About Jim
Jim, 59, grew up in eastern North Carolina—about an hour’s drive from the coast—in farm country. He attended NC State University at Raleigh where he received a BS in Electrical Engineering in 1974. While at NC State, he met his wife-to-be, Beth.
After graduation, Beth and Jim moved to Charlotte where Jim designed computer systems for power generation facilities. In this first position, he gained what was to become a lifelong commitment to service as he supported the systems he designed.
From Charlotte, they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio and both began a long career with GE and the family grew to include two daughters, Elizabeth and Emily.
At the Aircraft Engines facility there, Jim continued working in systems design and support for Computer Aided Manufacturing projects and later as a manager of a group designing systems for fully-automated factories. Here again, support was 24 X 7 and he learned he could only succeed if his customer succeeded. While in Cincinnati, Jim studied at the University of Cincinnati and received an MS in Computer Engineering. From a home in the Ridgewood area of Pleasant Ridge to a home in the suburb of Wyoming, Ohio, he gained an appreciation for older homes and neighborhoods as both homes were built in the 1920’s. The Village of Wyoming was placed on the National Historic Register while they were residents and there they learned the value of preserving homes and neighborhoods.
After 13 years in Cincinnati, Beth’s career brought a move to Weston, CT. Jim continued his role of systems support as he created and managed the operations of a customer call center for GE Capital’s Retailer Financial Services IT department. While the position changed his client base from manufacturing to retail credit card services (supporting 6,000 employees and 18,000 clients), the bottom line remained customer service.
Beth and Jim jumped at the opportunity to move back to the Midwest as they settled in the Chicago suburb of Barrington in 1996. After a brief stint consulting with Deloitte & Touche, LLP, Jim took an opportunity with a startup firm where he managed the operations of four IT help desks at four of the largest law firms in Chicago. After only a couple of years, he was lured back to manufacturing systems as he took the top IT job with Woods Equipment Company. Meanwhile, Jim was serving on the board of the Barrington Oakmeadows Homeowners’ Association–an organization formed to address water management issues in the neighborhood. The board activities included contracting hydraulic studies and determining neighborhood action plans to address flooding issues caused by overdevelopment north of the neighborhood.
A move to Abington in 2005 brought to fruition Beth and Jim’s goal of moving East to eventually retire. They were struck by the beauty of Abington’s wonderful neighborhoods and homes, its convenient transit schedules as well as the diversity of the area. They settled in a 1920’s “Old Style” home in Meadowbrook. Since moving to Abington, Jim has been providing IT and project management consulting services on a part-time basis.
Jim’s commitment to supporting the constituency is as strong as his commitment to serve his commercial clients. He plans to fully retire following the election to devote his full-time efforts as a Township Commissioner.