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By Mandy Haggerson
For the Clemmons Courier

Martin Majorel grew up in a family that valued hard work and education from a young age. “I am the youngest of four with three older sisters. My sisters had really good grades and back then I was focused mostly on being outside whether it was hunting, fishing, playing soccer, or riding motorcycles,” remembers Majorel. A native to Argentina, his sisters and parents encouraged him to go outside of his comfort zone and dream big. “When I was in college, there was a foreign exchange student program. It was my family that really recommended I try something new after we had an exchange student stay at our house by attending High Point University (HPU).”

Majorel’s experience at High Point was so positive that when he graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in business administration, he decided to accept an academic scholarship to attend HPU’s master of business administration program. “I had gone home after I had completed my undergraduate program. My family had thrown me a welcome home party not realizing that I was going to stay another two years. At first, of course, they were sad I wasn’t coming home for good, but they understood it was a great opportunity,” recalls Majorel. “They knew that I was fortunate to have influences like my academic advisor and life coach, Dr. Michael McCully, and friends that became like family, Heather and Matt Bischoff that helped me adjust to the culture early on.”

Majorel’s opportunity from his hard work did not end after the completion of High Point’s MBA program. “I was offered an internship for 90 days at First Community Bank. At the end of the internship, they offered me a position,” notes Majorel. He was tasked with helping focus on the Hispanic community with opening five new branches. “The focus during those five years when I was there was growth, more growth, and even more growth. We wanted the Hispanic community to get more opportunities to access credit options available to them,” explains Majorel. “I was young with lots of energy. I was volunteering and helping in a lot of other ways too. I had taken the Leadership Winston-Salem class and helped with the inception of the Lewisville-Clemmons Chamber of Commerce. I had my hands in a lot of pots at that time.”

Majorel found another key component to his future during his experience in the banking world. He met his future wife, Olga, who also had the same professional experiences. “Olga remained in the banking world, but I made a bit of a change in 2008 when I went to work for the legal firm, Wilson and Helms, LLP. Gray Wilson was an incredible mentor to me with learning about accounting. For 10 years I worked side by side of him helping with restructuring, client relations, marketing, human relations, and all of the accounting and finance. I grew professionally and personally. I still consider him to be one of the bigger mentors of my life,” says Majorel. “When the firm was bought out in 2017, I decided to go to another legal firm in town, Blanco and Tackaberry. At that time, Olga and I had four children, all of who were in school, so staying in this area was important,” explains Majorel.

The father to Rebecca (17), Max (14), Gabriela (9), and Emiliana (7) has been humbled by how much work parenting is and also how rewarding. “I’m convinced nobody tells you how hard being a parent is so you actually become one,” jokes Majorel. “It’s incredible. I love that my children and Olga enjoy spending time outdoors like I did when I was their ages. Some prefer to fish more, others hunt, and hike but they all value and enjoy nature. We have so many beautiful parks close by that we are able to take advantage of as a family. They appreciate that I’m a farm boy at heart.”

One of the benefits of Majorel’s current professional position as the owner of his own small business, TEM, LLC is that he can have a flexible schedule to make just those types of trips. “I started out on my own a year ago in an office here in Clemmons. The focus is on business administration needs like bookkeeping, taxes, trust accounting, and general ledger to name a few,” describes Majorel. He is still very active in the community, serving on the HPU’s Phillips School of Business Advisory Board, Village of Clemmons Planning Board, and president of the Rotary Club of Clemmons. Majorel has also served as the treasurer for the Forsyth Academy, a charter school in Winston-Salem since 2013.

Our neighbor, who feels blessed by the opportunities presented to him through hard work, never forgets the reward of giving back to his community and appreciating his family that helped make the journey worthwhile.