THE MARMON FAMILY

Back row, left-to-right:  Kiara Takagi, Melanie Hanzlik and Leah Marmon

Front row, left-to right:  Michael Takagi, Amanda Takagi, Sylvia Marmon, Kent Marmon, Tonnie Marmon and Nathaniel Marmon

In the laps, left-to-right: Kristian Takagi and Luke Marmon

Not pictured:  Austin Hanzlik, Liam Hanzlik and Levi Marmon

Left-to-right: Amanda Takagi, Sylvia Marmon, Kent Marmon, Melanie Hanzlik and Nathaniel Marmon

Kent and his wife of 31 years, Sylvia

POLITICAL-RELATED ACTIVITES

• Participated in American Legion Boys State in high school
• At 16, developed plans for a senior citizen / youth center for Caldwell that was eventually built as the Caldwell Senior Citizen Center
• Attended and participated in a "National Issues" conference in 1982, where he presented ideas for a national flat tax to replace income tax, along with a program that would allow for self-determination (choice) in saving and investing for retirement (a re-structure of Social Security that would not have impacted those nearing retirement age or were dependent on Social Security for part of their retirement)
• Ran for a seat in the Idaho Legislature in 1978 at the age of 22 against a tenured incumbent - receiving 49% of the vote
• Served on the Regulatory Reform Task Force led by then-Congressman Larry Craig - recognized by then-Vice President George H. Bush
• Member, PAC-5, a group formed by Helen Chenoweth and Vernon Ravenscroft to seek out and support conservative candidates for Legislative, State and Congressional seats
• Guardian Member and Idaho State PAC Treasurer, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)
• Active member of the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce - served on the Governmental Affairs Committee
• Served on the Caldwell City Council:  Finance Committee (helped draft the multi-million dollar budget that was passed unanimously by the Council); Airport Comission (went to battle with the FAA to recover funds for airport expansion that had been promised, but were pulled - worked with then-Senator Steve Symms and the Reagan White House to restore funding); Caldwell Events Center (a key player in the development of the center, and finding funding for needed repairs and remodeling); Golf Commission (key player in the design of the plan to raise needed funds to remodel the Fairview Golf Course clubhouse and build a new one at Purple Sage); and Urban Renewal District (first chairman of the district, developed to re-build downtown Caldwell).
• Invited to participate in the first National Leadership Conference at the White House in 1986

EDUCATION

• Graduated from Caldwell High School, 1974
• Attended the College of Idaho and Boise State University
• Graduated Cum Laude, B.S. Business Administration, Northwest Nazarene University, 2004

WORK HISTORY 

• J.R. Simplot Company - Dehy Products operator
• Albertson's, Inc. - retail clerk, night manager
• Treasure Craft Decals - business management, layout and design, sales and marketing
• Treasure Craft Decals - business owner
• Albertson's, Inc. - Front-End management, Grocery department management, acting Store Director
• NFIB - Membership Representative
• Ace Hardware of Idaho - Operations Manager, responsible for building two franchise stores
• MotivePower - Training Development Manager - responsible for building a Training Department and creating training programs for a workforce of nearly 600

AWARDS & RECOGNITION 

• Manpower, Inc. award for his work organizing a community effort to build a Senior Citizen - Youth Center in Caldwell (at age 16)
• Eagle Scout - Boy Scouts of America
• Outstanding Young Man of America - 1982
• Distinguished Service Award presented by the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce - 1982
• Life Membership - Utah-Idaho District, Kiwanis International
• Life Membership - Kiwanis International
• Circle of Service Award - Circle K International (college-age service organization sponsored by Kiwanis International)
• District Award of Merit - Camihoma District, Ore-Ida Council, Boy Scouts of America
• Silver Beaver - Ore-Ida Council, Boy Scouts of America
• Numerous first place awards for club and district bulletins - Utah-Idaho District, Kiwanis International and Kiwanis International
• Distinguished club officer and Lt. Governor awards - Utah-Idaho District, Kiwanis International

He grew up in Caldwell, attending Caldwell Schools, and graduated from Caldwell High School in 1974.

As an active member of the school's Debate Team, he brought home several awards.  In 1973, Kent was selected to participate in American Legion's Boys State, a leadership program that gave students first-hand working knowledge of state and local government.

Kent was an active Boy Scout, earning the program's highest rank, Eagle, in 1972.  Steve Symms came off the campaign trail during his first run for Congress to present Eagle awards to Kent and his friend, Randy Raney.

For his Eagle service project, Kent devised a plan to build a non-profit community center for youth and senior citizens.  He sought the help of Architect Tom Ensley, Engineer Ron Blakely, Attorney Richard Rosenberry, and builder Bill Keys, to help with the project - and all of them donated their services to create the engineering, architectural drawings and legal formation of the non-profit organization.  Kent worked with the leaders of various organizations in town to bring them "on board," and presented his plans to the Caldwell City Council, asking them to set aside some city-owned land near the Caldwell Armory for the center.  Later, the project was put on hold when some groups began demanding that the city provide a large chunk of the funding.  A few years later, the blueprints from the project were used to build the Senior Citizen Center that stands behind the Library in Caldwell.  "It wasn't exactly what I envisioned, but it is what the City Council decided to do, and rather than fund it through contributions and fund raising as I had envisioned, they utilized federal funds," Marmon said.

Kent began his "political activity" at age 12, and throughout his youth, spent countless hours working on various campaigns, doing door-to-door work, putting up yard signs, and anything else he could do to be involved.

He attended the College of Idaho, where he met his wife, Sylvia.  They have been married for 31 years, and have raised three children:  Amanda (Michael) Takagi, Nathaniel (Tonnie) Marmon and Melanie (Austin) Hanzlik.  They have six grandchildren: Kiara Takagi, Leah Marmon, Kristian Takagi, Luke Marmon, Liam Hanzlik and Levi Marmon.

At 22, Kent ran for a seat in the Idaho State House of Representatives from Canyon County against a several-term incumbent, receiving 49% of the vote.

In 1985, Kent was elected to the City Council in Caldwell, where he served on the Finance Committee (responsible for drafting a multi-million dollar budget and reviewing income and expenses), as well as the Airport, Golf, and Senior Citizen Commissions.  He also served as chairman during the initial startup of Caldwell's Urban Renwal Agency.

During his first weeks as a member of the Council, Kent took on the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) when they attempted to renege on a grant that had been promised for airport upgrades and expansion.  Working with then-Senator Steve Symms and the FAA, Kent was able to get the funding restored for Caldwell's FAA-designated "Reliever" airport.  The airport is now the second busiest in Idaho.

Kent has always been involved in service organizations, serving in various positions in Scouting, from Scoutmaster to member of the Ore-Ida Council Executive Board; in leadership positions at the club, division, district and international levels of Kiwanis International; as a Guardian Member and Idaho State PAC Treasurer for NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business); as founding president of Caldwell Crime Stoppers / Neighborhood Watch; as founding Vice President of Early Parenting Support Services; on the Governmental Affiars and other committees of the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce; and volunteering with WITCO, Idaho Department of Health and  Welfare, American Red Cross, American Heart Association, United Way, Caldwell Fine Arts, Youth for Understanding, and the College of Idaho.  Kent also served on former Vice President George H. Bush's "Regulatory Reform Task Force."

His awards and recognition for service are numerous - but include Outstanding Young Man of America, Silver Beaver (a Scout Council's highest award for service), Circle of Service (the highest award presented internationally by Circle K, the college-age service organization of Kiwanis International), Life Membership of both the Utah-Idaho District and of Kiwanis International, and the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award.

In the mid-80s, Kent was joined by NFIB, who helped him draft legislation aimed at stopping state government agencies from competing directly with private sector businesses.  Kent contacted firms all over Idaho who were facing similar problems as he was in his printing business with government competition, urging them to join in the fight to get legislation enacted.  Senate Bill 1381 was written, and after Marmon's introduction during a Statehouse press conference, Kent testified before Senate and House committees and worked with members of each body to get the bill passed.  It made it through the Senate, and was sent to the House committee, where it was given a "Do-Pass" recommendation to the full House.  It failed in the House by one vote - but similar legislation has since been approved by the Legislature.

Marmon has gained a lot of experience working in varius positions through the years, beginning with work as an operator on the Dehy Line at the J.R. Simplot Co. in Caldwell after graduating from high school.  Later, he worked for Albertson's, where he climbed the management ladder from Key Person to 3rd Man.  For 22 years, Marmon participated in management of family-owned Treasure Craft Decals, and owned the business for about 12 years, expanding into office supplies, furniture and equipment, and purchasing an offset / letterpress and roll-label printing operation which was combined with the other businesses.  In 1999, Marmon wanted to make a change, so he returned to Albertson's, where he quickly climbed the management ladder at the store level from Front-End Manager to acting-Assistant Store Director and Store Director.  In July 2002, he left Albertson's, and returned to school, graduating Cum Laude from Northwest Nazarene University with a B.S. in Business Administration.  In 2004, he was hired by an Ace franchisee to serve as Operations Manager, responsible for building two new Ace Hardware stores.  Marmon hired and trained all the new staff, worked with contractors on the remodels, ordered shelving and other merchandisers, and directed the building and stocking of the stores from the ground up.  After the stores opened, he planned and managed grand opening events, marketing programs, and provided operations management.  After a change in ownership of the Ace stores in late 2005, Kent went to work building a new training department for MotivePower, a Boise-based builder of locomotives.  There, Marmon develops all of the training programs and materials, trains trainers, and facilitates all of the training for the nearly 600 people employed there.

In early September, Larry Craig announced his intent to resign from the Senate, and Kent submitted his name and credentials to the Governor for consideration for appointment should the seat be vacated prior to the end of Larry's term.  He began a grass-roots effort to gain support from throughout the state, and was both surprised and gratified by the great deal of support that grew from day-to-day throughout September.

As a result of that support, Kent's deep desire to serve, and his knowledge of the workings of government and understanding of the issues, Kent decided to offer himself as a candidate for the office, which is being vacated when Larry Craig retires at the end of his third term.