Ken Garff Automotive Group
Kendall Day Garff | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Draper, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | March 14, 1997 (aged 90) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, automobile dealer |
| Known for | Ownership of automobile dealerships along Utah's Wasatch Front; founder of Ken Garff Automotive Group |
Kendall Day Garff (July 18, 1906 – March 14, 1997) was a prominent American entrepreneur who owned several automobile dealerships situated along Utah's Wasatch Front.
Biography
Born in Draper, Utah, Garff was a devoted member of the LDS Church and undertook missionary work in Great Britain and Northern Ireland between 1926 and 1928. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Utah in 1932.
In the same year, he married Marjorie Heiner, and together they had three children. Following Marjorie’s prolonged illness, she died in 1976. The following year, Garff married Betty June Morgan.
Garff’s early career involved working at a Shell service station in Salt Lake City. During the station’s rebuilding after an explosion, he began selling used automobiles. In 1932, he launched his own business by acquiring vehicles from Chicago to sell locally. By the late 1930s and 1940s, he had expanded into new car dealerships, initially representing Studebaker in 1937 and later Oldsmobile in 1946.
Management of the company was eventually passed on to his son, Robert H. Garff.
Industry and community
In addition to Garff Enterprises, his business portfolio included ownership stakes in the Deseret Livestock Company and Skull Valley Ranches. He held a directorship at First Security Corporation for a quarter-century, served as president of Fidelity American Life Insurance Company, and was on the board of Detroiter Mobile Homes, which at one time was recognized as the world’s largest mobile home dealer.
Garff demonstrated significant civic engagement through leadership positions such as president of the Utah Automobile Dealers Association, executive director on the national board of the Boy Scouts of America, and chairman of the Utah Republican Party for twenty years. His community involvement also extended to organizations like the YMCA, Brigham Young University Achievement Council, and various advisory committees at the University of Utah. In 1978, he provided an endowment of $500,000 to establish a chair at the University of Utah's Graduate College of Business; subsequently, a building there was named in his honor.
Among his recognitions were the University of Utah School of Business Outstanding Achievement Award (1961), Emeritus Award (1972), Distinguished Alumnus Award (1979), and an Honorary Doctorate of Laws (1989). He became a member of the Beehive Hall of Fame in 1996 and received the Silver Beaver Award from the Boy Scouts. Additionally, Garff was honored with the title of Colonel in the Utah National Guard and fulfilled duties as Honorary Consul for West Germany for twelve years.
Dealership conglomerate
The Ken Garff Automotive Group stands as a leading automotive dealership network. According to a 2004 study by Dan Jones & Associates, it ranked second among car dealers most frequently mentioned by Utah residents, following Larry H. Miller Dealerships. Presently, the group operates 26 dealerships throughout Utah. Leadership currently includes Kendall Garff’s grandson, John Garff, who serves as president.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1906 births
- 1997 deaths
- Latter Day Saints from Utah
- Mormon missionaries in Northern Ireland
- American Mormon missionaries in the United Kingdom
- People from Draper, Utah
- American automobile salespeople
- Businesspeople from Salt Lake City
- People in the automobile industry
- State political party chairs of Utah
- Utah Republicans
- University of Utah alumni
- 20th-century Mormon missionaries
- 20th-century American businesspeople
- Auto dealerships of the United States