Kendall Day "Ken" Garff (July 18, 1906 - March 14, 1997) is a Utah businessman who owns several car dealerships along the Wasatch Front.
Video Kendall D. Garff
Biography
Garff was born in Draper, Utah. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), where he served as a missionary in England and Northern Ireland from 1926 to 1928. He graduated from the University of Utah with B.A. in Social Sciences and Behavior in 1932.
Garff married Marjorie Heiner in 1932 in the Salt Lake Temple and they had three children. Marjorie was sick for many years and died in 1976. Garff remarried Betty June Morgan in 1977.
Before selling the car, Garff worked as a Shell service station officer in Salt Lake City, Utah. After the explosion, the station was closed for reconstruction and Garff started selling used cars to support himself and founded his company in 1932. He would buy a car in Chicago and bring them back to sell in Salt Lake. In the 1940s, he opened dealerships to sell new cars, starting with Studebaker cars and trucks in 1937, and Oldsmobile in 1946.
Garff's son, Robert H. Garff, was his successor in running the company.
Industry and community
In addition to his own involvement with Garff Enterprises, Garff's other businesses include Deseret Livestock Company and Skull Valley Ranches. He served as director of First Security Corporation for 25 years, president of Fidelity American Life Insurance Co., and director of Detroiter Mobile Homes, the world's largest car dealership for some time.
Garff is active in community and civil service, including as president of the Utah Automotive Dealership Association, executive director of the American Scouting Council, the two-decade President of the Republic of Utah, the YMCA board of directors, the Board of Achievement of Brigham Young University, and the National Advisory Council of the University of Utah, National, and Business School Advisory Committees. In 1978, he established a $ 500,000 seat at the University of Utah College of Business, which was later named the wing of the Kendall D. Garff Building facility in his honor.
Garff received numerous awards for his achievements and activities. University of Utah awarded him the Best School Achievement Achievement Award in 1961, Emeritus Award in 1972, Alumnus Distribution Award in 1979, and Honorary Doctorate of Law Degree in 1989. He was also inducted into the Beehive Hall of Fame in 1996 and received the Silver Beaver Award from Boy Scouts of America. Garff is an Honorary Colonel at the Utah National Guard and for 12 years is Honorary Consul for the Federal Republic of West Germany.
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Dealer conglomerate
The Ken Garff Automotive Group is a big car dealer conglomerate. The company, or one of its dealers, according to a January 2004 survey conducted by Dan Jones & Associates, is the second car dealer called by Utahns when asked to name the car dealership after Larry H. Miller Dealerships. The company is currently associated with 26 car dealerships in Utah. Kendall's son, Robert H. Garff, is currently president of the company.
References
External links
- Official website of Ken Garff Automotive Group
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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