Like a Phoenix - Skip Martin of RoMa Craft Tobac

     There were no ashes to rise from, as did the legendary Phoenix. There was mud and mold, stench, rot, and a dream erased by walls of wind and waves of water.

     When Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, Texas in September 2008 Skip Martin and his partner owned a thriving cigar shop. What he discovered a few days later was that it was gone, his dream erased. Most would have given up and moved on, but not this infectiously optimistic and cheerful young man. He simply determined to succeed again, and he has in a way that has earned him both respect and praise in the cigar industry.

     "I inhaled the aroma from the foot of the cigar directly into my nostril; it displaced all of my other senses. I ceremoniously peeled the cap off of the end of the cigar and lit it. I stood there, in that damp and dank room, smoking my cigar and began to cry for the first time in more than ten years."

     Less than four years later Skip is riding a creative wave that by any rational measure would have seemed impossible, and the cigars his RoMa Craft Tobac factory are producing are in such great demand they are sold virtually before they are produced.

     I recently had the pleasure of traveling across Texas for a week with Skip.  You couldn't ask for a better guy to do a road trip with. Late nights of speeding along empty highways for hours allowed us plenty of time to know and understand each other, and I learned to appreciate Hip Hop music, barbeque, and the joy of spending time with an honorable man who has earned a special place in my heart.

     Each time I look at his picture I am reminded of someone else in my life who is so unique and special that her value to me is beyond measure, and what they share in common is that at about the same age most people would have written them off.  But, from the first moment I met each of them I knew they were the kind of people one could only ever hope to meet once in a lifetime. I am twice blessed.

     Will he succeed? Let me put it this way: I got five on it.

     Please join us September 15, 2012 at Delaware Park Racetrack and Casino in Wilmington, DE for the 6th annual Delaware Cigar Festival to meet Skip, and participate in the national release of his new Aquitaine Cigars. You'll be glad you did.  For additional information, or to purchase tickets call 302-836-4889.