In 1982, Al Martinez received a letter while sitting in the
small office of the San Benito County Economic Development Corp.,
an organization formed 3-1/2 years before and operating on what he
wryly observed as,
”
No money, almost no facilities and no staff.
”
In 1982, Al Martinez received a letter while sitting in the small office of the San Benito County Economic Development Corp., an organization formed 3-1/2 years before and operating on what he wryly observed as, “No money, almost no facilities and no staff.”
He was so busy that he shelved the letter without really paying attention to it. But when he received another from the same source, he happened to have a moment to appreciate how a huge opportunity was being offered to the EDC over which he presided.
The letter was from a consultant funded through La Raza, which had been spreading money at that time to Latino organizations. Because of the ethnic makeup of San Benito County, and the EDC’s goal of reducing double-digit inflation, the consultant was offering to come and help set up a nonprofit that would greatly benefit business and industry in Hollister.
“I called her and said that her letter was like a blessing from heaven, and I asked her to come and meet with us as soon as possible,” recalled Martinez, as he sat back recently thinking of his coming retirement as executive director from the organization solidified by the letter written to him so long ago.
For a generation, Martinez has acted as a liaison between public and private interests regarding business and industry. Sometimes his duties have been specific to an event, such as when he met with every business owner in the county following the Loma Prieta earthquake to find out the extent of their needs. His duties, however, generally include enticing large businesses to here, then fostering their growth and meeting with existing and potential small business owners to guide them through complicated processes such as zoning and proper permitting.
“Al tells them where to go and what to do to be successful,” said George Lewis, EDC president.
Martinez also serves as the incorporater for the EDC, making sure that the organization – and businesses it supports – comply with federal and state regulations and stay on the correct side of the IRS.
Martinez has contributed a lifetime of public service throughout his life in California, and particularly during his 30 years in Hollister.
One of Martinez’s last duties before retirement is to help other members of the EDC hire his successor.
“A new era is starting in Hollister,” Lewis said. “But it was Al who brought us to this point, ready to move forward.”
Born in Compton, Martinez began working in manufacturing plants at a fairly early age. As time went by, he got involved with the local chamber of commerce as a company representative. At this same time, he was volunteering with community organizations such Lockheed Martin in San Jose. The grueling commute left little time for civic duties, so in 1978 when he was offered the opportunity to work managing a manufacturing plant in Hollister, he jumped at the opportunity.
“When I came here there was really not much in the industrial park,” recalls Martinez. “I took a job managing the Kinnear Manufacturing Plant, and I remember telling my wife that I wanted to really get involved in the business and industry community.”
Martinez spent six years working with the local chamber of commerce and eventually became its president. He also headed as many as four nonprofits at a time during those early days. After 10 years, Kinnear closed the plant and moved out of town. This was formative for Martinez, causing him to begin really thinking about attracting new industry and business here, and fostering growth for them that would result in their remaining in Hollister indefinitely.
At that time, he and many like-minded Hollister residents were forming an economic development corporation to combat the perpetual state of high unemployment rates in this area. They formed a loose organization with little money and little space, with Martinez as president. This was the time that the letter arrived, and soon the consultant was on the scene.
“She showed us how to get the nonprofit together, all the by-laws and getting a board of directors together, hiring a lawyer and all the other details that go into making something like this run correctly,” said Martinez. “Then we brought in this economic development guru to talk at public meetings in Hollister in order to get the public’s support for us to be a strong public corporation. At his advice we got a grant and had a study done to see what was needed in our community, and what would be successful.
“We learned not to try for companies like Microsoft, they were going to go somewhere else. We learned that we needed to accept any business, just get it in here and then help it grow.”
Once all of this was done, Martinez and the rest of the committee began bringing in industry. As success stories, Martinez listed Milgard Manufacturing, which came in and twice relocated to larger sites before building a factory, and West Marine, which the EDC wooed from their Watsonville office, completing a building for them to move into in just six months. He also is proud of Marich Confectionery, which also came from Watsonville, eventually expanding their operation in Hollister to twice the original size, and Corbin Motors, which settled in well after coming here from Castroville.
He also has been dedicated to recruiting small business here – not just larger operations, Lewis said.
“He is the one that makes a smooth and easy path for people to follow, so they can open their small business,” said Lewis. “He has been instrumental in the success of so many of these places.”
And now, as Lewis noted, San Benito County is ready for a new level of economic progress.
Asked whether the search for a new EDC director should be kept local, Martinez replied: “No, we want the best professional in the nation, someone who has done this before and is ready to take this to new places, to a new level. And it doesn’t bother me that this individual will be paid a lot more than I am. That money is coming from everywhere, $50,000 from the county, the city and state getting involved.”
Martinez sat back and drew an imaginary line on the table and said softly: “It’s like this is the line where we are now, and we started way back behind it. All that space in between is what we did in the last 30 years … and the new executive director is going to take off from that place we are at now with a new professional style and approach. It will be good for Hollister.”
