Jim was raised on a farm near Chester, Nebraska, with 7 brothers and sisters. His parents were farmers and school teachers. Jim was active in church and school, and was a 4-year letterman in 3 sports at Chester High School. He started earning money at the age of 12 by driving a tractor and truck for a neighbor, and he saved enough to help pay his way through college at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where he graduated with a degree in Finance. Jim came to Waco to attend Baylor Law School, and eventually began a career in banking. Jim helped establish the FirstCity Financial Corporation investment banking platform here in Waco, and assisted in making FirstCity a publicly-traded company [NASDAQ] in 1995. Jim served as the growing company’s Chief Operations Officer and Corporate Treasurer for over 20 years. FirstCity invested and managed over $5 Billon in commercial assets in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia with over 30 offices and 1,000 employees. Jim served as Director on the Boards of over 20 investment and operating companies, including a regional railroad, an operating coal mine, an oilfield housing manufacturer, a Small Business Administration loan originator/servicer, a ceramics importer, and a multifamily cabinets/counters manufacturer. After the FirstCity platform was sold, Jim returned to community banking as a Commercial Lender with the First National Bank of Central Texas. Jim currently serves as a Financial Consultant to O’Brien-Staley Partners, a Minneapolis-based investment fund.