User:Mayor Ray Martinez
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Ray Martinez is dedicated to the Fort Collins, Colorado community in which he grew up and has over 30 years experience in public service, after serving three years in the United States Army in Thailand and stateside duty -- also earning the Army Commendation Medal. He began his career in the Fort Collins’ Police department in 1974. During his tenure, he worked closely with Hispanic community leaders, youth and athletes to improve the relationships between the community and the Police. He also became an expert witness in the field of identification, recognition, and investigation of dangerous drugs. Mr. Martinez was the lead investigator in an international terrorist investigation involving the attempted assassination of a Libyan student. The magnitude of this criminal episode is the subject of two published books: “Death Merchant” by Joseph Goulden and “Man Hunt” by Peter Maas. Mr. Martinez was the first Hispanic Sergeant in Fort Collins police service (appointed 1982) and retired from Police service in 1996 after twenty-five years of law enforcement service.
Public safety is one of the primary concerns of Mr. Martinez. He was dedicated to it as a police officer; it was the subject of his first book; and, as Mayor he served on two public safety boards. The United States conference of Mayors appointed Mayor Ray Martinez as Co-Chair of the Mayors and Police Chiefs Committee for the year 2002. He also sat on the National League of Cities Steering Committee for Public Safety and Crime Prevention. Mayor Martinez was elected to the Advisory Board of the United States Conference of Mayors in June 2003. In May 1997, Ray Martinez was a nominee for the Nineteenth Annual Conrad L. Ball Award and recognized for “Outstanding Contribution to the Quality of Justice” presented by the Larimer County Community Corrections Board. Mr. Martinez is an active member of several local advisory boards. With a particular interest in working with youth, he co-founded an organization known as “Neighborhoods United.” Volunteers work directly with “at risk” youth to provide them with positive educational and recreational experiences and activities that will unite these young people with their neighborhoods and the community. Since 1988, Mr. Martinez has served as Chapter Advisor for the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Colorado State University. He was selected as Regional Chapter Advisor of the Year (1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999), as the quarterly National Chapter Advisor of the Year (1997), and Colorado State University’s Greek Chapter Advisor of the Year (2000).
Other community boards on which Mr. Martinez serves or has served include:
• Centennial Chapter of the American Red Cross • Larimer County Office on Aging Advisory Council (term ended December 2005) • Partners Advisory Board of Directors • Team Fort Collins Advisory Council • Neighborhoods United • Poudre High School Foundation Board of Directors • The School Effectiveness Team (SET) at Poudre High School • The School Improvement Team (SIT) at Lincoln Junior High School • Colorado Youth Corps Association • Governor Owens' appointment as Chair of the Minority Business Advisory Council • The Northern Colorado Community Foundation Board of Directors • CSU Distinguished Member of “The National Society of Collegiate Scholars” for Outstanding Scholarship, Leadership and Service on April 13, 2001. • Member and past Chair of the Colorado Municipal League Policy Committee, and a member of the Crime Prevention steering committee • Downtown Development Authority Board (alternate) • Poudre Fire Authority Board of Directors • Chaired the Longs Peak Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Breakfast Fund Raising Event (2002) • Institute of Business and Medical Careers (IBMC) Advisory Board – Paralegal Division (November 2003) • The Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors of Fort Collins, Loveland, and Wellington • Northern Colorado Alzheimer Association Advisory Board (effective January 1, 2006) • Larimer County Crime Stoppers Board of Directors (effective March 1, 2006) • Open Door Mission Advisory Board • Honorary Chairperson for the Fort Collins Character Council Advisory Board • National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Board of Director member • Governor of New Mexico, Acting Governor Mary Herrera, awarded “Colonel Aide-De-Camp of the Governor of the State of New Mexico” on February 26, 2007 • Gideon member, President of the Fort Collins South Camp as of June 1, 2007 http://www.gideons.org
On January 11, 2003, Mayor Ray Martinez was appointed to the Board of Directors for Capitolwatch in Washington DC. This organization has access and contacts with the U.S. Senate, The House of Representatives, and the White House. Capitolwatch focuses their attention on national issues surrounding education, agriculture, Medicare, Hispanic affairs, and other Midwest financial issues. January 2004 – December 2005, Mayor Martinez was appointed to the Defense Advisory Board for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ( http://www.ESGR.COM ).
Mr. Martinez is also a writer. He has published two books. The first is titled A Matter of Survival: Your Fight against Burglars. His most recent book is titled Saturday’s Opinion. His third book is coming in 2007, titled Baby Boy-R, a true story about finding his biological family after 54 years. In addition, he wrote a weekly column for nearly two years for the local newspaper that addressed a wide range of subjects. Most of his stories are on his website: http://www.raymartinez.com . He currently is the host of a Saturday afternoon two hour talk radio show on KFKA Radio, 1310 AM called Saturday’s Opinion ( http://www.1310KFKA.com )
While Mr. Martinez has written about others, he is featured in a book about notable men in northern Colorado. In 2002 Arlene Ahlbrandt, an historical author who has written several books, published “101 Memorable Men of Northern Colorado”, which Ray Martinez was recognized as one of the 101 memorable men.
Mayor Martinez was elected to office in 1999, and reelected in 2001 and 2003. He maintained a rigorous schedule of meetings with citizens and community groups. He previously served on the City Council’s Legislative Review Committee and was on the Board of Directors of the Platt River Power Authority. We believe he is the first mayor in the nation to use “online-chat” on the Internet to communicate with citizens on a monthly basis. Additionally, he used to hold monthly public meetings in various parts of town, i.e. coffee shops, restaurants, banks, and The Senior Center.
In September 2001, Mayor Martinez spearheaded a community commitment to establish Fort Collins as a City of Character. The City Council approved a resolution initiating this effort. At the same time, the Larimer County Board of Commissioners and the Poudre School District Board of Education endorsed the character initiative by also approving resolutions and committing their organizations to building character. Since, Colorado State University has initiated the character initiative and created their own website: http://www.campusofcharacter.colostate.edu/
On October 5, 2002 Mayor Martinez was one of five people in Colorado honored by the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for Leadership, Professionalism, Pride and Unity as a “first in his field”—a pioneer of Fort Collins and the State of Colorado.
Mayor Martinez left office in April 2005 because of term limitations. He currently is the Director of Business Development for ITX, located at 2120 S. College Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80525 (www.itxfc.com).
