Last April I wrote in Counselor my 2007 New Years Resolutions. In the article I spoke about one of the most significant issues the addiction field faces today: the fractious nature of the field. I wrote, “For far too long, national organizations have conflicted over terminology and territory.”

My resolution in 2007 was that it is time for national organizations in the addictions field “to agree, merge, consolidate, or whatever the solution might be, and act as one on behalf of the field.” Another year has passed, and my hopes for resolution of our family squabbling remain.

Father Joseph C. Martin, who recently turned 83, is a renowned educator on the disease of alcoholism and drug addiction. He has touched the lives of millions during more than five decades of working with recovering people. He is probably best known for his film, Chalk Talk, which more than 35 years after its release, is still being described by addiction experts as one of the most effective and informative descriptions of alcoholism and addiction, to date.

Born in Baltimore, Md., on Oct. 12, 1924, Father Martin was one of seven children to James and Marie Martin. Raised in a “happy and secure” environment, Father Martin attended Catholic schools, and was a good student. In the summer before his senior year at Loyola High School (a very selective all-male Jesuit school), Father Martin began working full-time at St. Mary’s Seminary in the evenings, and continued to work there while attending Loyola College. After his sophomore year, Father Martin entered St. Mary’s Seminary, where he spent the next two years studying for the priesthood. In 1948, at the age of 24, Father Martin was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore.