Harold H. Martinez Tribute

Harold was born in Tucumcari, New Mexico on April 18th, 1938. He was the youngest of 5 brothers and 3 sisters born to Gilbert and Teodorita “Tita” Martinez. The Martinez family moved to California in 1942 in the midst of World War II and eventually settled in Los Angeles.

Harold began working at the age of eleven as a busboy/dishwasher at Cookie’s Café. By the time he was sixteen Harold was holding down two jobs, one at a service station and another at AB Boyd where he learned and honed his sales skills. He worked at Boyd for 20 years until he left and founded Able Industrial Products, the company that keeps virtually all of his children busy to this day.

I first met Harold as a result of our involvement in the Latin Business Association. He and Gloria were both active members of that great organization. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the LBA and chaired many of its committees. His beautiful wife Gloria served several terms as Treasurer of the organization.

In 1985, after many years of service to the organization, Harold was elected President of the Board of Directors by the LBA’s members. Not only was Harold enthusiastic about becoming President but he loved being at the helm of this young, growing and vibrant organization. He was leading the LBA when it was still trying to find its way and so he helped mold its image, its purpose and its importance to Latino owned businesses in California and throughout the country. Under his leadership the LBA became more closely identified as an advocate that wasn’t afraid to speak out whenever Corporate America wasn’t giving LBA members and other Latino business owners a fair shake. His shoot from the hip style created some tense moments but his unrelenting honesty and truthfulness ultimately won the hearts of the major corporations and governmental agencies we were all trying to do business with. That same style endeared him to Latino business owners everywhere, especially among the LBA’s members. He taught everyone a new language of business through such phrases as: “What’s happening?”, “Off the record.” and the ever famous, “I kid you not.”

“I kid you not.” he would say whenever he wanted to place emphasis on some story he’d just finished telling you. Harold Martinez had just returned from a trip to China during which he had led a group of members of the Latin Business Association on its first ever trade mission there. That was February of 1985 and only weeks before that he had been sworn into office by District Attorney, John
Van de Kamp as President of the then renowned “LBA”. In this instance he was using the phrase to emphasize the friendliness and extraordinary hospitality that had been heaped upon the LBA delegates during their stay in China as he addressed the overflow crowd in attendance at the LBA’s annual Awards Banquet at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles.

During the trip he had invited the delegation’s hosts to visit the United States and become acquainted with the Latino business community of greater Los Angeles. What Harold had not anticipated was that the Chinese would not only accept but that they would fly back to the United States with him and the rest of the delegates on their return trip. As a member of the board of directors, I was serving as the LBA’s First Vice-President at the time and had been busily working to help plan and organize the impending Awards Banquet when we received word from the delegation that we had to quickly organize a series of events in order to introduce our arriving guests to the Latino business community, to our friends in Corporate America and to various elected officials. Ultimately the Chinese delegation attended the Awards Banquet itself and its members were able to hear Harold’s words of thanks, the praises he had for the warmth with which the LBA’s delegates had been received in China, and the excellent attention and hospitality they had received as well.

The initial decision by Harold to accept the invitation from the Chinese was testament to his sagacious quality. He had discerned that there was a great potential in the establishment of a relationship between the LBA and business persons and government officials in China that would eventually lead to beneficial relationships for the LBA’s members and many other Latino business owners over the long term. Indeed his pioneering spirit has spurred many business relationships between us and the Chinese since that initial visit in 1985.

Early in his Presidency Harold took on then Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley for Tom’s unwillingness to cross a picket line in order to attend the LBA’s 1985 Awards Banquet, proving once again that our members and what the organization stood for were foremost on Harold’s agenda, the mayor (or any other elected official) notwithstanding.

Several years after his one year term as President of the LBA, Harold was drafted by a contingent of LBA members to run for the office of President. That election was closely contested but he was once again elected and served two more terms as the LBA’s President in 1990 and 1991. Latino businesses in Los Angeles and throughout California and the country owe him a great debt of gratitude for his leadership, excellent advocacy, commitment and dedication.

The passing of Harold Martinez from death to new life has left a great void for his family, the Latino community and mankind in general. Harold was unique among men. He was extraordinarily honest and straight-forward in dealing with people and challenges. Even when using one of his favorite sayings, “Off the record.” he never spoke negatively about anyone. He invariably placed the well being of others above his own. Even in his final days he would ask confidants and family members “How are going to help so and so?” He was well aware of his condition and yet even in his final hours he was trying to help someone else.

Harold always liked to make sure that conversations involving others were communicated to those “others” quickly and directly. So if you were on the phone with Harold discussing a situation involving a third party you could expect that he would suddenly interrupt the conversation by asking you to please hold the line and within moments you’d find yourself engaged in a three-way conversation that now included the person you had just been discussing with Him.

His devotion to his wife Gloria of almost 54 years and to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren was beautiful to watch. He was all about love.

Harold treated everyone with dignity and respect. Life tends to condition most of us into anticipating great moments but it is the smaller moments that usually count. Harold was a series of moments of joy, laughter, kidding, love and excitement all contributing to his greatness as a man, husband, father and friend. Many of us may not be able to always remember exactly what he did or said but we will always remember how he made us feel.
Ruben Jauregui