Fred Dee Hoyt

Dee, as he was known, was born in Dodge City, Kansas on July 26, 1943. He graduated from Ford High School where he was an outstanding athlete (basketball and track) and also played low bass for the band. He attended Fort Hays State College where he continued his interest in music by playing bass guitar for the band The Tornadoes, cutting a record and touring. While making music and pursuing his college degree, he got the “call” like so many others to put down his instrument and pick up the sales side of the music products business. It started at Hays Music Co in 1963 where he was hired as guitar manager. This opportunity gave him the experience needed for things to come. Dee spent the next 50 years selling instruments, designing new products (guitars, amps and accessories), building sales forces and developing marketing strategies for the music industry. His innovations were industry changing and led to unprecedented success for each company he worked for.

As a side-line in college, Dee started an electronics manufacturing company, building amplifiers and speaker cabinets for St. Louis Music Supply and other wholesalers. Another sideline for Dee at the time was a 10-band talent agency he named Sounds Unlimited.

A big break came for Dee in 1969 when CMI – Gibson/Olds/Reynolds/Wm Lewis/Maestro, etc. out of Chicago, a major distributor made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. It was off to the races and the road for the next 30 plus years for Mr. Hoyt and what a long successful trip it was.

With CMI, Dee was a Road Rep first. He also developed new guitars and other products while becoming top salesman out of a field of over 50 other reps for three consecutive years. They couldn’t touch him. He took a $600,000 territory up to $4.5 million in less than 4 years and never looked back.

A huge CMI competitor, CBS – Fender/Rogers/Rhoads/VC Squire–finally got tired of competing with him so, in 1980, they made him another offer he could not refuse (that’s the way things were back then for the best of the best). CBS made him Vice President of Sales and National Sales manager for Fender where he trained a 22 person sales force and provided the now famous Hoyt mojo to help the company increase sales over 8% each year for 5 years straight.

But wait, there’s more.

Dee wasn’t satisfied with just being the top sales dog with the world’s top distributor. No sir. He also provided the marketing for the Squire guitar by Fender, which today in 2015 is still the number one selling guitar brand…ever.

The next stop on this incredible journey was National Sales Manager for Tokai USA where Dee was able to take a little known brand of vintage knock off guitars to national prominence.

Lo and behold, a little company by the name of Yamaha scooped up Dee in 1985 and made him a Divisional Sales Manager where he set up Yamaha’s first telemarketing department for his, and every other division inside the company. It’s a fact that Dee helped increase the bottom line profits of Yamaha over 12% per year.

Things really got interesting after that when Samick Music Corporation, the world’s largest guitar maker, recruited Dee as Director of Sales to help kick-start a new guitar program that made industry history by topping unit sales of over 139,000 annually, a figure that boggles the mind even by today’s standards. By this point in his career, Dee Hoyt was a lean, mean selling machine.

Next Dee was then named Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Kanstul Musical Instruments where he developed marketing and sales that increased their business 66% in the first year. From there, he accepted a Vice President of Sales & Marketing position with American Sejung where he was instrumental in taking the company up to $20,000,000.00 in sales in less than 2 years, making ASC the fastest growing company in the history of the music products industry.

Even in semi-retirement, Dee remained productive by landing at A&E Music Concepts out of Wichita Falls. At A&E, Dee reached the top of the ladder by sourcing, importing and selling container loads of musical instruments to the big chain stores. He also continued to design new guitars, amps, horns and accessories that were friendly to the chain store atmosphere. To the very end, a lean, mean selling machine.

While work kept Dee very busy, he still found time to spend with his family and give back to the community. From 1979-81 he was President of Little Dribblers and helped Co-Coach his son’s basketball team to 2 National Championships. He also enjoyed time at his lake home boating, fishing, tinkering and fixing all sorts of projects around the house, and of course playing cards!

Dee Hoyt passed away quietly, surrounded by family and friends. He is survived by his wife Sheryle Jean Meckel Hoyt of 50 years, his 2 children: Brenda Jean Hoyt-Stenovitch and husband Sean A Stenovitch, Michael Dee Hoyt and wife Misty J Hoyt; his 3 grandchildren: Rhylie Elizabeth Hoyt, Wesley Witt Stenovitch and John Michael Hoyt; siblings Ethel Rose Simmons Cronin, Mary Lucille Hoyt Reynolds and husband Vernal Reynolds, Reita Carolyn Hoyt Roetzer Hewes, Paul Burton Hoyt and wife Deeann Hoyt; Father in Law Vernon Eugene Meckel; Brother in Law Vernon E Meckel and wife Kaori Meckel. He is further survived by nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.

In addition to his parents, Fred Denman Hoyt and Oma Elsie Veach Hoyt, he is predeceased by his sister Velda Louise Hoyt Koontz Newman and brothers in law Raymond Lee Roetzer, Herbert E Hewes, Lewis Loren Koontz and Herbert Daniel Cronin.

A Memorial Service / Celebration of Life Ceremony will take place, Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 2PM in the Rolling Oaks Funeral Home Chapel, 400 Freeport Parkway, Coppell, TX 75019, (972) 745-1638 (www.restlandcoppell.com).

The family has requested that memorial contribution in memory of Fred Dee Hoyt be made to Guitars in the Classroom in care of Rolling Oaks Funeral Home or at www.guitarsintheclassroom.org.

Rock-n-Roll, Rest in peace.

“….the guitar is just a wonderful instrument. It’s everything: a bartender, a psychiatrist, a housewife. It’s everything, but it’s elusive” - Les Paul