Garffs named to receive the Utah Foundation’s 2022 Insight Award

Katharine Garff and her late husband, Robert, will be honored with the Insight Award at Utah Foundation’s 2022 Annual Luncheon on Nov. 16 at the Marriott City Creek Hotel.

The Utah Foundation said the purpose of the Insight Award is to recognize civic leaders who, “through a career of service or philanthropic support, have worked with integrity to provide insights in the public policy arena with the aim of improving government.” Recent honorees have included former Gov. Mike Leavitt and Larry H. Miller Group CEO Gail Miller.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

The 2022 Insight Award will honor the Garffs for the work they have done to improve government, education and community life, the Utah Foundation said in announcing the honor. Katherine Garff is a former board member for the Utah State board of education and is currently a member of the National Advisory Board for the David Eccles School of Business. Bob Garff’s contributions as former speaker for the House of Representatives and philanthropic work for education and the University of Utah were a display of his dedication to the community, the foundationsaid.

Together, the Garffs established the Success in Education Foundation to provide Utah students a pathway to college through literacy, technology, mentoring programs, scholarships and internships.

As chairwoman of Ken Garff Automotive Group, Kathi Garff has continued the Ken Garff legacy by supporting small business and communities in need. As an extension of Garff’s well-known “We Hear You” campaign, which has run for years, the “We’re Hear for You” initiative began in 2020 to help those in need during the pandemic. To date, the compnay has completed over 150 projects throughout the community, providing services to those in need.

The keynote speaker for the luncheon will be the education innovator Michael B. Horn. Horn is the co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a nonprofit think tank. He is the author of a new book, From Reopen to Reinvent: (Re)creating School for Every Child, released in July.{/mprestriction}