Longtime Valley Chiropractor named Humanitarian of the Year by American Chiropractic Association

WASILLA — Valley Chiropractic owner Dr. James Martin recently received the Humanitarian of the Year award from the American Chiropractic Association for his ceaseless service to his community.

“It’s totally unexpected but I’m appreciative,” James said.

James has been Alaska’s ACA delegate for many years. He said that he’s honored to represent his state and his hometown.

“I just like to be helpful. We like to give back to the community. My wife and I have been very active. I think my wife deserves the award probably more so than I do,” James said with a laugh. “We enjoy doing it. We want the community to grow.”

When Dr. David Martin found out his father was nominated for the ACA’s Humanitarian of the Year award, he wrote a letter in support.

“I’m very proud of my father. I’m very proud of all his accomplishments,” David said. “Some people would say that he should be slowing down; and honestly, I don’t see him slowing down anytime soon.”

James and David run Valley Chiropractic together. James started the company in 1984. David said his father’s biggest motivation hasn’t been about the bottom line. It’s all about the people. He said James is a devout Christian and that fuels his constant “go,go, go” attitude when coming up with solutions to benefit the community.

“First and foremost, my dad is a Christian man. The Bible talks a lot about loving your neighbor as yourself… and my dad really believes that and my dad really follows that in his life. He really does love people. He wants to see what’s best for them,” David said.

James wears many hats. When he’s not advocating legislation for patients that utilize chiropractic in Juneau, he’s volunteering and playing vital roles in community projects with service groups and nonprofits back home.

“Every senator that’s come in has had to meet with my dad at one point or another; and many of them are very, very receptive,” David said.

James was nominated twice as the Chiropractor of the Year by the Alaska Chiropractic Society in 2010 and 2018, according to David. He said James has served on the ACS Legislative Committee since 2008 and has been “almost single handedly” responsible for expanding coverage for Alaskan veterans to now include 26 visits a year.

James is the current Vice President for the Mat-Su YMCA. He played a key part in raising funds for a $40 million YMCA facility in Wasilla.

He was also instrumental in orchestrating the initial start of the 2019 youth summer program. Thanks to James’ efforts and the efforts steering committee, Tanaina Elementary and Dena’ina Elementary schools now have before and after school programs.

James has been an active member of Wasilla Sunrise Rotary since 2013. He’s donated countless hours and resources to support projects like the Wasilla Lake playground project, benches on Cottonwood Creek Trail, the Williwaw community park/playground, and fencing restoration for the American Legion Baseball Fields.

“My father embodies what it means to be a humanitarian. He doesn’t ask for recognition. He doesn’t seek recognition. However, he deserves recognition for all that he does for his profession and his community,” David wrote in his letter to the ACA.

The Mat-Su YMCA Steering Committee works with other groups in the community to determine the needs of local youth throughout the year with before and after school programs, events and other resources. For more information, call 907-203-9046 or visit ymcaalaska.org/mat-su-ymca.

Wasilla Sunrise Rotary Club is one of several grassroots service clubs in the Valley that serves the community with the support of Rotary International. They engage in countless community projects, from supporting local playgrounds to offering youth scholarships. For more information, call 907-841-9490 or visit wasillasunriserotary.com.

For more information about Valley Chiropractic, call 907-373-2022 or visit valleychiropracticwasilla.com. To learn more about the American Chiropractic Association, visit acatoday.org.

For more information on the Alaska Chiropractic Society, call 907-903-1350 or visit alaskachiropracticsociety.com.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com