“It was a big surprise," JoAnne Martin repeated as she recalled the moment she and her husband Marvin found out that they would be Queen and King of this year’s annual Gold Rush Days festival. “Ms. [Mallory] Odom gave me a call. She left me a message … She told me what she was calling about, so it gave me a little time to process,” JoAnne added. The golden couple are true “nuggets.” Both were born in downtown Dahlonega. “We were born three years, fifteen days and two blocks apart,” he added with a chuckle, “but we didn’t know each other.”
Marvin was born in a doctor’s office that used to be located near Hancock Park, while JoAnne was born on nearby Warwick Street.
Both attended high school together, although they were three grades apart.
Now, as official Gold Rush royalty, the Martins are invited to attend a special Gold Rush Day luncheon Saturday on the second floor of the Visitors Center.
Afterwards, the pair will relax and take in the festivities from the upstairs balcony until their afternoon coronation and subsequent parade.
COMMUNITY SERVANTS
Marvin is retired from 32 years of service as Chief Ranger for the Georgia Forestry Commission.
“We worked out of the old jail to start with,” Marvin recalled. “It was us and the County Extension Office combined. We built the first office we had up on Crown Mountain, the one that’s there now, where the tower is.”
Martin explained that the responsibilities of Chief Ranger at the time included supervising a firefighting crew that would respond to forest fires in Lumpkin County while remaining on call for other counties. It was a position that required a lot of training, and with that training came travel.
“I’ve been to four or five states outside of the state of Georgia on fire detail,” he said, including Texas, California, Oregon and Idaho.
In addition to conducting firefighting and controlled burn exercises as a training tool for new hires, the agency had an information and education department as well. Marvin said he went to schools and presented programs on various topics like Arbor Day and Smokey the Bear.
“We also had a management program that helped landowners that had questions about their forest and shade trees. We would gather seed for production in our nurseries and sold them just on a cost basis. We still do that,” he said.
But Marvin has worn a number of other hats in the community as well, including serving one term as County Commissioner for District 4.
“I served a two-year term on the first board after it changed from a sole Commissioner,” he said. “I enjoyed the work: helping the people and knowing what was going on. I just didn’t like the politics.”
Marvin also served on the Parks & Rec Citizen Advisory Board for a few years, and even had a stint as Interim Parks & Rec Director. He currently serves as Chairman of the Lumpkin County Board of Equalization.
“We have a three-member board with three alternates. If you get your tax notice and you disagree with the valuation … you can appeal to the Board of Equalization and we have hearings set up for the appeals. If you’re not satisfied there, you can go to the Superior Court,” Marvin said.
JoAnne had a long career with what would become Koyo Bearings, working as Purchasing Manager and also in Human Resources.
“Even though it said I retired from Koyo, I started when it was known as Torrington, which you’ve probably heard of. Torrington was owned by Ingersoll Rand, and then it was purchased by Timken and the last few years I worked there it was Koyo,” JoAnne explained, noting that Timken sold off the roller bearing division.
JoAnne served on the Executive Board of Directors for Community Helping Place, helping oversee its move from a humble location near Anderson-Underwood Funeral Home to its current home on Rockhouse Road.
“They do a lot of good for a lot of people,” Marvin said of the charity.
JoAnne also was involved in the local Kiwanis group until it was dismantled a few years ago, and was a member and treasurer of the Chestatee Sunshine Club, a 68-year-old organization that provides food and flowers to those in the Chestatee community that need a little sunshine during tragic times.
The club is one of the very few “goodwill” clubs that continues to operate in the county, holding a Bible reading and devotion at its quarterly meetings.
The Martins remain very active members of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, where Marvin has served as a Deacon for 44 years.
TRAVEL TIME
The couple's favorite pastime is traveling in their spare time.
“Give us the natural beauty over a big city any time. That’s why I like the National Parks,” JoAnne said, noting that her grandson just graduated from college a year ago and is trying to take in as many parks as possible.
“We’ve been to some of them four or five times—Yellowstone we’ve been to half a dozen times. And Glacier and Rocky, we’ve been there more than two or three times,” she added.
Their most recent adventure took place last July when they went to visit Marvin’s brother in Texas and managed to squeeze in visits to four parks, as well.
“Our grandson was with us. He was our chauffeur, too. We had a good time with him. We’re very family-oriented,” JoAnne said.
WORTHWHILE CAUSE
Although the Martins have stepped down from most of their civic duties, they are still working to promote a cause that is near and dear to their own hearts: an annual obstacle 5K race in Tallulah Falls, the proceeds of which benefit a scholarship fund in honor of their late grandson Caleb Griffis.
Caleb attended high school at Tallullah Falls and obtained a full, four-year ROTC scholarship to Clemson. However, in his second year of college, Caleb was tragically killed on his motorcycle while traveling to class.
“He kept his motorcycle up there to do those little short trips because he had a truck that was a gas hog. A man turned in front of him. It was very sudden, but we have found out so many things about him that we didn’t know before. And we were very close to him,” JoAnne said.
Apparently, Caleb helped lead a number of his cadet friends to God, many of whom showed up in military fatigues for his funeral and shared their personal memories.
“They spoke at the burial service, and it was so touching. He was just a super, super guy,” she said.
Most of the foundation’s funds come from sponsorships and donations, along with registration fees to either run or walk the 5K, which is in its fifth year.
A foundation committee helps evaluate essays and awards scholarships to senior students graduating from high school in Tallulah Falls, Habersham or Rabun Counties.
“The qualities they’re looking at are leadership and excellence in character, and of course they talk with the counselors at school and get recommendations,” Marvin noted.
JoAnne said while all of Caleb’s friends have since graduated from Clemson, there are between a dozen to twenty of them who still come to run the annual tribute race, including one couple who got married and are stationed in Alaska, but still fly to Georgia for the event.
The race includes optional obstacles to climb, but can also be simply walked if desired.
“Everyone’s a winner, because every year they’ve had a challenge coin that they give to everyone that has the year and date on it,” JoAnne said.
Caleb, who was a big cross-country and track athlete in high school, even participated in the local Gold Rush 5K during the final two years of his life and won in his age group both times.
“He would come spend the night and we would come over and he would run the 5K at Gold Rush,” Marvin recounted, his voice full of emotion.
Now Caleb’s little sister, Carsyn, is taking up the family’s athletic mantle, competing in high school cross-country with an eye to continue the sport in college.
This year’s 5th Annual Fidelis Militus Obstacle 5K is scheduled for November 9 in Tallulah Falls. Full details can be found at galebgriffisfoundation.com, or on Facebook under Caleb Griffis Memorial Foundation.