November 14, 2008.

Dear Flute Family,

This week has been one of the most difficult ever, for our business. David Straubinger left on Wednesday evening to take a guest to dinner, only to receive a call from the security company that our building was engulfed in flames. David arrived only minutes later to see five fire trucks and other vehicles working to put out the flames. None of it made sense because he knew that nothing had been left on and the building was armed and locked. The last thing that occurred to anyone at that time was that someone would pour gasoline at the back of the building, break out a window in the Pad Department, and pour gasoline onto the desk and immediate area.

So much damage was done to the central part of the building that we should have suspected something but did not. First conclusions were that perhaps it was from a mouse that had eaten into wiring. It is still impossible to think an arsonist would target our business.

Please know that David, Joel and all of us at Straubinger Flutes are focus-energized toward getting the company back up and operational as quickly as possible. Already we are set up at an alternate site and expect to begin limited production during the week of November 17, 2008.

ALL flutes were in the safe at the time of the fire, except one which had just been dropped off at closing time. Each one now has been checked THOROUGHLY and although we will replace the cases for those on which there is residual smoke odor, there was NO DAMAGE to any of the instruments.

A restoration company has been hired and work is in progress to repair or replace the damaged areas of the building. We have been overwhelmed with the outpouring of letters, calls, and emails from almost every continent on the globe. A small army of friends and technicians arrived, sleeves rolled up, and without hesitation, began working side-by-side with us to do the meticulous cleaning needed to prevent oxidation damage to tooling, metal parts and machinery covered with soot and debris.

Today, feeling at a loss for words to know how to show his gratitude, David asked aloud what could he possibly do to give something back to the Flute World at large, as his way of saying "Thank you!"? Without hesitation, someone answered: "David, just do what you have done best all of your career: Continue making your Straubinger Pads, Flutes and Head Joints!" That's easy, because that is David and defines what he is all about! It has been his life's work and always will be.

And so it is David's personal commitment that we are moving full speed ahead to open our doors to limited business the week of November 17, 2008. We will be making replacement stock for all that was lost, but many Straubinger pad sizes were stored away from the fire and were saved. What pads we can ship will go out, and others already are in progress being made by our pad makers. Sue will be accepting orders and will advise, as each comes in, the probable ship date. We ask for your patience on those which are unique sizes and will require more time, but we have many that are ready to go.

Our FAX number remains the same: 317-784-1735, and the office numbers are 317-784-3012/3212.

All of us here, are touched beyond words by each of you who have written. We tried to answer individually as many as we could but the volume has overtaken us. WE ARE FOREVER INDEBTED TO YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND CARING CONCERN. When things are at their lowest, there are few things that mean so much as knowing your friends stand by your side.

- The People of Straubinger Flutes, Indianapolis, Indiana