Mike and Karen Martin have lived in the Mission Bend Area for thirty-three years and have been very active members of the community. Watching the community decline over the years made Mike realize that something had to be done to preserve the quality of life in a community that was beginning to show the inevitable signs of maturing and aging. Drawing upon his extensive experience in organizational development Mike reached out to a group of concerned citizens and began the process of creating a council of homeowners associations to address the needs of the Greater Mission Bend Area. The rest, as they say, is history. Today the Greater Mission Bend Area Council represents the combined efforts of fourteen homeowners associations including approximately 25,000 residents.
In addition to his work with the Greater Mission Bend Area Council Mike has been a director of the Chelford One Municipal Utility District for the past eight years.
Professionally Mike is director of the New Horizons Counseling Center. He divides his time between providing counseling, consultation services and mediation services to the West Houston community. In addition to his work as a counselor and therapist, Mike has offered consultation services to both small businesses and churches in West Houston since beginning his practice in 1983. He brings the skills and experience with organizational development to the challenges of organizing the Homeowners Associations of our community. In particular Mike’s training and experience as a mediator have served our efforts well as we moved beyond the many special interests presented by citizens and organizations in our community. This has enabled our citizens to work collectively to meet the shared needs of our community while addressing specific interests which fall within the purview of a community organization.
Mike proudly notes that he is a military veteran, having served four years in the United States Army. During his tour with the Army, he was assigned to the staff of the (NATO) Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers, Europe (SHAPE) in Belgium, where he served in several positions. Mike is a graduate of the University of Houston, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling. In addition Mike completed three years of graduate training in educational psychology before leaving school to start his practice in 1983. Karen Martin, Mike’s wife of 33 years, teaches 7th grade science at nearby Albright Middle School. Mike and Karen are active members of Mission Bend United Methodist Church, where Mike teaches the Men’s Sunday School class, Just Us Guys. They have one son, Robert, who attended Rice University and is preparing for a career in real estate development.