Des Martens of Mirror, Inc., Named 2021 Outstanding Citizen

Des Martens of Mirror, Inc., Named 2021 Outstanding Citizen

NEWTON, KS—Desiree Martens, Vice President of Prevention Services at Mirror, Inc. in Newton, KS, was named 2021 Outstanding Citizen at the Newton Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet on November 10th, 2021.
The Outstanding Citizen Award is an annual award given to someone in our community who exemplifies hometown pride through service and engagement – someone who devotes an extraordinary amount of their time to the betterment of Newton. To be selected for the Outstanding Citizen award, an individual must be nominated and then selected from a list of nominees by a committee of past award recipients.

Des Martens has a long list of character traits and involvement that qualify her for the designation of 2021 Outstanding Citizen. She moved to the Newton area in the 3rd grade and is a Hesston College alumna. Following college, she served as a Registered Nurse, which ignited a passion in her to invest in the field of prevention and health promotion in Kansas communities. Since then, Des has been a cornerstone of prevention work in our community. She created the Harvey County Drug-Free Youth Coalition, Mirror’s nationally recognized STAND program, and helped start the Harvey County Behavioral Health Coalition. On top of these efforts, she has brought in thousands of dollars of funding and resources to our community, while increasing collaboration and bringing national recognition to Harvey County.

“Des is a leader who serves in any way she can, dedicating all of her work and so much of her personal time toward fostering productive and positive change,” said Benjamin Meier, Coalition Coordinator at Mirror, Inc. “She has put blood, sweat and tears into this community, and deserves recognition for her perseverance and incredible influence in bettering the little piece of world around us.”

In 2018, Martens received the Kansas Prevention Leader Award for exemplary work in community mobilization and is also a graduate of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s National Coalition Academy. She is also a trainer of trainers in SAMHSA’s Substance Abuse Prevention Skills Training, Ethics in Prevention and other evidence-based prevention programs.
Martens has served as a leader in many local organizations, including the USD #373 Drug Policy Team, Harvey County Behavioral Health Coalition, Newton Substance Abuse Advisory Board, Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), Governor’s Behavioral Health Services Planning Council Prevention Sub-Committee (Vice Chair), Kansas Prevention Conference Planning Committee, Newton Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Executive Committee, Leadership Newton Committee, Hesston City Council, and her church’s prayer and event teams.

“I am very pleased and grateful to accept this award,” said Martens. “It has been my privilege to serve the community in this way. There are incredible people of every age in Harvey County, working to build healthier futures for the young people that grow up here, and I am honored to work alongside them.”

The Newton Area Chamber of Commerce would like to thank Des for the extraordinary love that she shows to our communities, and the great work that she has done in service of others. Congratulations, Des Martens, our 2021 Outstanding Citizen.

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