The Only Dealer Downtown! Stop in today for a great deal on Chevrolet cars, trucks and SUV's Looking through Marsh Supermarkets' regulatory filings recently reminded me of those late-night television commercials. You know, the ones where the announcer says, "Wait! There's more!"

That's what I kept thinking as I worked my way through the details of the Marsh executives' severance packages. They will kick in Wednesday as Florida- based Sun Capital takes control of the company run for 75 years by Marsh family members.It's the end of an era, but judging from the public filings it's the perpetuation of another: generous golden parachutes for top executives. By their own estimate, eight Marsh executives, including brothers Don and Bill Marsh, will get $8.9 million in severance pay. Senior execs will get another $4.8 million in supplemental retirement pay.All told, it's 15 percent of the $88.7 million value the stock market placed on Marsh. Now, consider this: If the executives of gigantic local health insurance company WellPoint had such a generous plan, they would divvy up $7.3 billion."How'd you like to have a pink slip that's (equal to) 15 percent of the company's value?" asked Matt Will, a finance professor at the University of Indianapolis. "Not too many people are so generously rewarded for underperforming in the job."The goodies include a payment equal to three years of salary and bonus. For Don, for instance, that's nearly $4.5 million. Then they get six years' worth of insurance that protects them from lawsuits against the company.Wait! There's more! The execs and their spouses get free medical benefits for the rest of their lives. They get life insurance for three years. And then they get cash bonuses to pay the taxes associated with those policies.That deal's sweeter than the sugar in Aisle 7.But wait, there's more to Marsh than the golden parachutes.Marsh long has set the supermarket standard in Central Indiana. When a Marsh clerk passed a pack of gum over a scanner more than 30 years ago, the chain was literally years ahead of its competitors.Marsh also is synonymous with good corporate citizenship. Many of its generous sponsorships are well-known through advertising. What's not so well known: Without Marsh and a few other local corporations, it's quite possible there would be no Circle Centre mall.Unfortunately, competitors -- especially the big-box types -- caught up with Marsh. A company once admired for its ability to show others the future seemed to lose its way.It tried to compete head-on by building huge new stores, but Marsh didn't have the financial might to sustain the effort. By late last year, bankruptcy seemed possible. The ruling family was wracked by a divorce and, in February, three of Don's sons were sacked as the company readied itself for a sale.By selling to Sun Capital, Marsh execs have given the company its best chance to remain in business. Most other buyers likely would have sold it in pieces to reap a quick profit.Marsh managers have feathered their nests nicely, no doubt, but they also have made sure there's still more for grocery shoppers in Central Indiana.

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