A former Emmy Award winning New England Sports Network videographer has a cafe named after him.
Cafe Martin, named after John Martin, it’s your typical coffee serving spot. It sits in his backyard in Newtown, MA, and it’s sole purpose is to serve as a gathering place.
According to a story in the Boston Globe, in January 2017 Martin was diagnosed with ALS. He left his job covering the major sports teams in town and slowly the disease has taken over. He’s now wheelchair bound so the cafe serves as a way for him to stay social and raise money for medical bills.
The concept has become a way to raise money for the Martin family via online sales of clothing, and especially hats.
“I’ve literally never seen him without a hat,’’ said Paul Devlin, who became close with Martin while he was a NESN reporter and host in the mid 2000s and came up with the merchandising concept. “So it seemed like a great way to raise some money for the family while giving people something to gravitate toward, something tangible.
“When you walk out on the patio at Café Martin, it’s such a powerful experience. They have such a positive attitude despite such a terrible situation, and you can’t help but be affected by it and want to do anything you can to help.”
Before joining NESN in 1999, Martin worked for Cablevision.
You can read the full story here.