John opened the Southern, Maine ITEX office in 1994, and became an ILB within a year, buying out an already established ITEX office in Bangor, Maine. The main office has been in Westbrook, Maine - a suburb of Portland,
for 10 years. The northern Maine office (Bangor operation) was sold to ITEX member Phil Frederick several years ago, and is now operated by Bob Cochrane, ILB.

Hammer got interested in "trade exchanges" in his previous position(s) as newspaper or magazine publisher or owner. He worked for several major media companies, and lived in several states before returning to his native Maine (and NH) in the early '90s. Other previous fields of employment include: business broker, publishing consultant, adjunct professor - Univ. of Minnesota, and host/producer of a TV news program.

He and wife Cheryl and "Charlie - the Jack Russell Terror" live in Westbrook. A grown daughter and two step-daughters live elsewhere in Maine. Hobbies and pastimes include: skiing, golf, and travel, and when time allows, club racing (PCA and SCCA) a 1985 Porsche 928 Euro-edition. Little known fact: Hammer is an amateur gourmet chef. Biggest goal for the New Year: Signing up the local Porsche dealership as an ITEX member.