artin Skolnick’s profession involves selling,
leasing and developing commercial real
estate, but he has also been, and continues
to be, very involved in community life as a volunteer in a
variety of areas. He credits his family background,
particularly his mother’s influence, for instilling in him “the
sense of obligation to give back to the community that
nurtures you.” Kingston has been Martin’s community
since, like many, he came here as a young adult and stayed.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Martin is the youngest of
three children, but his family moved to Toronto when he
was a year old, so he grew up there. When he was 16, his
parents gave him the choice of staying on with his adult
siblings to finish high school in Toronto or move with them
to Florida. “I loved playing high school football and so
jumped at the chance to play even more football in the
longer warm-weather season.”
Martin improved his football skills and graduated from
Grade 12 in Dunedin, home of the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring
training camp. He then returned to Toronto for a semester of
Grade 13 and played football, both at Scarlett Heights
Entrepreneurial Academy and in a community men’s
league. Halfway through the year, a severed shoulder-nerve
injury, sustained during weight training, ended his plans to
continue in the sport.
He moved to Kingston to live with his sister, Dr. Suzanne
Billing; and her husband, John, offered him a job at Kingston
Plate and Window Glass while he finished his high school
credits at KCVI. Martin enrolled in economics at Queen’s
University but had to withdraw during his second year due
to health reasons. He worked for a few years in the food
service industry, first at The Keg and eventually as the
general manager of L’Europa Restaurant, but the late hours
convinced him to look at other career options.
With his brother Norman, a commercial real estate broker
in Toronto, Martin had gained an introduction to that sector
through a summer job. He decided to qualify for a real estate
licence and in 1988 began working for Graham Thomson,
whom Martin describes as “my mentor.” There was no
commercial brokerage in Kingston at that time, and so
Martin started a commercial division at the Thomson firm,
as well as selling residential property. Within six months, he
was doing the commercial work exclusively and has
continued to do so ever since. He eventually joined
colleague Peter Kostogiannis at a firm specializing in the
commercial sector. It went through several different
brandings and is now the locally owned affiliate of an
international firm, Cushman and Wakefield.
Martin married the love of his life, Michelle McGraw, at
St Mary’s Cathedral in 1993, settled into family life and
began the first of what would become many community
volunteer activities when he became treasurer for the
Kingston chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society. He then
went on to serve on the governing board of Kingston
General Hospital, specifically on its Resources Committee,
and also on the Finance Committee as a governor on the
KGH Foundation Board of Directors.
“I always thought it was important to support the
hospitals, and later in life, I found out just how important it
would become to me, personally,” Martin says. In 2010, he
had surgery for testicular cancer, then underwent radiation
treatment when it reoccurred a year later. Last year, he had
surgery for an unrelated cancer, melanoma, for which he has
immunotherapy infusions every two weeks.
Martin feels lucky to be a three-time cancer survivor and
gives KGH full marks: “Our hospital cancer centre is world-
class. The nurses, doctors and support people that I
encountered in the radiation, chemotherapy and surgical
units were all excellent. We are very fortunate to have that
centre and clinic in our community.”
As his family was growing up, Martin’s volunteer time
expanded to include their interests. His son, Zach, plays
various sports, but his passion is hockey. The family spent
many happy weekends driving to out-of-town games, and
Martin, characteristically, served as treasurer and parent
liaison for Zach’s representative team, and then on the
executive of the Kingston Area Minor Hockey Association.
He and Michelle also helped organize a summer team that
travelled as far as New York City. Zach graduates this year
from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University.
Like his dad, he will pursue a career in commercial real
estate brokerage and currently puts in volunteer hours,
winning awards at Queen’s for his work with various
charities.PROFILE KINGSTON 33Martin
Skolnick
BYANN -M AUREEN OWENS WITH PHOTOGRAPHY BY RANDY DEKLEINE-S TIMPSON
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