Clarence Martin passes away

Last week the industry lost someone universally considered “a good man.”  Clarence Martin, CFO and CEO of State Electric passed away.  He would have been 81 next month.

I had the privilege of knowing Clarence for the past 18 years, of which he was a client for more than a dozen.

At his funeral words that were used to described him included:

• Gentleman
• Humble
• A giant
• Someone who you want to aspire to be
• Good
• Mentor
• Quality person
• Class act
• Loyal
• Giving
• “a prince of a man” and
• Accomplished.

He spent 48 years with State Electric, one of the largest electrical distributors in the industry, rising from controller in 1972 to being the CFO and CEO.

From a business perspective Clarence was …

• Practical but forward thinking
• An early believer in eCommerce
• A rare CFO … one that fully understands the business, is involved at all levels (including customers), understands the need to invest and is focused on growth and the future
• Wanted to know the details but delegated and had expectations of his staff to deliver
• And was a strong supporter of NAED, serving on committees and chairing the NAED Board of Directors in 2012/2013

At the funeral the poem The Dash, by Joan Ellis, was shared by his son, Tony Martin.  The poem is:

THE DASH

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on the tombstone from the beginning… to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke of the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time they spent alive on earth and now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own, the cars… the house… the cash. What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change? For you never know how much time is left that still can be rearranged.

To be less quick to anger and show appreciation more and love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile… remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read, with your life’s actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you lived your dash?

Clarence’s Dash

Here’s Clarence’s “dash”, beyond the impression, or legacy, he left on others:

“Clarence was born on February 19, 1939 in Milton, West Virginia.  He was the eldest of nine children, growing up in a home that consisted of two rooms and an outhouse. He quickly learned that hard work and determination is what it would take to better his life and become successful.

Clarence graduated in 1957 from Barboursville High School with a graduating class of 167 people. While in high school he played basketball, ran track and played football.  He had many significant influences in high school that affected his life and guided him in the right direction. However, one of his greatest influences was his Coach, Dick Ware. Coach Ware was the head football coach and was a master strategist and motivator. He taught Clarence the value of teamwork, perseverance and determination.  Before Clarence’s senior year of high school he enlisted in the West Virginia Air National Guard. He received basic training that summer at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Football was Clarence’s key into college and, with a football scholarship he attended Marshall College (at that time) in 1957-1958 and played football under Coach Herb Royer.  During his sophomore year at Marshall he realized that he did not have the funds to continue college.  In February 1959, with the military training he had received, he received his release from the West Virginia Air National Guard and enlisted in the US Army.  His entrance exams into the Army were very high and they thus offered him the opportunity to work with the Army finance and administration personnel corp.  He took advantage of this and this gave him his initial interest in his career path of finance and accounting.

Clarence was stationed in Germany for two years and was a finance specialist assigned to support the 7^th Army, and was honorably discharged in February 1961.  After he returned to the States, Clarence was hired by Raytheon Corporation in Boston and worked there for nine months.  He lived in Cambridge, approximately one mile from Harvard (so close, yet so far.)

After leaving Boston in late 1961, he returned to West Virginia and went to work for Roman J Claprood, a wholesale distributor in Huntington.  In 1963 he went to work at International Nickel, or Inco Alloys, as it was called at the time, working in the mill on night shift.  Thanks to the GI Bill, Clarence was able to afford to enroll at Marshall once again, taking classes during the day and working at night.  He began working towards his degree in finance and accounting, graduating in 1967 with a BBA in Accounting. After a period of time Clarence returned to Marshall and earned his MBA.  After receiving his MBA he did additional post graduate work towards a doctorate at Ohio State University and the University of Kentucky.  After graduation from Marshall, Clarence continued his employment with Inco Alloys where he held jobs in the accounting department as an auditor, assistant controller, plant accountant and assistant to the executive VP and Division President.

 Clarence began teaching part-time at Marshall from 1968-1969 and eventually began full-time teaching when he left Inco in 1969, which he continued until 1972.  His first full-time teaching job was with the Marshall branch of Logan, WV, which is no Southern West Virginia Community College.  Clarence then went to the University of Kentucky where he worked full-time until 1972 when he met Art Weisberg and came to State Electric Supply Company.  He continued to teach part-time at the University of Kentucky Ashland Community College for three years after he came to State Electric full-time.  He continued to teach and work until it became too difficult to manage both jobs well.

Clarence was hired as controller at State Electric in 1972 where he became CFO in 1977 and CEO in 1994.  When he began working at State Electric there were two branches (Huntington and Dunbar.) There was a total of 41 employees, which included Art’s brother and mother.  The business was just beginning to grow.  From those two branches Clarence focused on growing the business to 44 branches across seven states and employing nearly 800 people. Clarence became a partner in the business in 1988 and eventually one of the successors to the business.  His goal was to continue to expand the business to provide a better economy, a better community, as well as a good place for people to work and provide for their families.  He always wanted to give back some of what he had been fortunate to receive.

Clarence had many titles and accomplishments throughout his life.  He was the EVP of Arthur’s Enterprises, which was formed in 1986 to provide organizational structure for the continued growth of State Electric; a member of the Board for Huntington Federal for over twenty years; served as Chair of the NAED Government Affairs Committee; was on the NAED Legislative Committee in the 1990s.  In 2006 Clarence was given the honor of being inducted into the City of Huntington Wall of Fame.  He was also the Board Chair for NAED from 2012-2013.  His most recent accomplishment was the induction into the 2012 Marshall University Business Hall of Fame.  This is an award given annually to business leaders who have an outstanding record of achievement in their fields and have dedicated themselves to excellence.

Over the years, Clarence served on and with many organizations:  American Management Association, Ohio Valley Accounting Association, Society for Human Resources Management, National Association of Accountants, West Virginia Department of Commerce District Export Council, National Association of Electrical Distributors, Affiliated Distributors, The Vanguard Distribution Group, Vanguard National Alliance and on the Infor computer systems Board of Directors (NxGroup – The Users Group).

Clarence also sough to serve his community well through membership in many social and civic organizations: The Barboursville Rotary Club, Junior Achievement, Boy Scouts of America, baseball and football Little Leagues, Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce, Huntington Area Development Council, Advantage Valley, City of Huntington Foundation Committee and the Heritage Farm Leadership Forum.

Clarence is survived by his wife of 42 years, Sharon, two sisters, three brothers, three sones (of which Tony and Tim have worked for State Electric for many years), a step son and a special son as well as ten grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren.

The ceremony was conducted by Pastor Mitch Webb.  What’s interesting is that Mitch was a State Electric employee for over 35 years.  He knew Clarence well.  For the past five years Mitch has been the Executive Director of the Huntington City Mission.

I first met Clarence in 2001 as The Vanguard Distribution Group was a Channel Marketing Group client.  Over the next few years we discussed business challenges and strategic planning and, Christmastime 2005 Clarence and Art Weisberg reached out and said “it’s time to get started.”  We met the week between Christmas and New Year’s in 2005 and I began helping State Electric in 2006.  It was a privilege knowing him.

The “dash” … Clarence Martin was accomplished and achieved his goal, leaving a mark on many.

In honor of Clarence Martin please consider donating to NAED as he believed in the future of the industry, independent distribution and talent development or consider giving to his beloved city through the Huntington City Mission and the work that Mitch Webb is doing.  Click here to donate to the Huntington City Mission.