Matt Armon, of Armon Decorating stands in front of a paint color display in his store in its current location at the corner of Sixth and Main Streets in downtown Blue Earth.

In 1938, a man named Charlie Armon came from the great state of Iowa to begin a new chapter in his life. He started a business out of his home in a little town called Blue Earth, Minnesota. Charlie began a career as a steeple jack and started painting church steeples.

Little did Charlie know that his business would still be blossoming 80 years later.

In 1949, Charlie’s son, Ted, joined the team and their family business expanded and became “Armon & Son Painting and Decorating.”

The duo not only continued with steeple work, but added exterior painting with a full crew to their repertoire. Their business boomed, allowing them to open a storefront on Blue Earth’s West Sixth Street.

Over the years, Ted took over and eventually, Charlie passed away.

Ted added his oldest son, Terry, to the list of partners of Armon Decorating and in 1969, Terry took over for his father Ted, who passed away.

The storefront moved in 1989 from Blue Earth’s South Main Street to its current North Main Street site, the old J.C. Penney building, where Eder’s Department Store once stood.

Terry ran the store with assistance from a painting team and a number of associates to help him. Then, in 2006, Matt Armon took over for his dad, Terry.

“The token paintbrush” was handed over from Terry to Matt, who is now the fourth generation of the Armon family to keep Armon Decorating moving forward into the future.

Matt Armon is a 2002 graduate of Blue Earth Area and received his degree in business management from Minnesota State University.

Now, 12 years later from receiving the token paintbrush from his father, Matt and his team of associates have received the Blue Earth Chamber of Commerce prestigious “Business of the Year” award.

The Chamber of Commerce reports there were a multitude of nominations for Armon Decorating as Business of the Year.

“Matt has put much time and effort into the updating and upgrading of the building with grant money from the Blue Earth EDA,” says Chamber director, Cindy Lyon. “He has replaced the old garage, the back entrance, and doors. He and his team take great pride in the business and Matt’s commitment as a young man in the community is noticeable.”

Other quotables from other nominations state Armon Decorating’s shop front display windows are always nicely done, especially during the winter which is set up for the Holiday Sampler and kept up well into the winter.

It is a multi-generation business and an anchor on Main Street.

The Armons started in a residential home and graduated into the South Main Street location and now are visible in their North Main Street location.

“It is truly a local, family, home-grown business that we are very proud of,” says Lyon.

“I was really surprised to find that out,” says Matt. “I didn’t even know I was nominated, let alone receiving the award. All I can say is that I am very honored.”

Now, Matt certainly doesn’t paint steeples, as Armon Decorating has changed quite a bit from 1938. Now, Matt has a team that helps to install carpet and still is the local supplier in the area for Benjamin Moore paints, as well as others, along with stock flooring materials located at the store at Sixth and Main.

“Stock floor treatments are available here, that just means if you are looking for something for your home, you are able to get it sooner rather than later, it’s readily available for you,”?says Matt. “We do floor coverings like carpet and hardwood. We still have paint, and we even do window treatments.”

He says that Armon Decorating has been in business for 80 years because of hard work and a good reputation for that work. Matt also says he would not be winning Business of the Year without his crew; which includes the flooring installation team of Mike Emmers and Mark Hassing, the window treatment knowledge from Anne Skaare, and the help of Pam Hunt who “knows pretty much everything” according to Matt.

Matt says the thing that really sets Armons apart from other similar companies within the area is their dedication to the community.

“We’ve obviously been here for quite a bit of time, and during that whole time we are sincerely committed to our community,” Matt explains. “We try to donate funds for benefits, along with any other opportunity to provide better opportunities to our community. Whoever comes in our door, we always try to help.”