Local Hero: Buck Martinez Quietly Makes Life Better In West Palm Beach

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL — When times are tough, heroes emerge. We all know someone who's making a difference right now as we live through unprecedented and changing times.

Here at Patch, we've launched an initiative to help recognize these heroes making a difference in their communities. We’re working to let all your neighbors know about these outstanding people and their stories.

This submission comes from Jamie Levin who nominated Buck Martinez of Palm Beach Gardens, who is the co-founder and president of the Student ACES Leadership Group.

Local hero’s full name

Buck Martinez

Local hero’s home state

Florida

Local hero’s Patch

West Palm Beach

How do you know the local hero?

Board member

What does the local hero do?

Co-founder and president of the board for Student ACES

Why do you believe the local hero should be recognized or honored?

J.L. “Buck” Martinez is the president of ACE Leadership Group, a company dedicated to inspiring and developing men and women to achieve their highest potential. Through ACE Leadership Group, (he) focuses on developing the character, honor and integrity of his clients. Martinez is passionate about working with organizations to develop their leadership skills. He serves as life coach and executive coach to individuals in many different roles from corporate executives to professional athletes. Some of his clients include FPL, Advanced Roofing, Athletic Coaches at all levels, Moss Construction, Keiser University, Bolay, St. Thomas University and others.

Throughout his 30-plus years as an executive in the energy industry, Martinez helped mentor numerous employees and served on multiple boards throughout the state. He also serves as president and co-Founder of a not-for-profit organization, Student ACES, dedicated to inspiring high school and college student athletes to be men and women of honor, character and integrity. Buck is passionate about investing in our youth and works countless hours serving in the capacity of teacher, mentor and coach. Since he co-founded Student ACES with his daughter, Krissy Webb, Buck has trained over 50,000 student athletes throughout Florida.

(In 2016,) Martinez retired from Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), one of the nation’s leading electric utilities, where he worked for 35 years. At FPL, (he) was responsible for identifying and originating clean energy opportunities in the state to promote visibility, commitment, and economic development.

Martinez holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Thomas University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Nova Southeast. In addition, he is a graduate of the Boston University Leadership Program, the Harvard University Program on Negotiation and the Lifeworks Leadership Program. Martinez is a member of the St. Thomas University Hall of Fame. He also serves on the Board of Power Edi-son, a mobile energy storage company.

Martinez is the past chairman of the Florida Solar Energy Center and also served on other advisory boards throughout the state, most notably The Florida Energy Systems Consortium, The St. Thomas University President’s Advisory Board and The Keiser University Advisory Board.

Martinez has authored seven books, “Inspiring Champions,” “Building Blocks of Leadership for Young Adults,” “The Captain’s Leadership Playbook,” “Straight Talk, Man Up: Leading a Life of Honor,” “Seven Steps for Success” and his most recent, “Your Winning Formula, Discovering the Champion Within You.”

Buck served as an adjunct professor at Keiser University and is a frequent speaker at conferences, schools and leadership forums. He and his wife, Silvia, their three children and four grandchildren live in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

What's one thing you want everyone to know about the local hero?

He is one of the most selfless people I have ever met and truly believes in the importance of character education always preaching to do the right thing wherever he goes.

Thank you for all you do, Buck Martinez!

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