Vin Martin, Esq, announced his retirement from the post of Jamaican Honorary Consul to Atlanta effective June 30, 2013. Mr. Martin has been the Honorary Consul here in Atlanta for over 16 years and has provided exemplary Consul Services during that time.
In his capacity as Honorary Consul, he provided passport and ancillary services to the estimated 45,000 Jamaicans living in Georgia and the neighboring states of Alabama, North and South Carolina and Tennessee. He is the country of Jamaica’s lead representative in the Atlanta area and meets regularly with both Jamaican and local government officials on matters pertaining to the interest of Jamaicans. Among his consular duties, he acts as the liaison between the Jamaican government and the local Governments in the State of Georgia and is responsible for identifying trade opportunities between Georgian and Jamaican companies.
Mr. Martin was born in Trelawny, Jamaica, and migrated to the United States to attend College. He is an honor’s graduate of Howard University in Washington D.C., and holds an MBA degree in Finance and Investment from Pennsylvania State University. He also has a Juris Doctorate degree from American University in Washington DC. Mr. Martin has been a member of the District of Columbia, Georgia and Maryland Bar associations and has numerous other professional affiliations as well.
Mr. Martin leaves behind big shoes to fill as he worked tirelessly for the Jamaican community here in Georgia and was never being too busy to represent Jamaica at the many functions that are put on by the Caribbean community here. Mr. Martin always exemplified grace and wisdom and was a wonderful ambassador for Jamaica here in Georgia and the United States.
“serving Jamaica in Atlanta has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I can only hope that, as we move forward in service to our country, we will together continue to forge a partnership which will see Atlanta as one of the most recognized groups in the Jamaican Diaspora worldwide.” ~Vin Martin
As well as being Honorary Consul, Mr. Martin has a thriving law practice which specialized in immigration law, real estate closings, bankruptcy, divorce and business law for over 10 years. Before starting his own practice, Mr. Martin worked for Fannie Mae for 30 years, where he worked his way up to Associate Regional Counsel.
Mr. Martin’s influence not only included his duties as Honorary Consul and lawyer but he serves as chairman and advisor on several Jamaican organizations here in Atlanta. These include the Atlanta-Jamaican Association where he was a Past President and is a Lifetime Member; the Benevolent Missions of Atlanta; UJOIA – Union of Jamaican Organizations in Atlanta, a group that has organized and hosted Jamaican Independence activities for the past 13 years and then evolved into the Jamaica 50th Atlanta Planning Committee, which hosted Jamaica’s 50th anniversary celebrations here in Atlanta last year.
Mr. Martin is the Chair of the Atlanta-Montego Bay Sister Cities Committee, an organization that has over the years led a medical team of dentists, nurses, doctors and other volunteers to serve the people in the Montego Bay area. This Committee is an affiliate of Sister Cities International, an international organization which controls sister cities relationships worldwide and whose honorary chair is the President of the United States.
Mr. Martin has received several honors over the years from the Atlanta community as well as from Jamaica and the Consulate community. In 2006, Mr. Martin was appointed by Georgia Governor Sonny Purdue to serve as Board Member of Hemisphere, Inc., an organization responsible for seeking to locate the secretariat of the Free Trade Areas of the Americas in Atlanta. Mr. Martin has also received the Phoenix Award, this is the highest civilian award given by the City of Atlanta, from several Mayors, including Andy Young, Bill Campbell and Shirley Franklin. Always modest, Mr. Martin believes that his work for the Jamaican community was a labor of love and would not change it for anything.
Living here in Georgia for over 30 years with lovely wife Hazel, Mr. Martin now plans to take it easy and spend more time with family and friends, do some more travelling and just take time to do some of the things that his busy life as Honorary Consul sometimes made it difficult to plan on.
We bid Mr. Martin adieu from his role of Honorary Consul but most certainly not from the Jamaican community here in Atlanta.
