Mark Freeman President & CEO

Mark grew up on an almond ranch in Madera, California, where he learned the value of hard work from his father - an almond farmer and career Highway Patrol Officer. Mark and his wife, Lynnette, met in Bible College and after they were married they settled in the Central Valley. Mark spent several years as a heavy equipment operator running and repairing scrapers. After constructing a few custom-built fireplaces for family and friends, Mark decided to start a business manufacturing wood stoves and fireplace inserts. Over 30 years later Mark is proud to have a family business that warms thousands of homes each year. Mark appreciates the loyalty and faithfulness that he sees at work and in life. A scripture verse that Mark loves is 2 Chronicles 16:9, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong to those whose hearts are loyal to Him."

Lynnette Freeman Co-Owner

A native of the Northwest, Lynnette was born in Seattle and grew up near Lake Washington in Bellevue. She attended Western Baptist Bible College in Salem, Oregon where she happily received her MRS. degree on September 3rd, 1976 when she married Mark. While raising their 3 children, Lynnette has worked in the family business, shipping, accounting and she even spending some time in the assembly department. Now she spends time traveling with Mark on sales trips and really enjoys getting out and visiting with local stove shops. At home, Lynnette enjoys flower gardening and spending her summers with the Grandkids. Lynnette values a good listener because it shows that a person really cares.

Jack Freeman Operations Manager

Jack grew up in the family business and remembers helping his dad install security doors and wrought iron fencing during the slow summer months. In 2000, after earning his Associates degree from Moody Bible Institute, Jack joined the Kuma team full-time as a welder. Jack spent 10 years building wood stoves and is now the Production Manager for the company. Jack and his wife, Lisa, have 2 young daughters who love camping and boating on the beautiful lakes of North Idaho. Jack also enjoys backyard BBQ on the Kuma Platinum Pellet Grill and creates some of the recipes available on the Kuma blog, Hot Topics.

Jason Freeman Technical Support and Engineering

Jason’s first memories of working at Kuma are floor sweeping and other clean-up jobs. After graduating high school, Jason’s jobs included some automotive repair and a summer job with the state of Idaho. His job while working for the state was part of a project to turn retired military vehicles into rural fire trucks. Jason joined Kuma full-time in 1997 as a welder and as an NFI certified installer. As Kuma continued to grow, Jason moved into customer service, sales, and technical support. Today, Jason provides the lead technical support for Kuma, and with some 3D CAD training, contributes to product development. Jason and his wife Rachel have 3 children: Jonathan, Bailey, and Alijah.

Tim Franey Sales Department

Tim is Mark's son-in-law, hunting partner, and resident comedian here at Kuma Stoves. When asked about working at Kuma, Tim said he is so excited to come to work every day that he only gets 2 hours of sleep a night..... then he gets about 6 more early the next morning. Tim loves being involved with a product that will warm people's homes for a lifetime and has been hard at it for more than 15 years. Tim and his wife, Lisa, have 3 children, Dahlia, Daisy, and Honor. In life, Tim values the kindness that he sees in others and believes that "It's not what you say you believe - It's what you do, you believe".

Doug Riffle Fabrication Department Lead

Born in Longview Texas, Doug came from a military family that moved around the country before settling in the North Idaho area. After working as a residential electrician for 11 years, Doug joined the Kuma team in the fall of 2005 and has worked his way up to the head of the fabrication and welding department. Doug is a proficient welder and CNC press brake and Laser Operator. Doug enjoys the good attitudes that he encounters every day working at Kuma Stoves. Doug and his lovely wife, Elizabeth, have 3 young boys who enjoy camping, swimming, and biking in the outdoors of North Idaho. In his downtime, Doug can be found reading or enjoying classic war movies such as Where Eagles Dare.

Rachel Freeman Customer Service and Acounting

An Idaho resident and a Freeman for nearly 1/2 her life, Rachel has worked in the office here at Kuma for almost 6 years. She oversees a variety of office tasks including bill payments, rep reporting, and credit management. Laughter rings out much more frequently on this side of the building now that she has a partner in crime in the accounting sector. Rachel likes the positive environment she sees every day at Kuma and she believes that anything worth doing is worth doing right. After work, she enjoys hanging out with her 3 "too old" kids, running, or reading.

Jason Mobeck Assembly Technician

Jason was born in Florsheim, Germany to Chad & Andrea, who were in the Air Force. He spent his early life in California before moving to Northern Idaho. Jason enjoys nothing more than spending time with his two sons, Calix & Lukai. He frequently takes his two dogs, Django and Diablo, for hikes all over the Coeur d' Alene area and beyond. Jason has been with Kuma every calendar year since 2009 as a welder and a final assembly technician.

Josh Darrow Paint Technician

Josh works in the finishing department for Kuma Stoves, where he has worked off and on for 3 years. He is currently working on completion of his Bachelor's degree in Sports Medicine from The Master's University. Even with a lot on his plate, he shows himself to be thoughtful and attentive to every job that he encounters at Kuma.

DJ Darrow Fabricator/Welder

The oldest of 9 children, DJ knows that you have to take time to enjoy the simple things in life. For DJ and his wife, Cameo, the simple things are anything outdoors - from hunting and shooting to fishing and backpacking. DJ has 5 years of fabrication experience working as a Die-Setter and Machinist Apprentice. In 2015, DJ joined the Kuma team as a stove builder and has discovered a real passion for welding. When DJ's life is made into a movie, his character will be eating a lot of wild game, blowing stuff up, and will probably be played by Jason Statham.

Daniel Mobeck Finishing Lead

Daniel came to Kuma after working in North Dakota at a warehouse and on an oil rig. He has been employed at Kuma for 2 1/2 years and has worked up to the lead position in the finishing department. When he’s not overseeing the finishing touches on Kuma products, you’ll probably find Daniel on the baseball field, basketball court, or out swimming. It’s no surprise then, that his mantra is “Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game”.