Garten is president of Signature Countertops, which has a showroom in Jeffersonville on Fabricon Blvd. Their manufacturing facility is in Scottsburg. Garten, who served as a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marine Corps reserves for 14 years and just recently transferred to the inactive ready reserve, said his philosophy stems from something a commanding officer taught him.“ One of the best commanding officers I ever served for gave me this advice, he said‘ It doesn’ t matter what industry or business you are in, it’ s all about people. Always serve other first first and the rest takes care of itself.”

Signature Countertops, Inc. celebrated its 10-year anniversary on March 1. The company is a natural stone manufacturing and installing company.“ Our core products are countertops, shower surrounds, and vanities,” Garten said. In addition to granite, they also specialize in Marble, Quartzites, Soapstone, and many brands of quartz including LG Viatera, Silestone, Caesarstone, Colorquartz, and Hanstone just to name a few.“ We import directly from granite quarries in Brazil, Italy, and China,” he added. He added that there are two things that set them apart from their competitors:“ The first is our unwavering commitment to our clients. If you choose to do business with us, we take that very seriously and we are committed to the relationship long term. The other is our team. Our team has been through some of the industry’ s most high level training thanks in part to a few industry associations: the Marble Institute of American and the Stone Fabricators Alliance.”

Signature’ s showroom has as shock and awe effect that will stun the senses and encourage the most creative design ideas. It also has a kid’ s play area with artificial turf and a slide.“ It has to do with taking care of families and our clients. We want them to feel comfortable bringing their kids while they look around the showroom,” he explained.“ It is about serving and focusing on the needs of the family right from the very start of the process.”

Garten said there is about 6,000 square feet, including inventory.“ We probably warehouse about 500 more slabs at any given time.”

Signature Countertops has completed projects in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky.

The company currently employees 22 people.“ We call them team members at Signature. We don’ t use the word employee at our company. They are either team members or family members and that is it. It is all about putting people first,” he said.“ We believe in growing our team through accountability, extensive training, and leadership by example.”

Garten also said his company gives back to the community through organizations such as the Kiwanis program and United Way. Signature