The Society of Entrepreneurs (SOE) has named Jay Martin the recipient of the 2021 Master Entrepreneur Award.
The award from SOE, in partnership with Junior Achievement of Memphis, will be presented to Martin, CEO of Juice Plus+, on Saturday, May 1, 2021, at the Virtual 29th Awards Celebration to be aired at 7 p.m. on WKNO-TV. The celebration will also recognize this year’s inductees: Tyrone Burroughs of First Choice, and Michael Hudman and Andy Ticer of Enjoy AM Restaurant Group.
Martin was inducted into the SOE in 2008. A celebrated storyteller, he’s written two books and is sought after as a speaker.
He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1968 and moved to Memphis in 1969. Martin founded National Safety Associates (Juice Plus Co.) with $500 and has served as president and CEO since its inception.
Juice Plus+ is a direct marketing company with 75,000 independent distributors in all 50 states and 25 foreign countries. The company has systemwide sales of $425 million annually, and has sales since inception of $12 billion. There are 450 employees, primarily housed at corporate headquarters in Collierville, and a shipping facility in Memphis. Juice Plus Co. hosts two conventions a year with an average attendance of 5,000.
Martin has long been involved in working to improve the city. He initiated one of the most innovative programs in Memphis when he established My City Rides. “It provides affordable scooters through a lease-to-own plan,” he says. “We’re close to 300 people with the scooters and they get 75 to 80 miles a gallon. They really like it.” He and his My City Rides team were awarded an Innovation Award from Inside Memphis Business magazine in 2019.
Martin has served on the Board of Directors of Church Health Center, St. George’s Episcopal School, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Memphis, Memphis Athletic Ministries, and the US Direct Selling Association, and is a supporter of the Boys and Girls Club, Church Health Center, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (the company sponsors the St. Jude Marathon), Volunteers of America, United Way of the Mid-South, and the Albert and Jessie Martin Scholarship. He also established the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Memphis’ Job Seeker program with a $5 million grant that helps train, motivate, and place high school graduates from the Boys and Girls Club in meaningful jobs. The program serves 50 to 75 kids annually.
The designation of Master Entrepreneur is given to a member of the Society who best exemplifies the full range of characteristics – self-direction, determination, creativity, leadership, and integrity – that are necessary for membership in the Society. Martin joins a group that includes Jack A. Belz, Michael Bruns, J.R. ‘Pitt’ Hyde, Patrick Lawler, Scott Morris, and Henry Turley.