Dear Family and Friends .....
We take this occasion to wish you the Season's Greetings and ask God to bless you richly. As we send you this, we think of you and remember what a privilege and pleasure it is to have you in our life.
This has been a great year for us because we understand God's truth more clearly and personally. We are in great health and have enough wealth to be comfortable, but not enough to quit goal and purpose-seeking. Our commitments and the opportunities offered continue to challenge us both. We invite everyone to keep up with what we are doing and what we recommend on a personal website: www.wealthandhealthinstitute.com .
One of the great blessings of our life is that Genevieve and I enjoy being together at worship, work and play. We get to be together 90% of 24/7 ! We have been adversely affected by the real estate and mortgage debacle in these economic times, but we do what we can together today and let God provide for tomorrow. We aren't going to get out of this world alive, anyway !
God has blessed us with 5 wonderful and successful children, ages 39 to 51. We have 8 grandchildren, ages 5 to 29, who, of course, are very smart, intelligent and beautiful or handsome!!
JR, Jim's oldest son, is an entertainer, consultant, geek and entrepreneur. (JR is stilll single and, we think, still looking .....!!) He is the number 2 guy in producing and directing the movie about Martin Luther King's family, in which we are involved. The home page for the movie web site is up, so check it out : www.kingfamilymovie.com .
Second oldest, Genevieve's son Vance, has a very successful limousine business in Houston, Texas. He met his wife, Susi, in Germany when he was stationed there. He is presently launching a new business, Time Rider Motorcycle Tours and Shtuff for Bikers. (Check out the websites:
www.tr4tour.com and www.shtuffforbikers.com .)
Vance has 3 children: Chris is a successful accountant. Sabrina is going to take over her father's limousine business as soon as Time Rider is successfully launched, and is currently helping run it - sometimes by herself !! (It's a fantastic opportunity for a 20 year old.) The youngest, JT, is a senior in high school in Spring, Texas, and is Group Commander in his High School Air Force ROTC. His unit has been chosen to march in the inauguration of President-elect Obama in D.C. JT is hoping to get a full scholarship to Texas A & M, following in the footsteps of the previous ROTC Group Commander. (He figures his chances are great since he has better grades and higher SAT scores.)
Cyndi, Jim's oldest daughter, in addition to raising her children Ryan and Austin, is involved in real estate and creating various art forms. Ryan is between semesters of his first year in North Carolina University at Wilmington with mostly A's and one B, having completed 47 credit hours. Austin is an A student junior in high school in Newport News, Virginia.
Susan, Jim's youngest daughter, and her husband Richard, have 3 children - Matilda, 10, Lucy, 8 and Harry, 5. They sold their restaurant of 14 years when Susan graduated from law school a couple of years ago. Susan is now the new partner in Russell, Goetcheus and Velasquez in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Scott, Jim's youngest son, married Amy in August of this year. Scott is in charge of displays and exhibits at the children's museum in Raleigh, North Carolina.
This year is special for us in that Jim attended his high school 55th Reunion and the first military related function since his retirement March 1, 1975. The 50th Infantry Battalion Reunion was held in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in June. It was a great experience seeing the guys Jim served with in Germany in 1961 into 1962. Of particular significance was locating Jim's driver, Marvin Claytor, who was most responsible for Jim's successful move from Private to Lieutenant Colonel in 15 years. (Marvin made sure Jim was always at the right place at the right time with the right stuff.)
Highlights of the year for us have been:
1. Working with David Williams, Dr. Alveda King and conrad Bullard on Sons of Thunder, the movie.
2. The above 2 mentioned reunions.
3. Helping Vance launch his motorcycle businesses here and in Phoenix, Dallas and Houston.
4. Attending the Tuesday evening bible study as the Dr. Diggs home with the teaching and mentoring of Steve Scheffler and J.D. Clark.
5. Finding a new church to fellowship with under the ministry of Tom and Ann Andrews.
6. A great Thanksgiving with all members of Jim's family at Cyndi's, except for the Vance Lane family that we missed. (We did celebrate with them the Monday eve before in Houston.)
7. Looking back over the year and realizing that we are truly blessed. We are healthy, have a healthy family, the children and grandchildren are doing fine and we are all looking forward to a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
We, of course, join with millions of others and say, "We need to lose weight!" At the same time, we are grateful that we have enough to eat so we can say that!
We hope you enjoy "catching up" with us as we enjoy reading other Holiday Newsletters.
Love - Peace - Joy = Fulfillment ....
Jim and Genevieve
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
A Little About Jim
I was born in 1934 in Indianapolis, IN. When I was four we moved to Martinsville, IN. I am the oldest of seven boys and began earning money at the ripe old age of seven, then began holding down full time jobs after school, mostly in the food service industry.
While in high school, I participated in state science fairs and in the Westinghouse National Science Talent Search. I lettered for four years on the high school golf team and attended Purdue on golf and academic scholarships. I enlisted in the U.S. Army in January of 1955 to receive the G.I. Bill. While in the Army I attended Officer Candidate School, the University of Maryland, Seattle University and Troy State and graduated with a degree in education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1963. I then completed over thirty hours toward a Masters Degree in Aerospace Operations Management from the University of Southern California by 1969.
I was a medalist from Indiana the first two years of playing in the National USGA Junior Golf Tournament. I won the Indiana Fall Foliage Golf Tournaments in 1964 (enroute to Viet Nam assignment), winning again in 1965, one month after spending ten months (and ten operations) in the hospital to repair a combat wound to my left arm. In the spring of 1966 I set a course record at Ft. Rucker, Alabama.
In the military I attained wings from the U.S. Air Force in fixed wing aircraft, then completed helicopter training. I served two combat tours in Viet Nam, but was wounded on the twelfth day of the first tour. I returned to combat sixteen months after release from the hospital. I then attended and graduated from Command and General Staff College. During this school year I was promoted to Lt. Colonel. During my military career, I had twenty-three permanent change of geographic locations and received nine decorations, including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. I retired from the military in 1975 with the Meritorious Service Medal.
On a more personal note, at age seven I had a significant spiritual experience and at age ten I prevailed upon the church to baptize me. Recognizing Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour was the most important aspect of my life.
I married an extraordinary woman in 1956 and together we had four extraordinary children, two boys and two girls, who graduated from universities in Virginia. We divorced in 1976 and two months later I met the most important and powerfully influential person of my life, Genevieve Lane, who became my partner and counselor. We married in 2003.
In 1972, I began part-time involvement in the MLM networking industry, remaining involved and studying its leaders, products, training and compensation plans ever since. During the last thirty-plus years, Genevieve and I have participated with associates in business ventures involving printing, real estate, sales, insurance, beauty products and services, financial education and launching new patents, just to indicate the scope of our experience.
Throughout my adult life, leadership positions have always been my lot and my preference. Organizing people, power, resources, capital and leadership are fascinating and required for organizational success. Leadership and decision-making are the critical factors that determine success or failure in every human endeavor.
What shapes my life? Jesus Christ, love of and involvement with family and friends and following the dreams and ideas God puts in my head and heart. My enduring purpose is to share what I know and have with those who become involved with us in our endeavors and projects. My goal is to leave these special people a financial legacy. These are the priorities that make life worth living.
While in high school, I participated in state science fairs and in the Westinghouse National Science Talent Search. I lettered for four years on the high school golf team and attended Purdue on golf and academic scholarships. I enlisted in the U.S. Army in January of 1955 to receive the G.I. Bill. While in the Army I attended Officer Candidate School, the University of Maryland, Seattle University and Troy State and graduated with a degree in education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1963. I then completed over thirty hours toward a Masters Degree in Aerospace Operations Management from the University of Southern California by 1969.
I was a medalist from Indiana the first two years of playing in the National USGA Junior Golf Tournament. I won the Indiana Fall Foliage Golf Tournaments in 1964 (enroute to Viet Nam assignment), winning again in 1965, one month after spending ten months (and ten operations) in the hospital to repair a combat wound to my left arm. In the spring of 1966 I set a course record at Ft. Rucker, Alabama.
In the military I attained wings from the U.S. Air Force in fixed wing aircraft, then completed helicopter training. I served two combat tours in Viet Nam, but was wounded on the twelfth day of the first tour. I returned to combat sixteen months after release from the hospital. I then attended and graduated from Command and General Staff College. During this school year I was promoted to Lt. Colonel. During my military career, I had twenty-three permanent change of geographic locations and received nine decorations, including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. I retired from the military in 1975 with the Meritorious Service Medal.
On a more personal note, at age seven I had a significant spiritual experience and at age ten I prevailed upon the church to baptize me. Recognizing Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour was the most important aspect of my life.
I married an extraordinary woman in 1956 and together we had four extraordinary children, two boys and two girls, who graduated from universities in Virginia. We divorced in 1976 and two months later I met the most important and powerfully influential person of my life, Genevieve Lane, who became my partner and counselor. We married in 2003.
In 1972, I began part-time involvement in the MLM networking industry, remaining involved and studying its leaders, products, training and compensation plans ever since. During the last thirty-plus years, Genevieve and I have participated with associates in business ventures involving printing, real estate, sales, insurance, beauty products and services, financial education and launching new patents, just to indicate the scope of our experience.
Throughout my adult life, leadership positions have always been my lot and my preference. Organizing people, power, resources, capital and leadership are fascinating and required for organizational success. Leadership and decision-making are the critical factors that determine success or failure in every human endeavor.
What shapes my life? Jesus Christ, love of and involvement with family and friends and following the dreams and ideas God puts in my head and heart. My enduring purpose is to share what I know and have with those who become involved with us in our endeavors and projects. My goal is to leave these special people a financial legacy. These are the priorities that make life worth living.
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