by Shane Inglesby, CCE, Geneva Rock Products
NACM Intermountain Board of Directors, Chair
Joanne Martin, CCE, will be retiring on April 30 after working 40 years in credit. Joanne has been working with L.K.L. Associates, a supplier of drywall, masonry and siding products, for nearly 22 years.
Joanne was born and raised in Los Angeles County, California. She moved to central Utah when she married, as her first husband wanted to be a farmer. During that time, she worked several jobs to help support her family including working in a coal mine, mine survey work, serving in restaurants, and in a turkey processing plant.
Joanne moved into credit when she visited her brother in Colorado in 1982. The company he was working for needed someone to work in accounts receivable. They had positions in Colorado and Utah. She accepted the Utah position as she saw greater growth opportunity in the Utah office. She worked daily with the credit manager in Colorado and literally learned credit over the phone. She was later offered the credit position in Utah thanks to her telephone training.
While working at Westman, Barbara O’Brien visited her office and introduced her to the services offered by NACM. From there, her journey in credit took her to credit manager positions with Bartile Roof and ABC Supply. She then worked for five years with BMC West where she worked side-by-side with Lisa Keller for a short period of time. Joanne was later offered a position with L.K.L. Associates.
Through her journey in credit, she committed to obtaining her designations. She took all of the required courses. Georgette Bevan was Joanne’s study buddy. Joanne received her CBA then her CCE in 1998.
Joanne is grateful for the many of women who worked in credit that mentored her along the way including Shirley Rook, Connie Steed, and Sandra Brown. She attributes the encouragement and mentorship they provided to her success. She is also grateful for the many classes, seminars and conferences offered by NACM as she says she would not be where she is today without them.
Joanne has fond memories of serving on the NACM Board of Directors and the board for the Intermountain Credit Education League (ICEL) where she just recently completed serving as its Chair. She also served as an instructor to help individuals pursuing their designations and as Chair for the NACM Contractors Industry Trade Group. Joanne also served a three-year term on the board for the Lien Recovery Fund with the state of Utah.
Some would argue Joanne is more than deserving of her retirement. She is 75 years old. (She turns 76 in May.) When asked why she delayed retirement, she answered she wasn’t ready, and she was concerned she would get bored with so much free time on her hands.
Her focus changed when she saw friends’ health deteriorate or, even in some cases, die. She wants to be able to enjoy retirement while she is healthy. She goes dancing every weekend with friends and plans to continue doing so during retirement. She also looks forward to going to the gym to maintain her health. She’ll especially enjoy going during reasonable hours rather than early or late in the day. She also looks forward to spending more time with her eleven grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Joanne has a trip scheduled with her grandson to visit Tanzania in June. She plans to spend more time working in her yard and she wants to take up oil painting again.
She will miss working with customers with whom she has built long-standing relationships, but she anticipates periodically interacting with them to catch up on their lives.
Joanne has a sign in her office that reads, “No coffee, no workee.” She looks forward to enjoying her morning cup on a more leisurely basis that will not be consumed in preparation for a busy workday. She anticipates her coffee will allow her to contemplate her day’s options. She may decide to simply read or to just sit back and bask in the sun.
Any way we look at it, Joanne’s retirement is well deserved. We wish her the best during her retired years and thank her for her service to NACM!