Bill Martin is the chief executive officer of the Michigan Association of REALTORS®. He also sits on the board of trustees at Western Michigan University, his alma mater. Bill is a past board member for both the Habitat for Humanity and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
Martin served in the U.S. Army with the famed 101st Airborne Division. In 1978, Martin became a trooper with the Michigan State Police, where he was awarded a Meritorious Citation. Also in 1978, he married the former Denise Andrews.
In 1986 voters elected Martin to the Michigan House of Representatives, serving Calhoun County. Over his four terms, he served on several committees, chairing the House Committee on Insurance where he sponsored more than 25 bills that became law. Martin retained a perfect attendance record for all eight years he served.
In 1995, former Gov. John Engler appointed Martin as commissioner and CEO of the Michigan State Lottery. Under his leadership, the lottery was recognized by International Gaming and Wagering Business Magazine as the top performing lottery in the country and the second most efficient.
Martin became the director and CEO of the largest state department in 1999—the Michigan Department of Corrections—again at the request of Gov. Engler. In this position he managed 19,000 employees and operated a $1.7 billion budget. Martin worked closely with the legislature for statutory changes and budget priorities, reduced employee grievances from 1,900 to under 100 in just three years, worked with the Attorney General’s Office settling law suits, and was honored as a finalist in the Council of State Government 2001 Innovations Award Program. He dealt with media frequently, including a nationally broadcast special by Geraldo Rivera featuring women in prison.
In 1999 Habitat for Humanity named Martin Public Official of the Year. On the national level, Bill Martin was inducted into the 2007 Dr. Almon R. (Bud) Smith, RCE, AE Leadership Society which recognizes REALTOR® association executives who have demonstrated themselves to be leading contributors to the industry and the profession. This induction is most rewarding since it is peer-based, meaning his fellow association executives view him as a professional who makes a difference in the REALTOR® organization.
In 2007 Martin and the Michigan Association of REALTORS® joined an elite group of recipients by being awarded the FHC Fair Housing Leadership Award, from the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit. Martin and MAR were honored for developing and implementing the first state realtor sponsored fair housing testing program in the United States.