My mom worked for Shamrock Foods and was at a restaurant supply show and ended up meeting, of all people, Vic Firth, selling pepper grinders. She knew I owned Vic Firth sticks and he generously signed a pack of sticks for her to give to me. Said he was absolutely delightful. (This was probably ~15 or so years ago.)
Fun fact, Vic Firth nowadays is part of Zildjian.