by Bruce F. Elving

This commentary was originally published in Radio World newspaper on July 16, 2003. Reprinted with the kind permission of Radio World.

“Don’t ever retire!” Those were the words I heard as I stopped by the office of George Marti, president of Cleburne, Texas-based Marti Electronics.

Ever since receiving the former KCLE(FM) 94.3 Cleburne by means of sporadic-E FM skip in my hometown of Duluth, Minn., as a teenager in 1951, I had known of Marti and at least one of his stations.

To almost everybody in the broadcast industry, his name is legendary. It’s associated with the world’s best-known system for remote control for radio stations and for studio-transmitter-links.

It was partly out of curiosity, therefore, that I stopped by at 1501 North Main Street in Cleburne not long ago and asked for Mr. Marti. In the office, I noticed a picture on the wall, mentioning that he had been mayor of Cleburne from 1969-1987. There also was a bronze plaque, recognizing him for service to the Texas Association of Broadcasters. Indeed, he was a founder of that organization in the early 1970s.

Much to my surprise and delight, the next person I saw after his secretary was Marti himself. He invited me into his office, and I spent a good two hours listening as he explained his philosophy of life and how the broadcasting industry has been good to him.

He sold his business some years back to Broadcast Electronics of Quincy, Ill., but a workshop across the hall performs service on vintage Marti equipment. Rick Neace heads the workshop.

Part of his town

Why did George W. Marti settle in Cleburne? He was born and raised nearby, and in the late 1940s he saw fit to begin his enterprises in this clean, bustling little city south of Fort Worth. The town has been good to the Marti family. It is there where he started KCLE 1120 kilocycles, and later KCLE(FM) 94.3 megacycles.

In his letter of verification to me of June 18, 1951, Marti stated “Our FM station is normally received at a distance of about 40 miles in the vicinity of Cleburne, (a) sister station to KCLE, 1120 kcs, a 250-watt daytimer which went on the air April 6, 1947. KCLE began operation April 13, 1949, and has an effective radiated power of 325 watts with a 250-watt transmitter.”

The letter looked like it was typed on a manual typewriter. During our visit, my wife, Carol, noticed a standard Royal typewriter in Marti’s office and mentioned that she had learned to type on such a machine. The 1951 letter’s reference initials were “jm,” which must have been for his wife, Jo Marti.

Although he had only three years of college, Marti had substantial engineering experience, having designed the various circuits that were and are integral to the systems used in the industry. Prior to visiting, I had just attended the annual convention of the Worldwide TV-FM DX Association in the Oklahoma City area. I talked about Cleburne’s most famous citizen to the group. All had heard of George Marti, but nobody knew if he was still alive or what he might be doing.

A few years before, I had heard Marti speak at a Minnesota Broadcasters Association convention. He described how several stations, using his equipment and the newly approved local marketing agreements, could stay on the air. The public benefited because the stations provided service rather than go dark. Several could be operated remotely from a central studio/control point. Marti has visited most of the state broadcasters groups.

He gave me an example of how small stations in San Saba and Hamilton, Texas were able to use this equipment and stay on the air while being controlled from the studio of a larger station.

“One of the announcers worked on the air 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The rest of the time he sold advertising, and it wasn’t long before that station was showing a profit.”

He put his arm on my shoulder and told me not to retire. It’s the only way to stay in shape mentally, he said. He does not consider himself retired. He has had interests in cattle, banking and helping his children with their educations. He retains a 20-percent ownership interest in four Texas stations, including KCLE(AM) in Cleburne and KTFW(FM) at 92.1 MHz in Glen Rose, the programming of which is heard in the Fort Worth market.

Bit by the bug

That afternoon, he received phone calls about other stations, including upgrading possibilities for a small AM that could have its transmitter moved to also serve another town, at least for daytime service. His words — to me and others — were heartfelt.

“Once you get into the industry and are bitten by the radio bug, it never leaves you.” He showed obvious delight in speaking to his industry peers on the phone and in talking to this “young” reporter.

He mentioned the Marti Foundation, established to aid graduates of four high schools in the county who might not otherwise be able to attend college. These $10,000 scholarships are aimed at helping youth in lower-income families. Students must maintain a 3.75 grade-point average and carry a minimum of 14 credits per term to retain their scholarship.

He said each of his surviving three children are well-set financially. An older daughter, Ann, quit teaching at age 38 to purse her M.D. degree and became a physician; she died a few years later of cancer. Pam is a dentist. Michelle is a lawyer who turned to college teaching, while son Wes — “the normal kid” — runs the ranching operation.

Marti spends time as a lecturer at Southwestern Adventist University in nearby Keene, a unique town where the post office is open Sundays but not Saturdays and where even the smallest restaurants feature vegetarian entrees. There were three certificates on the wall of his office, showing Southwestern Adventist University’s appreciation of his being a lecturer.

Knowing I am 68, he told me he made three-quarters of his fortune after age 65. This includes taking over a failing bank at age 70. After five years, the bank, which had been paying no dividends, had improved to the point where it was paying a 15-percent dividend rate, at which point he “retired” from banking.

He was the youngest of nine grandchildren. His grandmother took a special interest in young George, and he assimilated values such as persistence and applying his intelligence toward solving problems. This, he suggested, may be the reason he was a successful engineer, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

I asked several people around Cleburne if they knew Marti. Invariably they did.

“Not everybody here likes me, but I’ve never heard anybody bad-mouthing the foundation,” he asserted.

Marti is now a vigorous 83 and shows no sign of retiring. Working keeps a person mentally sharp, he said. His secretary, Hoylene Harris, has been with him 35 years.

He was married 58 years. His wife, Jo, passed away not long after I met him.

He has been mentoring young people all of his career, and says many are well-established in broadcasting. Marti coexists nicely in an adjoining office with Propagation Systems Inc. It’s a manufacturing sales office for TV and FM broadcast antennas, headed by Ron Pohler. Ron’s been associated with Marti for 10 years, but “I knew of him for 30 years or so.”

Yes, George Marti is alive and well in Cleburne, Texas, and has willingly pledged his name and funding to a foundation that is soon expected to make higher education possible, as he stated, “for a thousand or more young people.”

Bruce Elving is a long-time FM DX listener, claiming a total of 1,952 FM stations heard in the Duluth area since 1948. One was KCLE(FM), subsequently sold by Marti; it’s now KLTY(FM) in Arlington, with a contemporary Christian format. Elving holds a Ph.D. from Syracuse University in education through the Newhouse School of Public Communication. For information on his publications, visit http://members.aol.com/fmatlas/home.html. He publishes an electronics catalog, featuring FM/SCA modified radios and adapter modules