Jerry Hauer, owner of Dayton's well-known Hauer Music and a long-time supporter of the arts at the University of Dayton and throughout southwest Ohio, was presented with Department's first Amici Musicae (Friends of Music) award by Department Chair Dr. Richard Benedum at the annual Senior Dinner on April 30, 1996. "Hauer is a 1956 graduate of UD in Business Administration," said Benedum, "and has been widely honored for his service to music, his support for the development of downtown Dayton, and his leadership in renovating a historic building as the present site of Hauer Music. He is most deserving to be the first recipient of what will become an annual award, chosen by the faculty."
Hauer Music was founded by Jerry's father, Michael Hauer, in 1937, with a single studio and small showroom in the basement of a downtown building. Since that beginning, Hauer Music has grown to presently employ more than 60 employees or teachers, and presently serves more than 170 schools over approximately 5,000 square miles (from Columbus east to Richmond Indiana, and from Lima in the north to Chilicothe in the south)--including the UD Music Department. Jerry Hauer's persistent commitment to the preservation of historic downtown Dayton was evident when, in 1989, Hauer Music moved into its present renovated facilities, the former Sachs and Pruden Ale Company, originally built in 1883 along the Miami-Erie Canal. The restored building is now on the National Historic Register.
Hauer Music is rated as one of the nation's top 200 music retailers by Music Trades magazine--an impressive award when one considers that there are more than 8.000 music retailers nationally. Hauer's is also the Dayton Daily News Consumers Choice Award for the city's best music store. Jerry Hauer was honored in 1990 by the Montgomery County Historical Society and in 1991 by Preservation Dayton for his efforts in preserving the historic building which now houses his company. In 1995 he received the Citizen Legion of Merit Award from Dayton's Presidents Club, and the Governor's Award for distributing 102,000 trees through the Montgomery County Free Tree program. This year he received the Better Business Bureau's Eclipse Award for Integrity, the Spark Award for Volunteerism from the Dayton Senior Citizens Association. He also led the recent Rotary Club campaign to raise $75,000 for the YouthBuild Project, enabling 60 at-risk youths to learn construction trades. Hauer is also committed to bringing music to the Miami Valley through sponsorship of the Hauer Swing Band; the Ohio Valley British Brass Band; and the Hauer Music First Band, a grade school summer band with over 150 members.
The father of six children, ages 29 to 39, Hauer resides in Kettering with his wife Norma. A plaque with Hauer's name, and room for names of future recipients, has been placed in the Music Office.