Ken Garff is a name Utahns know and love.
This month Ken Garff Auto is celebrating 90 years in business, andJenny talked with Board Chair Kathi Garff about the anniversary.
She says Ken Garff worked at his grandpa's farm when he was a little boy, and started a small business during the war at a gas station and sold used and new cars.
Due to the war and great depression, no one was shipping cars. Jobs were sparse, so he created jobs for his friends and family.
He hired them to drive to Michigan and drive cars back to Utah.
Kathi says Ken was a salesman at heart and loved his customers and his employees and grew his business on that basis.
Those core values of honesty and integrity continue to this day.
Kathi says she and her husband Robert continued to build on those values and their mission at Ken Garff Automotive is to treat people right.
They employ a diverse group of employees and respect plays a big part in the culture and community.
Speaking of community, Ken Garff's "We're Hear for You" project is proof of that. When COVID hit, everyone was isolated and discouraged, explains Kathi.
"We looked around and employees saw various needs within their communities. Employees helped us create the We're Hear for You program and put our value of teamwork into action," she says.
Ken Garff also has other programs like "Keys to Success", "Keys to Education", and "Keys to Coding".
Ken Garff is also a champion of women with their initiatives Women Who Succeed and Women Empowered.
For more information please visit Kengarff.com.
