Born April 18, 1954, [1] Martin grew up in Baytown, Texas and he attended Robert E. Lee High School and Lee College before entering the University of Texas at Austin. While majoring in Journalism (Public Relations) at the University of Texas (1972-1976) Martin was elected to the Texas Student Publications Board of Directors [2] also worked in the Texas Legislature for State Representative Joe Allen and interned for Congressman Robert C. Eckhardt in Washington, DC.
In 1976 Martin along with other partners co-founded Legi/Slate, [1] a very early computerized bill and vote tracking service for lobbyists to follow the actions of the Texas Legislature, and later expanded it to cover the United States Congress in 1978. In 1981 the partners sold Legi/Slate to The Washington Post Companyas part of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive who in turn sold the business in 1999 to the Congressional Quarterly. [3]
At the same time Martin also wrote and published a weekly newsletter on Texas government and politics, Texas Government Newsletter, [4] as well as writing and self-publishing the biennial A Voter’s Guide to the Texas Legislature. [5] [6]after each legislative session. The business was later sold to Thomas L. Whatley, [2] currently director of the House Research Organization.
In 1989 Martin founded Don Martin Public Affairs [7] in Austin, Texas,specializing in public affairs, public relations, crisis management, issues management, and media relations. In recent years the company added Online reputation management services. Over the years the firm has represented a number of high-profile clients, as well as small businesses and individuals, and managed numerous campaigns for political and business clients. [8] Clients include Dell, Tokyo Electron, Sun City Texas, Round Rock Express, Del Webb Corporation, TXU, Energy Future Holdings, U.S. Postal Service, AT&T Wireless, D.R. Horton, Southland Corporation, and Seton Family of Hospitals. Martin won the state Public Relations Association "Silver Spur Award" in 1997 for his work with Sun City Texas. [9] [10]
Re public campaigns: Martin was the 1991 co-manager (with Mimi Correa) of Bruce Todd's successful Austin mayoral campaign,.
[11] and general consultant for Todd’s successful 1994 re-election effort. Martin also managed the campaign for the
Austin Bergstrom International Airport referendum;
[12] the
Round Rock Express
Dell Diamond stadium referendum; and the
Round Rock, Texas city referendum to approve a half-cent sales tax dedicated to roads and transportation; and other referendum campaigns.
[13]
[14]
In 2001, Don Martin Public Affairs changed its name to Martin & Salinas Public Affairs [15] to reflect the firm's new partner Trey Salinas, a former aide to Mayor Todd. [16]. Also hired as a senior executive was Jed Buie, a senior partner in a competing PR firm. [17] The company spun-off a Hispanic marketing business called, Adelante Solutions, run by employee Paul Saldana. Martin sold his 51% interest in the company to Salinas in 2008 and reverted back to Don Martin Public Affairs. [18]
In addition to his public affairs business, Martin has also developed and co-developed Central Texas real estate projects with business partner Bill Smalling (1952-2008) over some 20 years. He and Smalling developed the 52-acre San Gabriel Village project, a "walk friendly" [19] in San Gabriel Village. [20] They also joint ventured with Larry Peel the development of 54 luxury condominium units overlooking the river.
Martin and Smalling [21] also developed the high profile, signature La Frontera project, [22] a 330 acre mixed-use, master-planned commercial center in Williamson County with more than 1,000,000 square feet (90,000 m2) of retail [23] including La Frontera Village, [24], three apartment complexes [25], multi-use offices [26] and corporate headquarters and is home to the 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) corporate headquarters of Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TGSL). [27]
The walkability and connections within the mixed-use development was an early form of New Urbanism.The project also includes Williamson County's only full service hotel, [28] the Austin North Marriott which provides space for large conferences, meetings and banquets - a first for the county and an important component of Round Rock's and Williamson County's economic development efforts.
The project was also among the first in the nation to pioneer a bundled utility concept in joint venture with TXU. [29]
Their financial partner in the La Frontera project was Fort Worth philanthropist and businessman Ed Bass. [30] [31]The project was located at the busy intersection of FM 1325 and Interstate 35 which later became Austin's first toll road, Texas SH 45 North. [32] Martin and Smalling purchased the land from dairy farmer Tom Kouri in 1999. [33] The project was completed in 2008 when all parcels had been sold [34] [35]
Several reviews of the book include:
[40]>
[41]
(Collecting postcards is called
Deltiology and postcards are the third most collected item behind stamps and coins).
Martin is a current member of the Seton Williamson Foundation Board of Trustees, part of the Seton Family of Hospitals. He founded the Austin Chamber of Commerce's Project Greenscape program, in the 1980's, dedicated to the restoration of the Texas State Capitol grounds, the planting of 50,000 trees in Austin, and the replacement of trees along Congress Avenue. [42] He has served on the Boards of Directors of the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA) Board, Executive Committee and Transportation Chair, The Nature Conservancy of Texas, Austin Board of Directors, [43] was Chair of Leadership Austin in 1991, [44] and served on boards of both the Georgetown [45] and Austin Chambers of Commerce, and many other boards.
He also led the effort and was a founder and Chair of the Northern Edwards Aquifer Resource Council (NEARC), a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of the Georgetown Salamander population, which later became the Williamson County Karst Foundation. [46] [47] These species would be preserved through voluntary donations of land rather than required setbacks and other involuntary means typically enforced on landowners without an incidental take permit. The group eventualy transferred their successful work on an Environmental Impact Statement to the county in 2002 and obtained a $2.3 million grant for the project. [48] A county-wide 10-A permit was obtained in October 2008. [49]
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Category:Public Affairs consultants Category:Public relations Category:Austin, Texas Category:Real estate and property developers
Born April 18, 1954, [1] Martin grew up in Baytown, Texas and he attended Robert E. Lee High School and Lee College before entering the University of Texas at Austin. While majoring in Journalism (Public Relations) at the University of Texas (1972-1976) Martin was elected to the Texas Student Publications Board of Directors [2] also worked in the Texas Legislature for State Representative Joe Allen and interned for Congressman Robert C. Eckhardt in Washington, DC.
In 1976 Martin along with other partners co-founded Legi/Slate, [1] a very early computerized bill and vote tracking service for lobbyists to follow the actions of the Texas Legislature, and later expanded it to cover the United States Congress in 1978. In 1981 the partners sold Legi/Slate to The Washington Post Companyas part of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive who in turn sold the business in 1999 to the Congressional Quarterly. [3]
At the same time Martin also wrote and published a weekly newsletter on Texas government and politics, Texas Government Newsletter, [4] as well as writing and self-publishing the biennial A Voter’s Guide to the Texas Legislature. [5] [6]after each legislative session. The business was later sold to Thomas L. Whatley, [2] currently director of the House Research Organization.
In 1989 Martin founded Don Martin Public Affairs [7] in Austin, Texas,specializing in public affairs, public relations, crisis management, issues management, and media relations. In recent years the company added Online reputation management services. Over the years the firm has represented a number of high-profile clients, as well as small businesses and individuals, and managed numerous campaigns for political and business clients. [8] Clients include Dell, Tokyo Electron, Sun City Texas, Round Rock Express, Del Webb Corporation, TXU, Energy Future Holdings, U.S. Postal Service, AT&T Wireless, D.R. Horton, Southland Corporation, and Seton Family of Hospitals. Martin won the state Public Relations Association "Silver Spur Award" in 1997 for his work with Sun City Texas. [9] [10]
Re public campaigns: Martin was the 1991 co-manager (with Mimi Correa) of Bruce Todd's successful Austin mayoral campaign,.
[11] and general consultant for Todd’s successful 1994 re-election effort. Martin also managed the campaign for the
Austin Bergstrom International Airport referendum;
[12] the
Round Rock Express
Dell Diamond stadium referendum; and the
Round Rock, Texas city referendum to approve a half-cent sales tax dedicated to roads and transportation; and other referendum campaigns.
[13]
[14]
In 2001, Don Martin Public Affairs changed its name to Martin & Salinas Public Affairs [15] to reflect the firm's new partner Trey Salinas, a former aide to Mayor Todd. [16]. Also hired as a senior executive was Jed Buie, a senior partner in a competing PR firm. [17] The company spun-off a Hispanic marketing business called, Adelante Solutions, run by employee Paul Saldana. Martin sold his 51% interest in the company to Salinas in 2008 and reverted back to Don Martin Public Affairs. [18]
In addition to his public affairs business, Martin has also developed and co-developed Central Texas real estate projects with business partner Bill Smalling (1952-2008) over some 20 years. He and Smalling developed the 52-acre San Gabriel Village project, a "walk friendly" [19] in San Gabriel Village. [20] They also joint ventured with Larry Peel the development of 54 luxury condominium units overlooking the river.
Martin and Smalling [21] also developed the high profile, signature La Frontera project, [22] a 330 acre mixed-use, master-planned commercial center in Williamson County with more than 1,000,000 square feet (90,000 m2) of retail [23] including La Frontera Village, [24], three apartment complexes [25], multi-use offices [26] and corporate headquarters and is home to the 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) corporate headquarters of Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TGSL). [27]
The walkability and connections within the mixed-use development was an early form of New Urbanism.The project also includes Williamson County's only full service hotel, [28] the Austin North Marriott which provides space for large conferences, meetings and banquets - a first for the county and an important component of Round Rock's and Williamson County's economic development efforts.
The project was also among the first in the nation to pioneer a bundled utility concept in joint venture with TXU. [29]
Their financial partner in the La Frontera project was Fort Worth philanthropist and businessman Ed Bass. [30] [31]The project was located at the busy intersection of FM 1325 and Interstate 35 which later became Austin's first toll road, Texas SH 45 North. [32] Martin and Smalling purchased the land from dairy farmer Tom Kouri in 1999. [33] The project was completed in 2008 when all parcels had been sold [34] [35]
Several reviews of the book include:
[40]>
[41]
(Collecting postcards is called
Deltiology and postcards are the third most collected item behind stamps and coins).
Martin is a current member of the Seton Williamson Foundation Board of Trustees, part of the Seton Family of Hospitals. He founded the Austin Chamber of Commerce's Project Greenscape program, in the 1980's, dedicated to the restoration of the Texas State Capitol grounds, the planting of 50,000 trees in Austin, and the replacement of trees along Congress Avenue. [42] He has served on the Boards of Directors of the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA) Board, Executive Committee and Transportation Chair, The Nature Conservancy of Texas, Austin Board of Directors, [43] was Chair of Leadership Austin in 1991, [44] and served on boards of both the Georgetown [45] and Austin Chambers of Commerce, and many other boards.
He also led the effort and was a founder and Chair of the Northern Edwards Aquifer Resource Council (NEARC), a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of the Georgetown Salamander population, which later became the Williamson County Karst Foundation. [46] [47] These species would be preserved through voluntary donations of land rather than required setbacks and other involuntary means typically enforced on landowners without an incidental take permit. The group eventualy transferred their successful work on an Environmental Impact Statement to the county in 2002 and obtained a $2.3 million grant for the project. [48] A county-wide 10-A permit was obtained in October 2008. [49]
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Category:Public Affairs consultants Category:Public relations Category:Austin, Texas Category:Real estate and property developers