Mart Green
Mart Green began his retail career in the home of his parents as a youth. With $600 his family started Hobby Lobby in their living room, now a chain of over 400 hobby, arts and crafts stores. At 19, Mart established Mardel, a chain of Christian and educational supply stores. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Mardel has 31 stores in six states.
January 2005, Christian Retailing named Mart Green one of the Top Fifty People who have most impacted and shaped Christian retailing in the last half century.
July 2008, CBA awarded Mardel the 2008 Jim Carlson Christian Bookstore of the Year Award.
In addition to growing his business, Mart is Founder and CEO of Bearing Fruit Communications. He was Commissioned for this purpose at a June 1998 meeting of the North American Forum of Bible Agencies. Bearing Fruit Communications produced the documentary Beyond the Gates of Splendor. It won two awards: the 2002 Heartland Film Festival "Crystal Heart Award," and the 2004 Palm Beach International Film Festival "Audience Favorite Documentary Feature Award."
Bearing Fruit Communications recently changed its name to EthnoGraphic Media (EGM), a non-profit Scripture engagement company charged with “creating media to excite young people about living the Bible.” EGM’s current productions address today’s issues: Miss HIV, The Grandfathers and Columbine Everywhere.
June 2002, visionary Green founded and is Executive Producer/CEO for Every Tribe Entertainment, a feature film production company. Their movie End of the Spear released to theaters in January 2006 and won the "Grand Prize Award" at The Heartland Film Festival. In May 2007 the soundtrack won the "Dove Award for Instrumental Album." Millions in the U.S. viewed End of the Spear with great impact, and it is now being shown in many countries around the world.
With Mart's outstanding success in retail, he brings sound business sense and a strong commitment to the story in each of the films. “This Book is Alive” best describes Mart’s motto. His passion is to shape culture through the true stories we tell through film.
January 2008 Mart went on another adventure as he became Board Chair of the Board of Trustees at Oral Roberts University (ORU). ORU was one of five institutions to be selected for the 2007 Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) Award for Institutional Progress in Student Learning Outcomes. CHEA is an association of 3000 degree granting colleges and universities.