2017 El Paso County Veteran of the Year
Leo Martinez
El Paso County’s Veterans Service Office announces Leo F. Martinez is the recipient of the inaugural Veteran of the Year honor.
Martinez was born and raised in Springer, New Mexico. He enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduating from Springer High School. He earned degrees from Saint Martin’s College (Olympia, WA) and Regis University (Colorado Springs). His military career took him to Korea, Fort Lewis (WA), Germany and Fort Carson. He retired from in the U.S. Army after a distinguished career of 21 years and 10 months, 1970 to 1993. He served as an Infantry Senior Sergeant, an Administrative Specialist and a Command Sergeant Major.
Martinez recently retired as a peer mentor for the Fourth Judicial District’s highly successful Veterans Trauma Court. He recruited, trained and supervised other veterans to act as mentors and provide one-on-one support for individuals going through the Veterans Court.
Carl McDaniel, El Paso County Veteran Service Officer, said, “One of the community participants in the selection summed it up best, ‘While Leo Martinez’s work is focused on only one program—Veterans Trauma Court—based on all the testimonials, he has made a difference in the lives of many Veterans who have gone through the court.’”
District Attorney Dan May said, “Much of the success of the Veterans Trauma Court is due to the commitment of Leo Martinez to the Veterans of this community. Leo is truly devoted to helping each and every Veteran he works with to ensure they are successful in their lives. If I could clone Leo we would have success in every problem solving court.”
