few years I’ve also observed that many of our customers are some of the best people. Their willingness to jump in and help one another across the country or even the world is remarkable, and the many selfless acts of charity they participate in is inspiring.
We’ve spent quite a bit of time over the past few years talking internally at Gammill about why it is that we do what we do. The common binding theme that we hear from everyone, from the team members who have been around since Ken and Paul, to our newer team members, our dealers, our instructors, everyone from management, engineering, production and all the support staff, is that we are motivated and blessed by watching quilters’ dreams come true. Whether that is the quilter who dreams of winning an award at a show; the mom who dreams of a business she can run while staying home with her kids; the retiree who dreams of earning enough spending money to enjoy retirement and travel; the grandma who dreams of covering every bed of every family member with a work of love; the many people whose dream it is to make Quilts of Valor or quilts for patients in hospitals; whatever a quilter’s dream may be, we take great pride and honor in playing a small part in their dreams.
We believe a well designed and superbly built piece of equipment, along with equally superior product support enables people to achieve their dreams. But why quilting? Why not support some other kinds of dreams? We choose to enable the dreams of quilters in particular because we believe quilting adds good into the world. Ultimately quilting is about giving. It’s about pouring your time and money and heart and soul into a work of art, and then most of the time, giving it away. Even though about half of our customers run businesses with their machines, their customers are ultimately giving away the quilts that they finish. Quilts are gifts to family, to newlyweds, to grandchildren, they capture moments in life and provide lasting memories that you can wrap yourself up in. Quilts are given as gifts to perfect strangers in hospitals, to give a feeling of home and of love to someone with a terminal illness. Quilts are given to veterans, as an expression of love and to remind them that their sacrifice is not forgotten. Ultimately contributing to helping quilters achieve their dreams and in turn contributing to the giving that is quilting is really why we exist.
I look forward to many years of continuing to work with everyone in the Gammill family to make more and more dreams into reality for quilters!
Michelle Weaver, Owner & General Manager