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if • T11 <br />/ A <br />` W,5- RESOLUTION NO. 4 Lo I q ' 19 -�- <br />A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, <br />SUPPORTING THE RENAMING OF THE FORMER MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. BLVD TO <br />CHARLES MARTIN SR. DRIVE <br />N", in every community, there are individuals who prove to be agents of change, uniquely gifted <br />with the ability to motivate others in heroic ways. Charles E. Martin, Sr. was such an individual, remarkable not <br />only in the number of lives he influenced, but also in the ways he influenced them; and <br />(A, Charles Martin was born August 3, 1943 in Jackson, Tennessee. He and five brothers and sisters <br />were raised in South Bend by his parents, James and Luvinia Martin. Charles Martin graduated from Central High <br />School in 1963, from Ball State University in 1967, and was a teacher and coach at LaSalle High School from <br />1967 to 1970. He joined the Michiana YMCA in 1970 and became Director of the Urban Youth Services program <br />in 1972; and <br />G%", for the next 22 years, Charles Martin operated an extensive educational network to motivate <br />minority young people to achieve academic excellence. His work with the YMCA and South Bend Community <br />Schools provided him daily contact with thousands of youth who benefited from his programs, including the <br />Academic Contract and Outstanding Minority Student Award; and <br />N", Charles Martin's motto was "Touch a life every day," and he practiced it through personal <br />contact and local community organizations including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Foundation, Leaders & Positive <br />Role Models, Ladies of Distinction, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, the South Bend School Boosters, Big <br />Brothers /Big Sisters, the Kiwanis Club, and many other organizations. He was named a Sagamore of the Wabash <br />by Gov. Orr in 1987 and Gov. Bayh in 1990, and was inducted into the South Bend Hall of Fame in 1990. The <br />Charles Martin "Touch a Life" Scholarship was established to provide academically motivated African- American <br />students from St. Joseph County with tuition assistance and an opportunity to give back to their community while <br />gaining meaningful work experience in the process; and <br />6l)" Charles Martin passed away June 2, 1994. Several months earlier, he learned that a building <br />owned and rehabilitated by the South Bend Heritage Foundation would be named the Charles Martin Youth <br />Center in his honor. The Center was dedicated August 2, 1995, and has become the embodiment of Charles <br />Martin's dedication to youth. <br />yr ill r <br />Section I. The Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana is pleased to support the street <br />renaming of the former Martin Luther Kina. Jr. Blvd to Charles Martin Sr. Drive. <br />Section II. Charles Martin's legacy of advocating for youth and community, lives on in the lives he <br />touched. Mr. Martin recognized the connection between education and a better life and strived to reach out to <br />children and teach them the importance of academic schooling. <br />and fter ' <br />V s <br />David Varner, 5t' District <br />by the Council <br />