Mr. Richard (Dick) J. Garber
Mr. Richard (Dick) J. Garber is the President of Garber Management Group, and
the third-generation owner of Garber Buick in Saginaw, MI. He is a lifelong
Saginaw resident and has been an active participant and contributor to numerous
community organizations and non-profits in the Great Lakes Bay Region. For
decades he has been providing leadership, service and financial contributions, but
it’s the Saginaw Spirit Hockey Club and it’s 22-year journey to become the CHL
Memorial Cup Champions in 2024 that makes Dick Garber a long overdue
member of the esteemed Saginaw Sports Hall of Fame.
Outside of the enormous success in the automotive industry, a unique opportunity
arose in 2002 for Dick to make a further contribution to the community, this time in
the sports arena. At the encouragement of Hockey Legend Wren Blair and former
Saginaw Mayor Paul Wendler, he became owner and Governor of an Ontario
Hockey League (OHL) franchise, now known as the Saginaw Spirit, which is in its
23rd season at the Dow Event Center in Saginaw. With decades of extensive
promotions in the Great Lakes Bay Region area, the Spirit have increased both
their fan base and season ticket-holder numbers. Since then, nearly 2.5 million fans
have enjoyed the excitement of world-class hockey and sports entertainment in the
region. The Spirit have one of the highest attendance rates in the Ontario Hockey
League. On December 29, 2013, the Saginaw Spirit and the Windsor Spitfire played
the first ever outdoor game in Ontario Hockey League history.
That success on and off the ice by the Saginaw Spirit team has made the
organization a destination place for young hockey players that aspire to play in the
NHL. The Spirit have been recognized by the CHL with 2 OHL Executive of the
Year Awards (Craig Goslin), Top Rookie, Top Humanitarian, Top Coach of the
Year, Top Scorer, and more. Most importantly this culture of winning has also
developed 29 former players that have gone on to NHL careers and 3 players
drafted in the first round of the NHL draft.
This culture all led to the CHL awarding the Saginaw Spirit host of the coveted
Memorial Cup in 2024. That berth led to the Spirit’s first championship since the
franchise moved to Saginaw in 2002 and became only the third American team to
win the Memorial Cup in the 105 year history of the Championship. When
interviewed about being recognized by the Saginaw Sports Hall of Fame, Dick
responded “I am truly honored and think the Saginaw Spirit is very deserving of
recognition but others did the work to make it so successful and I know that in my
heart”.
On a personal sports note, Dick Garber has won more than 10 team/individual golf
tournaments across the Saginaw area.
Dick Garber is married to wife Lisa and is the father to three wonderful children,
Laura (Jon) Kleeman, Annie, and RJ and grandson James.