During Monday’s Marshall County Commissioner meeting, President Kevin Overmyer said he had recently met with Roger Umbaugh who is the commissioner’s appointment to the Marshall County Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors. Umbaugh told Overmyer he will resign his appointed position on the MCEDC board affective March 1st. Overmyer said Umbaugh was resigning the position due to personal reasons.
He also noted that Roger Umbaugh has been a member on the MCEDC since its inception in 2006 and for many of those years he served as chairman of the board of directors.
Overmyer then commented that last year when they reappointed Umbaugh to the position, at that time, Commissioner Kurt Garner commented on the need for diversity to the board by including women and younger citizens.
Overmyer then recommended the appointment of Jennifer Martin, principal owner of Country Auto to fulfill the remaining term of Mr. Umbaugh. His three year term expires in December 2020.
Overmyer gave some background information on Mrs. Martin saying that she graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree in Computer Science in 1985 and started working at AT&T Power Systems Manufacturing Facility in Shreveport as a computer programmer. Her career with AT&T carried her to Brownsville, TX where she ran the Software Systems for Maquiladora, a new manufacturing facility started by AT&T Power Systems. She was one of 12 Americans that oversaw the operations of 1200 Mexican Nationals in the endeavor of building Board Mounted Power Supplies. After a two year stint traveling to Matamoros, Mexico every day, she moved to Dallas to continue her career as a Quality Facilitator and then as a Manufacturing Manager overseeing the production line for building Board Mounted Power.
In 1993 Jennifer became involved in the operating of the County Auto dealership. She severed in a number of capacities and used her knowledge from the corporate world to streamline and establish processes in all aspects of the dealership. In 2013, her husband, Joe, passed the reins of the Dealer Management and President of the company to Jennifer, the position she still holds today. Under her guidance, County Auto Center has become certified as a Minority Business Enterprise with the State of Indiana and is certified as a Women Business Enterprise with the national organization WBENC.
Jennifer Martin continues her education by belonging to a General Motors’ Women’s 20 Group that meets three times a year to discuss dealership best practices and how to apply to them to her own store. Martin is also involved in the community as a board member with the SCILL Center in Knox, a volunteer as a classroom instructor with Junior Achievement of Marshall County and fundraising for Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center.
Commissioner Overmyer said, “I think she would bring a lot of assets, not only to the board but to the county.” He said Jim Condon who is the current Chairman of the MCEDC Board of Directors was very pleased with the suggestion of bring Mrs. Martin to the board.
Commissioner Mike Delp was not in favor of Martin being appointed to the MCEDC board and said, “Right now I can’t support it. Nothing against Jennifer Martin, I’m glad they have a business in Marshall County but she doesn’t live in Marshall County. As I look at the other board members, other than Mr. Condon who lives in Knox, they all live in our community and so, I can’t support this just from that basis. Just because they own a business here in Marshall County I think there’s…you know, I appreciate the diversity of a woman. I probably would like to get someone a little younger on the board but I can’t support it just because she doesn’t live in our community. To me she’s not invested in the community as much as everyone of the other ones, Mr. Berger, Mr. Balka, Mr. Keiser, Mr. Miller, Mr. Umbaugh, and Mark Umbaugh from Argos, They all live in their communities so, If I’m going to vote for somebody from Marshall County I expect them, I think they should live in Marshall County.”
Commissioner Overmyer seconded Commission Stan Klotz’s motion to appoint Jennifer Martin to the Marshall County Economic Development Board of Directors and Commissioner Delp voted no.
(note) While Commissioner Delp mentioned Kevin Berger as a member, Mr. Berger is no longer on the board. While he lives near Pretty Lake he was the Culver representative on the MCEDC because he owns a business in Culver. When Berger’s term ended he was replaced with Marty Oosterban.
