2024 BBB East Texas Board of Directors Nominee Bios

A native East Texan, John Soules Sr., is the owner of Texas Organics and  is the founder and chairman of John Soules Foods Incorporated,, the leading producer of beef and chicken fajitas in the United States, with a retail presence of more than 17,000 stores in 50 states.

Mr. Soules also is a steadfast supporter of Tyler and East Texas, giving generously of his time and resources to various community efforts.

Earlier this year, the Soules family and John Soules Foods entered into an agreement with UT Tyler to make a major investment supporting student success in business and technology programs. The investment is the single largest, most transformational private contribution to UT Tyler in the university’s history.

The UT Tyler College of Business was renamed the Soules College of Business in recognition of the new partnership.

Juan Martinez, CPA moved to East Texas from Southern California in 2007. He studied Business Administration at California State University, Long Beach and proceeded to work in public accounting assuring client compliance with federal and state regulators and providing tax and business consulting to clients in various industries. Juan lives in Tyler, TX with his wife Norma. They have a son, Daniel Martinez, 20, who attends Vanguard University at Costa Mesa, CA. Juan is the founder, president and CEO of Martinez, CPA Corp, a business, tax consulting and accounting firm that he started in 2009 with the encouragement of his wife, parents, and friends.  Juan’s desire to serve his community led him to serve as Chairman of the Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance (HBA) in 2014-2015. Juan has also served at various boards including Texas Workforce Commission, Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, Total Healthcare Clinic, and most recently, BancorpSouth Community Advisory Committee, and as elder of Grace Community Church. Juan is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), a member of the California Society of CPAs, and a member of the Texas Society of CPAs. 

In addition to being a tax and business consultant, Juan has taught tax and accounting at Tyler Junior College, UT Tyler, Literacy Council of Tyler, and for the Tyler Hispanic Business Alliance. In his free time, Juan loves to go the movies with his family, loves to play the guitar, and he currently serves at “Grace Community en Español” worship band. 

Chris is  a Financial Advisor for Edward Jones Investments.  His pursuit is to help people make smart decisions with their money, beginning by understanding what’s important, creating personalized strategies to get to your goals, all the while partnering throughout life to help keep my clients on track. 

Chris is a native Texan, born in Houston, and has called Tyler home since 1994.  Being outdoors and keeping an active lifestyle is where he gravitates. Chris has a Bachelors and a Masters in Business Administration from Stephen F. Austin University and is a graduate of Leadership Tyler. He continually serves the community through several professional and non-profit organizations in volunteer and leadership roles.

Kim Beckham has been leading people for over 40 years. He loves to learn and he has a passion for personal development. Kim holds a Master's Degree from Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a graduate of the Leadership Tyler training program and actively serves on the board of Tyler Chamber Commerce. Kim was the development director for the Azleway children's homes for ten years and is an accomplished professional fundraiser. Kim is also a certified career, and life coach, and has been coaching people for the last five years. Kim is a life-long pastor serving two great churches. For the past thirty years he has served as the lead pastor of Central Baptist Church in Tyler, Texas. He is an accomplished and sought after speaker as well as a certified DISC trainer. He is life-long lover of great fiction, biographies, and nonfiction in the area of self help.