Current source roster
Tulsa Route 66 Commission
Commission member
Listed term ends July1,2027
Exact joining date not established.
People / Government & civic life
Rhys Martin
Tulsa Route 66 commissioner; preservation advocate
A photographer and author connecting Tulsa’s historic corridor with statewide volunteer advocacy and national preservation assistance.
Rhys Martin serves on the Tulsa Route 66 Commission, leads the Oklahoma Route 66 Association as president and works for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. His public, volunteer and professional roles have different responsibilities and decision powers.
From photography to preservation
A Tulsa native and photographer, Martin told Oklahoma Magazine that a 2013 trip to the Coleman Theatre in Miami led him to explore more of Route 66. A 2015 bridge-preservation event in Lebanon, Missouri, connected him with advocates and encouraged him to become involved. In the same interview he dated his entry onto the Oklahoma Route 66 Association board, as Tulsa County representative, to 2017 and his election as president to 2019. These are his published recollections, rather than independently reconstructed dates for every early activity.
Career & public service
- 2015
Preservation involvement
Described a Missouri bridge-preservation event as a turning point.
- 2017
Association board
Reported joining as Tulsa County representative.
- 2018
Published author
Lost Restaurants of Tulsa appeared.
- 2019
Association president
Elected president, according to his published interview.
- July 29, 2024
National Trust employment
Announced start as Preserve Route 66 manager.
- November 21, 2024
Neon-sign project
State commission approved the recipient change he presented for the Association.
People, institutions and the relationships between them
Following the connections
Each step below represents a documented relationship. Dates and roles belong to the individual links; a path can span different periods.
personRhys Martin
commissionTulsa Route 66 Commission
Advisory seat in a municipal body.
personRhys Martin
nonprofitNational Trust for Historic Preservation
Employment is separate from volunteer Association leadership.
personRhys Martin
nonprofitRoute 66 Road Ahead Partnership
Board and working-group role connects state advocacy efforts.
Documented relationships
6 documented relationships · Historical and current roles remain distinct.
Current source roster
Oklahoma Route 66 Association
Association president
2019–present
Start year from published interview; current roster corroborates role.
Current source roster
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Preserve Route 66 manager
July29,2024–present
Exact joining date not established.
Current source roster
Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership
Board member; State Advocacy Working Group chair
Current source roster
Route 66 Alliance
Alliance adviser
Current source roster
Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission
Centennial commission member
Current Association biography
Role reported by Association; exact appointment instrument and term dates not established.
A documented grant decision
State minutes provide a concrete example of Martin acting for the Association. On November 21, 2024, he asked the Oklahoma Route 66 Commission to replace a participant that had dropped out of the Association’s neon-sign project. The commissioners unanimously approved the change. The minutes list Martin among the guests, not the voting commissioners. This establishes an applicant-side presentation and a public approval; it does not establish that Martin controlled the award, that funds had been paid, or that the replacement work was completed. That state grant body is separate from his Tulsa commission.
Leading a member-driven association
The Association’s current roster identifies Martin as president and describes an organization governed by elected officers and county representatives, with a separate executive director. Its work combines preservation advocacy, a trip guide, newsletters and volunteer projects. Martin’s position gives him a platform to represent that membership and organize support for threatened places. It does not make the Association a government agency. His 2023 interview described volunteer repainting at Allen’s Fillin’ Station in Commerce, an example of preservation work that extends beyond publicity.
A national preservation job
A National Trust for Historic Preservation announcement set July 29, 2024, as Martin’s start as manager of its Preserve Route 66 initiative. The job involves outreach to communities, connecting sites with assistance and helping grants and advocacy efforts succeed. The Tulsa City-County Library’s 2026 program biography corroborates his continuing employment. The Trust’s initiative supports historic places and legacy businesses, including work with public agencies, tribal governments and nonprofits. Its advocacy for federal historic-trail designation is a policy objective, not evidence that a designation has already become law.
Connections across Route 66 institutions
The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership lists Martin on its board as chair of the State Advocacy Working Group. Its national structure connects state associations with preservation, research and economic-development efforts. The Route 66 Alliance separately identifies him as an adviser. These are distinct organizations, not branches of a single authority. The Association also identifies his membership on the Oklahoma Route 66 Centennial Commission. Taken together, these roles explain how a Tulsa-based advocate participates in local, statewide and national conversations without implying that those institutions coordinate every decision.
Interpretation
Writing and public interpretation
Martin’s 2018 book Lost Restaurants of Tulsa documents the city’s vanished dining establishments. His photography also became the subject of Discovering 66, an exhibition announced by the Oklahoma Historical Society for July 2024. The Library’s 2026 biography identifies him as TulsaPeople’s Tulsan of the Year. These cultural activities give his preservation work a public storytelling dimension: buildings and roadside businesses are presented as records of community life as well as tourist destinations. The connection between storytelling and advocacy is an interpretation of the documented work.
What the Association disclosed
The Association’s calendar-year 2025 Form 990, submitted March 6, 2026, lists Martin as president and reports zero dollars in each of the three compensation columns for him: reportable pay from the Association, reportable pay from related organizations, and estimated other compensation. This is a disclosure about that nonprofit role, not a statement that Martin had no income. His National Trust employment is a separate relationship. The filing’s compensation table does not establish his salary there, book earnings or personal assets.
Check the record
Sources & corrections
Research checked 2026-10-23. Roles and financial figures retain their source dates. Sections appear only when supported material is available; an omitted section is not a finding that no such relationship exists.
- City of Tulsa boards and commissions ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-23
Tulsa Route 66 Commission purpose,19 members,mayor/Council appointment; seat1 Rhys Martin through July1,2027. From date not treated as verified appointment event.
- Oklahoma Route 66 Association leadership ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-23
President Rhys Martin; institutional biography and named portrait. Member-driven nonprofit, elected officers, separate executive director Laurie Paul.
- Rhys Martin: Closing Thoughts ↗
independent-reporting · Source date 2023-03-29 · Checked 2026-10-23
March29,2023 interview: photographer;2013 trip;2015 preservation event;2017 board;2019 presidency; volunteer projects. Self-recollections attributed.
- National Trust announces Preserve Route 66 manager ↗
primary · Source date 2024-07-29 · Checked 2026-10-23
National Trust announcement reproduced by Illinois Scenic Byway: starts July29,2024; outreach, assistance and grant outcomes;2018 book; volunteer affiliations.
- National Trust: Preserve Route 66 ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-23
Program purpose, legacy businesses, public/tribal/nonprofit assistance, preservation and proposed trail designation; not evidence legislation enacted.
- Oklahoma Route 66 Commission minutes ↗
primary · Source date 2024-11-21 · Checked 2026-10-23
November21,2024 pp1–2 rollcall lists Martin as guest; p5 item9d unanimous approval of replacement neon-sign project recipient. No amount claimed.
- Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership board ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-23
Board lists Rhys Martin, chair State Advocacy Working Group; partnership mission and2016 establishment with National Park Service/World Monuments Fund support.
- Route 66 Alliance: Rhys Martin ↗
primary · Checked 2026-10-23
Named biography explicitly identifies adviser role; photographer and author. No exact joining date.
- Route 66 Centennial library program ↗
primary · Source date 2026-07-18 · Checked 2026-10-23
July18,2026 event listing confirms National Trust manager,Association president since2019,author and2026Tulsan of Year. Listing not proof event took place.
- Discovering 66 exhibit ↗
primary · Source date 2024-07-27 · Checked 2026-10-23
Oklahoma Historical Society announces July27,2024 exhibition of Martin photographs.
- Oklahoma Route 66 Association 2025 Form 990 ↗
primary · Source date 2026-03-06 · Checked 2026-10-23
IRS e-file visual reconstruction, calendar2025; submitted March6,2026; p7 PartVIIA Martin president,columnsD/E/F each0USD. Visually inspected. Compensation only from this organization/related entities, not personal income. Latest indexed return checked.