Marvin Windows and Doors president to speak April 7
Susan Marvin, president of Warroad, Minn.-based Marvin Windows and Doors, is the next speaker in the University of St. Thomas Alumni Association ’s First Friday Luncheon Series.
The luncheon begins at noon Friday, April 7, at The Depot, 225 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Marvin is a granddaughter of George Marvin, who in 1912 began the business as a lumber yard in tiny Warroad, on the shores of Lake of the Woods, just six miles south of the Canadian border. Today Warroad has about 1,700 residents, many of whom work at Marvin Windows and Doors, and second-, third- and fourth-generation Marvins – Susan’s siblings and 13 other family members including her father, William Marvin, and her uncle Jack Marvin – remain actively involved in what is still a family-owned business. The company’s 3,700 employees include 2,700 who commute as far as 90 miles, one way, to work at Marvin’s main manufacturing facility in Warroad.
President of Marvin Windows and Doors since October 1995, Susan Marvin joined the company in 1981 after earning a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota and working in marketing for American Hoist and Derrick Co. In the mid-1980s she moved into sales and marketing for Marvin. Today she also serves on Marvin’s board as well as the boards of Hormel Foods Corp. and Opus Corp. She also is a trustee of the University of Minnesota Foundation and served on the board of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce from 1992 to 1997, chairing the chamber board in 1995.
The largest made-to-order window and door manufacturer in the world, Marvin Windows and Doors distributes products throughout the United States, Canada, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. In February the company won its second Governor’s Award for Excellence in Waste and Pollution Prevention from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and has received other environmental accolades, including being one of the first to carry the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star label.
On first Fridays of each month during the academic year, the St. Thomas Alumni Association's First Friday Luncheon Series offers lunch and a speaker of current interest. St. Thomas alumni and friends, along with the general public, are invited. Cost of each luncheon and presentation is $25. A limited number of $10 student tickets are available at the St. Thomas Box Office.
Reservations for the April 7 luncheon are due Friday, March 31. Early reservations are recommended as these events fill quickly. For reservations and more information, call the St. Thomas Alumni Association, (651) 962-6430, or register online the association’s Web site, https://www.stthomas.edu/alumni.