Rob Marsh was introduced Tuesday as the new CEO and executive director of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, which hosts the annual Price Cutter Charity Championship.
He has worked 27 years with Springfield-based Pyramid Foods, which runs Price Cutter Supermarkets. His title is chief operating officer.
He will start the new job Jan. 6.
The 1991 graduate of Kickapoo High School has long been connected with Hall of Fame and PGA golf tournament. He was has long served on the governing board and was given the President’s Award in 2021.
“I can think of no one who is more qualified to take on this leadership role than Rob,” said interim director Jerald Andrews.
Andrews added: “He’s got the heart to do this and I’m so pleased that he is willing to step and take this on.”
Marsh takes over at a time of financial uncertainty for the hall and golf tournament. Short on money, the PCCC did not distribute funds owed to more than 40 charities in late November, as expected.
The situation led to the resignation of CEO and executive director Byron Shive and the part-time return of Andrews, who led the hall for 27 years before retiring in 2022.
“I’ve been so involved with the tournament and the Hall of Fame for so many years and helping the kids and the charities, that is just a huge passion of mine,” Marsh said Tuesday.
He said once alerted of the problem, he immediately called to offer his help.
“We dove right in. There was just no way I was going to…let this go down, too many legends, too many historic figures have been honored and then the impact that this has had on the community,” he said.
Marsh said he combed through 10 years of financial records to figure out “what worked, what went wrong and what we can do better.”
He plans to put together a plan for generating revenue and cutting expenses. “If you know the grocery business, you watch your pennies.”
“There’s going to be a lot of negotiations on…both sides of the revenue and the expenses to make thing the most profitable we can and keep sharing the the wealth,” he said.
Marsh worked at Smitty’s and Albertson’s. An assistant manager at Price Cutter, he was repeatedly promoted. He was the district manager, director of planning and development, and then director of operations and vice president of sales and merchandising with the company.
Dan Nelson, chair of the Hall of Fame board, praised the insight Marsh has into the operations of the Hall of Fame and golf tournament.
“His business acumen and relationships in the community will be instrumental in our organization’s future success,” he said.
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After the event Tuesday, Nelson noted the governing board was unanimous in its support of Marsh taking over the top job. He referred to the hiring of Marsh as finding the “right guy at the right time.”
“The sacrifice he’s making to come and do this speaks to the kind of person he is. He really believes in this organization and, as he said, he went back and look at the historical financials,” Nelson told the News-Leader. “This wasn’t a decision he made lightly.”
Nelson added: “He has a deep belief that we can get back to where we need to be, meet all of our obligations, and be successful and be an important part of this community — that we have been for almost 30 years.”
The Form 990, which nonprofits are required for file as part of their federal tax-exempt status, showed Andrews was making $413,305 in 2022, an amount Nelson has defended as “performance based.” Shive’s pay in the top spot was not disclosed.
In early December, Nelson said compensation was going to be reviewed before the next leader was hired.
Asked Tuesday how much Marsh will be paid, Nelson said: “I’m not going to give specifics because it’s a personnel matter but it has been restructured.”
He added: “Rob asked for a specific amount. We talked about it. We came to an agreement. He’s happy, we’re happy.”
Andrews, who is being paid an hourly rate as the interim, said he will continue to be involved, as needed, through the transition.
