Rhys Martin, president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, manager of the Preserve Route 66 Initiative and a member of numerous other Route 66 groups, earned the annual Tulsan of the Year honor by TulsaPeople Magazine.
The magazine chose Martin because of his years of advocacy for Route 66 — especially with its centennial starting this year.
The long article tells Martin’s story of becoming a Route 66 champion whose calendar of speaking engagements and other events is practically full. But he wants to keep putting himself out there because he thinks the centennial will afect the Mother Road for years to come:
“I could very easily remember when I was the guy in the back of the room, when I first got started telling people how important Route 66 was to Oklahoma’s development and our culture. And the centennial was coming, and it was a big deal. But I was the only voice, and everyone said, ‘That’s great. Thank you.’ … I want to make sure that we’re taking advantage of this moment,” Martin says.
“I don’t think everything’s going to go away in 2027, there’s so much investment happening. There’s so much excitement, and the road is still going to be here. Tourists are still going to come over, and they’re still going to travel Route 66. But I’m not naive. I know some of these really large, corporate folks interested in (the Route) — in 2027, 2028 they’re going to find something else that they want to focus on. It’s the way of the world. I want to take advantage of this moment while we have it. So, I’m not quite at the ‘no’ stage yet.”
The article details one of the undeniable success stories in Tulsa — the Route 66 Neon Sign Grant Program.
To date, about 80 neon signs have been restored or created in Tulsa. The program has inspired several other towns along the Mother Road in Oklahoma to build or refurbish their neon signs. Sam Extance, Martin’s wife, says:
“Our nighttime landscape is completely transformed,” she says. “I think that the most exciting part about that is it’s changing all the time, because we have more grant applications — it feels like almost every month.”
Extance explains that having a rich collection of neon signs as an attraction gives the city an added bonus of inspiring tourists to spend the night in order to see the lights illuminate in the evening, which results in more dollars going into Tulsa’s economy.
The Tulsa Route 66 Commission also secured a trademark in 2024, proclaiming the city as “The Capital of Route 66.”
The city is also hosting the Route 66 Capital Cruise on May 30, hoping to draw thousands of cars.
Martin has also touted the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Google Arts and Culture and 20 other organizations that collaborate on the “Route 66 Rewind” storytelling hub, which uses artificial intelligence.
Then there’s the Oklahoma Route 66 Revitalization Grant Program, which has spent $6.6 million annually on Route 66-related projects in recent years.
A lot is going on, and Martin’s energy and leadership are a key reason for that.
(Image of Rhys Martin at the renovated Pony Bridge in Bridgeport, Oklahoma, courtesy of the Miles of Possibility Route 66 Conference)