Dave Martin said he opened the door to his only son to do whatever he wanted in life, where ever he wanted to do it.

But he couldn't be more pleased that Adam chose to return home to Butler County and work elbow-to-elbow with him running Martin Sales and Service.

“Everybody should have a son like I have,” Dave Martin said.

Adam, an avid outdoor enthusiast, spent a year living a different dream: He was a ski instructor in Utah.

Still in love with the sport, Adam, 28, said he'll probably return to that vocation in retirement. But until then, it's “family first.”

The business on Route 8, packed floor to ceiling with vacuum cleaners, sewing machines and home hearth products — new and in stages of repair— began even before Adam was born.

Dave opened the business in his home's basement after his employer, Bobbie Brooks in Butler, closed.

As Dave's business blossomed, it moved to a store front, and both Adam and older sister Heidi pitched in.

Growing up, Adam said he tried his hand at both selling and repairing the items for sale.

“I worked here since I was a little kid and all through high school,” Adam said. “When it's a family business, you do what you have to do.”

The business focused on vacuum cleaners and sewing machines until Dave decided to install a wood-burning stove in his own home.

He said at that time he had to drive to Pittsburgh to find a dealer and wondered why no one was selling them locally.

He added hearth products to the store in the early 1980s and today, the business' biggest seller is the 20 lines of stoves it carries, including gas, electric and pellet burning.

Adam said in the spring there is a plan to add on to the facility to showcase a new product line of outdoor room or “patio room” products, including outdoor furnaces and island grills.

“The trend is, people want a nice outdoor patio area instead of expanding their indoor living space,” Adam said.

While Adam is knowledgeable of sales and repairs, he does little of that. Instead, he focuses on financial, computer work, investments and marketing.

“The best part of my job is working with my family,” he said, noting that in addition to his father, his uncle and aunt work at the shop. “The worst part? The long hours ... When you own a business, you're always here. It's almost like a lifestyle. It's your business so you are concerned about every single aspect of it.”

Still, Adam said he makes time for regular outings to ski in Vermont and rock climb in Moab. He also water skis and wake boards using his own Centurian Wake Board Boat in the Allegheny River.

“I was skiing at age 2,” he said.

Adam, a Butler High School graduate, earned a degree in business and economics from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005. But his first, post-graduation job was as a ski instructor at Deer Valley resort in Park City, Utah.

Adam returned to Butler County in 2007 to pick up what his father had started with the family business.

“He grew this business from him alone to 10 employees,” Adam said with pride.

Since returning, Adam bought a house in Butler Township and proposed to Kendall Butch, 23. They'll marry April 30.

“The most important things in his life are his family and friends,” said his mother, Bonnie Martin.

Bonnie said she watched her son work his way up in the family business, starting as the “go-for” person, carrying heavy items and doing labor intensive jobs to where he is today.

She describes her son as kind, compassionate and humble.

Although she's happy to have Adam nearby, Bonnie said, “We did not want him to feel obligated to to follow in the family business. ... He once told me the Utah (ski instructor) job would be the perfect job ... if only I could bring my friends and family here.”

<B>Age:</B> 28<B>Address: </B>Butler Township<B>Family:</B> fiancee, Kendall Butch; parents Dave and Bonnie Martin; and sister Heidi Martin<B>Employment: </B>CFO at Martin Sales and Service<B>Education: </B>Graduate of Butler High School and the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in business and economics<B>Interests: </B>Snow and water skiing, rock climbing, wake boarding<B>Quote: </B>“When you own a business, you're always here. It's almost like a lifestyle. It's your business so you are concerned about every single aspect of it.”