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Who Am I?

I am Gary Scott Martin. I am the oldest of three children and the only son of Conrad Lee Martin, Jr. and Loretta Ollie Thomson. (May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.) I am a first-generation Californian. I was born in Long Beach, lived briefly in Santa Maria/Orcutt, grew up in Nipomo, went to college in Los Angeles and Palo Alto, and have resided in Tehachapi for my entire adult life (excepting the academic year of August 1985 through August 1986, spent in Palo Alto). I have been married to Kathy Ann Nusbaum since 1978. We have a daughter and a son. We have five grandchildren. We have been parishioners at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church here in Tehachapi since we were newlyweds. I am a 1974 graduate of St. Joseph's High School in Santa Maria, California; a 1978 graduate of the University of So...
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CASA: Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children

I have completed my training as a Child Advocate for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children of Kern County. Tonight I will graduate and be sworn as an officer of the court by Her Honor, Raymonda Marquez, Supervising Judge Juvenile Court, Superior Court of Kern County.

I have already had a first reading of a case file and accepted that case. I expect to be appointed as a CASA on that case soon.

I choose to do this to support the mental health of traumatized kids. I think this is the most important way that I can use all the gifts that God has given me in the service of our community. It is the best way in which I can express gratitude for even "the things that I wish didn't happen."

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