Larry Wolfe
A Michigan native, Dave Martin was born in Detroit and grew up in nearby Royal Oak where he graduated from Kimball High School. He was a three-sport star for the Kimball Knights as a member of their football, track and baseball teams.
Shortly after graduating, Dave was drafted into the Army and served three years of active duty and two years in the reserves. Most of his Army time was spent in Germany. Since he was unattached at the time, Dave took the opportunity to really see Europe while stationed overseas. Instead of returning home each year, he bought EuroRail passes and did two 30-day sightseeing tours throughout the European continent. He also got to see part of the 1972 Olympics in Munich. After completing his Army obligations, he decided to join the Navy and ended up stationed in San Diego for two years – not a bad assignment! His duties included operating the diving bell on diving support vessels (I wonder who he roots for in the Army-Navy football game).
Dave remained in San Diego after completing his Navy tour of duty and worked in civil service for the city for about 10 years. It was during this time that he met his lovely wife, Kay. They married in 1980 and relocated to Flagstaff the next year where Dave had a job opportunity with Hostess Brands, the wholesale bakery company. He worked in the Flagstaff area for eight years before transferring to Chandler in 1989. He progressed from route driver/deliveryman to District Manager over the years.
In 2004 Dave joined Flowers Foods which owns many major bakery brands including Wonder Bread, Nature’s Own and Home Pride among others. Dave is Director of Marketing and is responsible for the company’s three major accounts: Circle K, Fry’s Food Stores and Wal-Mart. As a part of his duties, he’s in charge of all promotions and in-store displays at those area stores.
Dave got his first baseball glove at age five and has been playing some form of the game ever since. He played every level of youth baseball through American Legion, and then played fast pitch softball while he was in the services and later in San Diego. He’s played in our Sun Lakes league for several years and also plays with the “youngsters” in the Chandler City Leagues. He says he’s the “dinosaur” of his Chandler team since the majority of his teammates are in their 20s and 30s. He’s usually a top ten hitter in our league. Dave’s also a key member of the Desert Bats, the 65 plus AAA champion travel team.
Since both Dave and Kay are still working, they don’t have a lot of free time. Kay is a special needs teacher in the Kyrene school district while Dave is still with Flowers Foods. They do, however, enjoy spending time with their two daughters and visiting family back in Michigan and San Diego, especially when it’s 110 degrees here!