By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com
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The duty of broadcasters, Cleburne businessman George Marti said he believes, is to help others.
“If you are not helping people, you are not doing your job,” Marti said.
It’s a sentiment Marti employed not only during his broadcasting career but also during his days in the Marine Corps, as mayor of Cleburne and in his present work with the Marti Foundation.
Although the night focused on his broadcasting career, those and other achievements were touted Aug. 12 at the Texas Association of Broadcasters 57th Annual Convention and Trade Show in Austin at which Marti was presented TAB’s Lifetime Achievement award.
This year’s ceremony marked only the second time TAB has bestowed such an honor.
“Everyone in broadcasting knows the name Marti,” a TAB release of the event reads.
That is thanks to its association with remote broadcasting and studio transmitter links.
Marti’s invention revolutionized the industry.
“Before he designed and built the units and successfully lobbied the FCC to allow their use, radio stations had to use telephone lines that were expensive and not always reliable,” the TAB release reads. “[Marti’s invention made it possible that] small stations in remote areas could be operated and stay on the air while being controlled from a larger studio in another city.”
The recognition is the latest of numerous industry related awards Marti has received over the years. TAB named him Pioneer Broadcaster of the Year in 1991, the same year the National Association of Broadcasters awarded him their highest engineering honor.
In 2001, TAB awarded him the Legend of Texas Broadcasting Award. He was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2002. The Texas Association of Broadcast Educators named him Broadcaster of the Year earlier this year.
Marti credits his success with his grandmother’s suggestion, given to him when he was 12, that he formulate a business plan. From that suggestion, Marti decided to establish a radio station in Cleburne.
Marti went on to graduate Fort Worth’s Central High School, which later became Paschal High School, when he was 16 and continue on to technical school for nine months. He received his telephone First Class and Amateur Radio licenses just before his 17th birthday.
Stints at Fort Worth radio stations followed before Marti joined the Marines where he attended First Radar School at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C.
Marti founded Cleburne’s KCLE/AM in 1947. KCLE/FM followed two years later as did ownership of other stations in subsequent years. Marti sold KCLE in 1960 but still retains an interest in about 12 Texas radio stations.
During that time, Marti also owned and operated Marti Electronics. Equipment manufactured by the company could be found in more than 80 percent of the radio stations worldwide when Marti sold his company in 1994.
Marti said he feels there have been three major purposes to his life. The first being his time in the Marines where he saved lives with the communications systems he engineered during World War II. The second being his six terms as mayor of Cleburne. The last being the Marti Foundation, which funds scholarships to help Johnson County students attend college. Founded in the 1980s, the foundation has assisted more than 300 Johnson County students to receive degrees from colleges around the state.
John Barger, past president of TAB and a San Antonio radio station owner, said Marti’s shadow looms large over the industry.
“Texas broadcasters will always be indebted to George Marti for his ingenuity and his generosity,” Barger said. “His inventions revolutionized our industry, and he made the devices affordable for even small town radio operators.
“His Marti transmitters and receivers are still today an integral part of station operations, benefitting listeners and advertisers alike.”
