Audio Article: Women of Towing – Claudia Martinez Porter
Woman of Towing
from the June 2022 Issue of Tow Times Magazine
Featuring Claudia Martinez Porter of the R&M Towing LLC of Phoenix, AZ
Claudia Martinez Porter is known for being a go getter and a giver. The owner of R&M Towing LLC of Phoenix, AZ, has a list of causes to which she contributes, from Shop with a Cop and back-to-school backpacks to Thanksgiving meal kits.
“I feel that I’m blessed and I should be blessing other people,” says Porter.
She does so via a nonprofit Porter launched in 2017 called We Keep Rising. How the business owner and mother of a blended family of nine – three are still at home, ages 16, 13 and 12 – makes time for outside activities is a mystery even to her. However, one thing is clear:Porter likes to stay on the move.
“She does an enormous amount for charities,” says Angela Barnett, executive director of the Arizona Professional Towing & Recovery Association, of which Porter is also vice president.
“I feel like if I’m home I do not accomplish anything,” Porter says. And so Porter is always seeking something more to do. She’d like to expand her business to a third location. She’d like to add heavy-duty towing to her light-duty business mix. She’d like to get into real estate. She may even want to run for public office one day.
“I want to do legislation,” she explains. It’s a good thing that she has family working alongside her – husband Michael, who is in sales, two sisters in the office, daughters Marisela, 24, who’s been working in the office since she was a teen, and Andrea, 16, who works the tow yard, but who is interested in mechanics.
“I try to keep it family-owned and -operated.” It’s a pretty great position to be in for Porter, 39, who has been in towing for 22 years, including 14 years as head of R&M Towing, which has eight tow trucks and employs up to 25 workers in mostly private property towing.
“I never actually thought we’d get this far,” comments Porter, who left school in the seventh grade, and who now mentors youths interested in towing during summer breaks. “But I was determined to learn more and do more. I still consider myself a small company.”
Porter began in towing working at another Phoenix-area firm where her ideas and proposals kept hitting a wall. One day, the owner suggested Porter start her own company, which she did. She’s grateful for the nudge. “I feel like my old boss pushed me.”
Another prompt came from a poor childhood that is not easily or soon forgotten. Porter, who was born in California but has lived in Arizona since age 12, acknowledges she once ran away and has slept on a mattress in a garage. Eventually, she joined her grandparents.
“I’ve had a very rough life since I was little,” she says. “I grew up very poor.” The rough edges of Porter’s life inform and guide her work and behavior. She plans employee outings and hosts employee luncheons as well. “I want to continue to show my appreciation.”
Remembering her troubles as a young person keeps her grounded and engaged in community work. “Sometimes things happen, and you fall down, and you should get up,” she advises. Faith keeps her on her two feet – Sunday service is one activity she doesn’t miss no matter what else is going on, including youth sports. Which is to say, Porter keeps rising.
“I feel like I have to have faith,” she insists. “The Lord gives me the heat that I need.” So it’s likely that Porter will continue to search for things to add to her already long list of causes and activities.
“I like to stay humble. You should always give a helping hand.”
