Robert Heiner Garff (born 1942)[1] is an American businessman who is currently the president of the Ken Garff Automotive Group, which also owns the Arena Football League's Utah Blaze.[2] His father Ken Garff was the company's founder.
[edit] Biography
Garff attended the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. He graduated with a B.S. in 1966 and an MBA in 1967.[3]
In addition to his family's automobile dealerships, Garff has served in other business and civic roles. He was chairman of the Intermountain Healthcare Foundation[1] and chairman of the board of directors of Deseret Book.[4] He has also served as speaker of the Utah State House of Representatives, chairman of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce,[5] and chairman of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics.[1] For his service and leadership, Garff was given the Distinguished Utahn Award by the Salt Lake Chapter of the BYU Management Society in 2008.[6]
Garff has served in various callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), including as a bishop and a stake president.[7] From 1987 to 1990, Garff served as president of the church's England Coventry Mission.[8] He then became a member of the church's General Sunday School Board in 1991[5] and a regional representative in the Syracuse Utah Region in 1992.[9] In 2003, he became an Area Seventy serving in the Fifth Quorum of the Seventy.[7]
Garff is married to Katharine Bagley and they have five children.[7]
[edit] Automotive business
The Ken Garff Automotive Group is a large car dealership conglomerate. The company or one of its dealerships, according to a January 2004 survey conducted by Dan Jones and Associates, was the second most mentioned car dealership by Utahns when asked to name a car dealer.[10] The company is currently associated with 26 car dealerships in Utah.[11] On October 18, 2007 the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah announced that the Ken Garff Automotive Group donated 3 million dollars to renovate the Kendall D. Garff building.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Summary Description". The Robert Heiner Garff Papers. University of Utah Marriott Library Special Collections. http://db3-sql.staff.library.utah.edu/lucene/Manuscripts/null/Accn0986.xml/complete. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ "Blaze Ownership Accepts Resignation Of Danny White". KSL. June 30th, 2008. http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=570&sid=3660465. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ^ a b "Garff Family Donates $3 Million to David Eccles School of Business". University of Utah. 2007. http://www.business.utah.edu/display.php?&pageId=3400. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
- ^ "Deseret Book appoints new president". Church News. March 2, 2002. http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/41392/Deseret-Book-appoints-new-president.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ a b "New board members". Church News. Aug. 17, 1991. http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/20968/New-board-members.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ "LDS News Briefs: Robert Garff to be honored as 'Distinguished Utahn'". Deseret News. May 8, 2008. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695277266,00.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ a b c "New Area Authority Seventies". Church News. April 19, 2003. http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/43636/New-Area-Authority-Seventies.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ "Missionary Reunions -- Cook Islands to Korea Seoul". Deseret News. September 28, 1999. http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/719999/Missionary-Reunions----Cook-Islands-to-Korea-Seoul.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ "New regional representatives". Church News. May 2, 1992. http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/22553/New-regional-representatives.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ Davidson, Lee (June 11, 2006). "Empire builder: Larry Miller has come a long way since his auto-parts days". Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,635212074,00.html. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
- ^ "Locations". Ken Garff Automotive Group. http://www.kengarff.com/locations/listmap.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
[edit] External links
