He always will stand out in a crowd. Always and in ALL WAYS!
[Jim with his wife, Debbie, his son, Jayson, and daughter, Megan, his and Debbie's daughter.]
[Jim & Debbie with Jim's Aunt Marge & Uncle Raymond Holman of Catawba, South Carolina] From his baritone voice to his demeanor, when people meet James E. Smith for the first time, he makes a lasting impression.
The reason is this: you know very simply you’re in the Presence of one who is “Good” and one who walks in the light of God.
In his walk and in his talk, Jim Smith exudes Goodness. If you’re soured on people and places and things, he makes you want to believe again in all things that are good.
What is so interesting about this man is that he does not walk with any air of pomposity or arrogance. As a matter of face, he walks with a humility...and grace...and his own style. But Jim Smith simply is...goodness, so he cannot help but let his light shine through to all those who are in his presence.
Every person who has walked alongside Jim Smith and those who have worked beside him year after year after year at IBM know this about him.
The management at IBM has long known this.
That’s why layoff round after layoff round at the company, Jim Smith has never been touched, even though he himself says, “I believe more talented, more deserving people than I were let go.”
You don’t have to wonder or ponder why the management at IBM chose to bypass Jim. He simply is the type of person you want to always have around. His personal philosophy towards life, of “Loving the Lord with all (his) heart and mind and soul and loving (his) neighbor as himself” shows up in his work and in his ways at IBM for almost 30 years.
Jim treats everyone he meets with love and respect, knowing he says, that “we all deserve to be treated this way, as God’s children, created in his image. That love is “agape” love, unconditional, the same kind of love God shows us in spite of the fact that we often forget him. This kind of love of one another includes our enemies, as we are called to love our enemies, as they too are God created, and all God creates is good. It’s our human nature that makes us unclean.”
I TRULY cannot see Jim Smith ever having an enemy in this world. I don’t see how anyone would ever call him anything but a friend.
He has seen so many people come from behind him, achieving much higher levels at IBM than he did. “One is now a vice president, another is a director, yet another became executive assistant to the worldwide VP of Corporate Communications,” he says. Yet, Jim simply watched them move on up, without complaint, jealousy, anger or frustration.
“Working in a corporate environment is tough with people angling for position and attention, competing all the time, shoving you aside if they can help it. I have worked for IBM for nearly 30 years and have worked very hard to avoid that kind of attitude. I have tried to have the attitude that the work I do is for God, as we are instructed to serve God always, to glorify him in all we do and say. I have achieved much in my IBM career, but not nearly what I perhaps could have if I’d bowed to unsavory practices to get ahead. Instead, I let God’s will be done, and I’m happier for it.”
So what does make this man, James E. Smith, tick?
First, there is God.
“God is the center of my life, creator of all things—Yahweh, all powerful, all-seeing, ever present....My number one purpose is to serve God.“
Next , there is his wife, Debbie, to whom he would have been married for 28 years in September. She is an Iowa-born farm girl, who grew up in Kasson-Manorville, Minnesota, a small town just outside Rochester. So, Jim sees that loving this woman until death is to “love as Christ loved the Church.”
[Debbie with her best friend, Peggy Anson.]Then, there are his kids. First, there is Jayson, a physical therapist in Southhaven, Mississippi, who aspires to have his own clinic someday in Atlanta, Georgia. Jayson is married and has a three-year old son.
[Jim's grandson, Jayson Jr.]
Then there is Amy, his 35-year-old stepdaughter, to whom he’s been a father since she was seven years old. Amy is married to a “great man” who is a financial manager and whose family is from Lebanon. They have three daughters, 13, 5, and 2.
[Stepdaughter Amy's wedding, with Debbie's mom, Madonna, and Amy's first-born, Victoria. Jim & Debbie, too].
[Amy and her three daughters.]Then there is his youngest, Megan, age 23, who is living outside Denver, Colorado and is an assistant account executive for a major advertising firm, but she has dreams of becoming a clinical psychologist to help those afflicted with Mauchausen By Proxy Syndrome.
[Megan with two of her cousins].
[Aunt Marge & Uncle Raymond Holman visit Megan at Roger Williams Business School, Bristol, Rhode Island.] Jim Smith says about his life, “I’ve been blessed. I see how God has been showing up in my life!”
From the age of five, Jim says he was curious about everything about God. Even then, he kept asking his parents about God and where did he come from and who created him. One day, he was searching so hard and getting NO ANSWERS, so he searched his own little mind and... actually...passed out in trying to find the answer!
That day was the beginning of an unending search for God.
Jim grew up curious about everything God. When he was old enough, he says, he read the Bible cover to cover, like a history book, “learning a lot but not understanding the Bible themes. I tried numerous religions...Baptist, Pentecostal, even went to a Catholic Mass or two.”
Nothing resonated with Jim.
Today, Jim says that he “has no religion.” But he has a “Christian life....a life devoted to Christ and his teachings...but not a religion.”
For six years, Jim has served as an elder in the Waterbury Church of Christ, a role, he says, the Bible refers to as a Shepherd, Bishop, Presbyter, Pastor.
Jim is one of five men who serve in this way by leading the local congregation of about 160 people. He teaches Adult Bible class each Sunday morning, occasionally preaches and leads the outreach and evangelism ministry.
This is his real passion. ”Teaching, especially sharing my faith and teaching the significance and relevance of the Gospel of Christ. Other than my family, above all else is my desire to share the peace and joy I get from a relationship with Christ. It helps me navigate the storms of this life.”
Yes, even Jim has had challenges that come from having a high-powered corporate life and working in the church. “At times,” he says. “It has put a strain on my family life and marriage, but we have persevered through those obstacles, financial and others. Prayer has been the key.
“I use the Bible wisdom as the primary compass for my life, and I accept and depend on God’s Grace. I call it my life GPS, God’s Positioning System. The Bible—Basic Instructions Before Life Ends. And Grace, God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense.”
All powerful stuff coming from a powerful man!
Jim’s career at IBM has included all aspects of Corporate Communications: executive speechwriting, multi-media slide show management, conference show producer/director, and also managing numerous global IBM public relations programs.Jim currently manages all communications aspects of IBM’s corporate Integrated Supply Chain business and its global retail operations. He works out of IBM’s Somers, NY, office.
[Jim watching a chess match in the office, using the the board involved in the chess match between Gary Kasparov and the Deep Blue IBM supercomputer]. His life has prepared him for these achievements.
He grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and was a straight “A” student, finishing 4th out of a class of 700. He received a full Northwestern Academic Scholarship to Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications.
He worked as a reporter for the United Press International and as a general assignment reporter, covering stories that ranged from state government to sports. He covered stories on Hank Aaron , members of Congress, including now U.S. Congressman, Senator David Scott, D-GA. At one time, he also served as Press Secretary to Congressman Lloyd Meeds, D-Wash, as part of an internship program.
Jim Smith plans to retire in three to five years from IBM. At that time, he looks forward to doing work in a charitable organization, using his public relations skills. Of course, he will welcome the extra time to spend with his wife and family and devoting a greater amount of time to ministering to the spiritual lives of all who have open and honest hearts.
[Jim and his three granddaughters, who call him Bompa.]What can we say to those who will meet Jim Smith, as he reaches out and touches them?
“You don’t have a prayer to escape such goodness and light.”
Tomorrow, May 18th, is Jim Smith's Birthday. Happy Birthday, Jim! May your light and your star continue to shine so very, very brightly in the world!
Namaste’,
Che’
NOTE: I worked side-by-side with Jim Smith during my time at IBM. We worked together, first in IBM offices in Stamford, Connecticut, then in White Plains, New York. From those days, Jim and I have maintained a steady and enduring friendship that now spans decades. I consider him to be truly one of my best friends. Thanks, Jim, for your many years of friendship, loyalty and support!
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