Chuck Surack is an American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and musician, best known as the founder of Sweetwater Sound, one of the world's largest retailers of musical instruments and professional audio equipment.
[4] In 1979 Surack decided to stop touring, and returned to his hometown of Fort Wayne, where he has continued to work as a musician, playing saxophone and keyboard as part of two bands, Prime Time[5] and the Sweetwater All Stars.
Being part of the small professional K250 community allowed Surack to develop relationships and work with artists such as Kenny Rogers and Stevie Wonder.
[30] Surack and his wife Lisa contribute to more than 600 nonprofit organizations annually,[31] with past charitable donations to the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music,[32] Arts United of Fort Wayne,[33] the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra,[34] Easter Seals ARC of Northeast Indiana,[35] Taylor University, and the Voices of Unity Youth Choir.
[37] In July 2021, Surack and his wife Lisa established the Surack Family Foundation, with the intention of providing grants to nonprofits in the areas of music and arts that they have historically supported, but also mental health, teenage suicide prevention, child and family welfare, and economic development in Northeast Indiana.