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Martin and her daughter Kara, center, welcome home Kara’s sister, Brooke, from a trip to Denmark. A lifelong soccer enthusiast, Martin, second row, second from right, poses for a selfie with her team, The Babes. Instead, she went to the University of Delaware, where she majored in political science, “even though I didn’t do anything with it,” she said. She’d thought about majoring in history, only she couldn’t imagine what she could do with a history degree. It may not be completely accurate to say she did nothing with her political science major, because it led to a couple of Capitol Hill internships and her first post-college job, all of which helped her solidify her marketable skills and reconcile her professional and personal values. The first internship was during her junior year, when she interned for then-U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, D-N.J. “The one with Bradley was great,” she said. “I got to be the scheduler’s assistant.” The position played to her strengths — dealing with the public and organization. But two years later, right after graduation, she had another internship with 22-term Florida Democratic Congressman Charles Bennett. The experience was, in a word, “horrible.” “I was always interested in the government and the way it worked,” she said. “I was never into the politics. Everyone on The Hill was out for themselves, that’s what I learned.” Despite her aversion to political gamesmanship, her first job out of college was with a lobbying group, the Wildlife Legislative Fund of America, which, she explained, is pretty much the opposite of what people might think by the name. “The Wildlife Legislative Fund of America lobbies for the right to hunt, fish and trap,” Martin said. “I went up to the Hill quite a bit and sat in on hearings and reported back. I actually learned quite a few things on hunting and fishing and trapping” — not enough to take them up herself, but it was interesting. After two years she left Capitol Hill, eventually finding her way in the mid-’90s into the Henley Park Hotel and then the Morrison-Clark Inn, a pair of historic, boutique Washington hotels, where she specialized in sales. That’s what led to the meeting with Mia Hamm. It was also during this period that she met her husband, Shawn. Some people would get a kick out of being able to say they met the love of their life one night in an alley. Martin finds it a little embarrassing, at least until she can explain. Once the details are filled in, it isn’t such a sordid story, after all. A couple of downtown D.C. bars share an alleyway between them. Once or twice a year the two bars shut down the area between them and cohost an outdoor party. She and Shawn met at the Rally in the Alley. It proved to be a sentimental curtain-raiser to their romance. She and Shawn are craft beer aficionados, and one of their favorite pastimes is visiting breweries in search of unique brews. Martin believes it is important to enjoy what you do for a living, but she has never been one to define herself by her career. When her daughter, Brooke, was born in 2000, followed by Kara four years later, she spent the next eight years as a stay-at-home mom. Once both girls were school age, she started working again as a fundraising coordinator for the Naval Enlisted Reserve Association (NERA), a military advocacy group. It was a comfortable re-entry into the working world. “I have an affinity to the Navy,” she said. “My dad was in the Navy. And I’ve visited the Naval Academy quite a bit. I definitely thought that would be a great place for me to work.” She was with NERA for four years. Meanwhile, Brooke and Kara were getting old enough to be interested in Girl Scouts, and Martin became involved with their troops. “I was a leader for a couple of years, then got involved as a school liaison starting troops,” Martin said. “I was the volunteer coordinator, basically.” A big part of her duties, she said, was convincing parents to volunteer their time. “You sell it to the adults as ‘this is what you want your daughter to be doing, and you Q & A With Laura Martin DATE AND PLACE OF BIRTH: April 7, 1968, Metuchen, New Jersey MY TRADEMARK EXPRESSION IS: Can someone do a “find my iPhone?” MOST HUMBLING EXPERIENCE: The birth of my daughters PEOPLE SAY I REMIND THEM OF: Molly Shannon I HAVE A PHOBIA OF: Heights MY GUILTY PLEASURE: Beer THE PEOPLE I’D INVITE TO MY FANTASY DINNER PARTY: Mia Hamm, Bill Murray, Jon Bon Jovi, Elena Della Donne and Conan O’Brien I WOULD NEVER WEAR: A baseball hat A GOAL I HAVE YET TO ACHIEVE: To travel the world THE LAST BOOK I READ: “The Female Persuasion” LAST MOVIE I SAW: In the theater, “Mission Impossible Fallout;” I don’t go to the movies MY FAVORITE SONG: Deep down, I’m still a Jersey Girl; Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer;” Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” IF I’VE LEARNED ONE THING IN LIFE, IT WOULD BE: Manage the stress in your life THE THING ABOUT MY OFFICE IS: I try not to keep it too hot ONE WORD TO SUM ME UP: Short 34 Truckload Authority | www.Truckload.org TCA 2018-19
want to be involved with it. You want to be involved in the Girl Scouts with your daughter,’” she said. “In a couple of instances, it was to keep a Girl Scout troop from disbanding. I also brought the troops together at the school to do various events throughout the year.” Eventually, this part-time volunteer activity became a full-time paid job, doing the same things on a much larger scale for Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital for two years. Martin admits when she came over to TCA in September, her knowledge of trucking didn’t extend much beyond “it takes items where they need to go.” But everyone has to start somewhere. Much of her time nowadays is spent renewing TCA memberships. She has two goals right now, and they go hand-in-hand: to do well at her new job and to acclimate herself to the trucking community. “I want to enjoy where I work,” she said. “At this point in my life I’m not looking for a huge career, but I want to enjoy what I do. I want to enjoy the people and I want to enjoy where I am. I would like to get to know the members and get feedback from them, what they’d like from us.” Martin already has the other side of the work-life balance well in hand. She finds the time to play on two soccer teams. At the time of the interview, the fall season had just ended. “I’m going to sign up for winter, but who knows if I’ll play,” she said, because Washington winters are a toss-up. You never know how harsh it will be. “I don’t play in the cold. I’m too wimpy,” Martin said. Her knees, in particular, have gotten rather choosy. “I can play on grass all I want. I can’t run on pavement. But so long as I’m on grass or turf, I’m fine,” give or take a little morning-after stiffness. She and Shawn also enjoy sports together in a more knee-friendly manner. Shawn is a University of Maryland alum, and they spend a lot of time following the Terrapins. Brooke is 18 now and has started college. Kara is 14. You’d think that would mean less mom time than when they were little, but somehow it still hasn’t worked out that way, she said. Not that she’s complaining — family time will always be her top priority. As it worked out, her siblings all migrated in the same direction. Her sister, Kathryn, lives about 10 minutes away, traffic willing, and their brother, Pete, is just across the Potomac in Washington. Joanne lives in Crownsville, Maryland, just outside Annapolis, about a 45-minute drive. Her parents sold the family home in Metuchen. They have a place on one of New Jersey’s barrier islands now, and they live the snowbird lifestyle, dividing their time between New Jersey and their winter home in Florida. In between, they have a place near Joanne where they spend the holidays. Martin sat down for this story the Monday after Thanksgiving. The whole family was there — 18 people. She had to admit it hadn’t really taken a whole lot of time over the long weekend to think about what she was going to say about herself. That’s understandable. Why sit around daydreaming about things like fantasy dinner parties when you have something better going on? Martin takes in a Washington Nationals game with daughters Brooke, left, and Kara and husband Shawn. Laura Martin, far left, right above Mickey Mouse, and her relatives celebrate her parents’ 50th anniversary on a Disney Cruise to Alaska. Knowledge is Power Not All Trucking Companies Are Alike Trucking is all we do. When you choose Great West to insure your trucking business, you are getting over 60 years of experience in the trucking industry. Our agents work with you. Not every insurance agent can represent Great West. With a keen focus on the trucking industry, our agents are knowledgeable, dependable, and responsive. They understand your needs and work with you to match the right coverage and level of service for your trucking operation. Do one thing, and do it right. Our agents can guide you through the process and customize a plan to provide you the broadest protection possible. You can also feel confident knowing that our agents’ service begins, not ends, with the issuance of your policy. Great West Casualty Company – No matter where the road takes you, you will discover that at Great West, The Difference is Service ® . 800.228.8602 gwccnet.com TCA 2018-19 www.Truckload.org | Truckload Authority 35
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