Devoted and genuine: that’s our Executive Director, Robert Martin. You can see this in his interactions with family, friends, sports and our city. His enthusiasm for what is good for people and High Point is contagious.
Robert began his career with the NC Department of Public Safety as a Community Corrections Office (adult probation and parole) in 1989, working in Guilford County. In the mid-1990’s, he represented the county’s Probation office on the Violence Task Force in High Point. This Task Force was created in response to a community needs assessment conducted by High Point Regional Health System (now Atrium Health Wake Forest). That Task Force ultimately became what is now High Point Community Against Violence, Inc. (HPCAV). Robert was active in the creation of this organization and in the implementation of the focused deterrence strategy here.
Robert spent the last nine years of his community corrections career in Davidson County and retired from NCDPS in 2017. He was hired as the Project Safe Neighborhoods Coordinator for Davidson County, doing essentially the same work for our neighboring county as he had done as a volunteer with HPCAV. He remained a member of the HPCAV Executive Board and continued to work with us.
When the Executive Director’s job opened, Robert was the natural and best choice to move into this role. He resigned from our Board in November, 2022 and officially began his new position on January 1, 2023. His many years in this field, his long association with HPCAV, local, state and national law enforcement, and his active participation in the life of our city has made this a smooth transition. Robert will continue building on what has been a great partnership with our police department and our community. He is looking forward to moving us towards more work with youth, our new focus area. He is a supporter of EKG2, a promising educational program on guns and gang violence for seventh graders, and hopes to see it implemented here.
Robert is a native of High Point and a graduate of HP Andrews High School and Appalachian State University. He is married to Donna, is father of one and grandfather of three. He’s involved in a number of organizations outside of HPCAV, including the Lions Club and the Fraternal Order of Police. You will often see him at events at Andrews and High Point University. And even if you don’t see him, you can trust that he is in the stands of almost every ASU football game.