Chief Justice Hannah, Jan and Jim at the swearing in ceremony
like being in heaven beca use she was th e best cook th ere ever was." "And I had a ca r wreck on the way co work," Jan added, whi ch is why Ma G reene was so eager to have a driver for her daughter. "She wo uld wake him up each morning by grabbing his big toe," Jan said . "She laughed about that until the day she died." After the second summer, Jim went [ 0 law school at So uth ern Methodist University in Dall as and Jan went back to college in Fayetteville. Afrer :1 heart-wrenching yea r apart, mey married in June of 197 1. and Jim said his last two yea rs of law school we nt much more smoorhly than the first. " Kind , ca ring. si ncere. fun , fa mily man , good fri end ," Jan described Jim . "And not always right," she added, whi ch he said is why he keeps her close by his side co keep him straighr. All T hin gs Work Together for the Good Afte r law school, when he and Jan were co nsidering where co go nex t. he heeded the adv ice of a memor. "A very smart man told me rh at you need ro decide wh ere YOll wam to be, and then go rh ere and find a way to make it wo rk. " They decided where they wamed to be was in Arkansas with rheir families. So in 1973, they made their way to Brinkley where Jim began his legal ca reer under the win gs of James B. Sharp. T he following year, Jim roo k on a supplemental job as the 24 The ArbnsJs L~I\'Yer
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depu ry prosecutOr for Monroe Co unry, where he ga ined valuable ex perience trying cases. In 1975. he assumed rh e position of Brinkley's muni cipal judge, which he held until he moved to Harrison in 1986. Jim co ntinued co practice with Sharp until 1982. At rhat poinr, Jim enrered the race fo r chancery judge and starred his own law practice. C hancery Judge Ben Story defea ted Jim in th e election. Jim said th at at th e time "ir was a hard pill to take," bu t mrned OUt to be the besf thing fo r him and his fam ily since if freed th em to make the move to Harrison four yea rs later. ....We have both been ra ised in C hristi an homes and believe in the Bible and Romans 8:28-that all things work together for the good," Jim said. For th e past 20 years, Jan and Jim have lived in the same house located in one of rh e old es t neighborh oods in Harriso n wh ere rh ey raised their three children. T hei r son, Dani el (28), is their oldest child and works with Jim at his law office as a legal ass istant and process server. T heir oldest daughter Sarah (27), wo rks as a pharmaceuti cal sales represe ntati ve in JOll eshnro and is marri ed to Rya n Herin ge r. Emily (23), their youngest daughter, just finished her fi rst year of law school at th e University of Arka nsas in Fayeneville. Jim's 92-year-old parenrs, Joseph and Virgin ia, live close at hand on their fa rm in Marble. Arkansas. Joseph Sprott is a retired carrie far mer and a
former mayor of HUJ1[sville. Today, most of Jim 's practice involves represe nting Co mmuni ty First Bank, a bank that he hel ped found in I 997-a n ex perience that he said has been one of d1e most interesting experi ences that he has had oucside of the practice of law. The ban k now has five locatio ns and ove r 100 employees, with the main bank located just off of the town squ:1re in Harrison. T he name of the bank represents the whole co ncept of the bank" It's all about co mmunity." Each location is locall y co ntroll ed and operated and plays a large role in the communi ty. Jim 's passion for his communi ty does nor stOp at his in volvement in the bank. He has served on the Boa rd of Trustees of No rth Arkansas Co mmuni ty College since 1996 and served as chair from 1999-2001. He has served on th e Board of Directors of the Harriso n C hamber of COll'lmerCC and Main Street Harrison. Jim has also served as president of many local organ izations includ ing the Brinkley Rotary Club, Harriso n Rorary Cl ub, Brinkley C ham ber of Co mmerce, and Harriso n C hamber of Co mm erce. In addi tion, he has se rved as chair of rhe BrinkJ ey Hospital Commission and th e Coca Cola Airshow of rh e O za rks and on rhe Board of Directors of the No rth Arkansas Partnership fo r Health Educa tion. " ) love bein g a lawye r." Jim sa id . "Someti mes the mast mea ningful th ings that happen to you are the smallest cases." Jim and Jan both agreed that his most impo rtant case was an adoption case where Jan handed a baby to a new mother on Morher's Day. "It was so nea t," Jan said . "I thin k rhey think of liS to this day as their sto rk." " My Only Purpose-to Serve My Profession" "Jim has always aspired to be pres idenr of the Arkansas Bar Association," Jan said ..... It has been engrained in him since he was 23years old." T he first year Jim started wo rking with James B. Sharp, Sharp was lhe pres idenrelect of rhe Associatio n. As his career developed over the yea ts, Jim knew that he wanted ro lead rhis Association in its tOP elected office one day. He recalled as king Mu rray C laycomb why he was runn ing fo r president of the Associari on seve ral years ago. " He said he was doing ir ro serve his profession. I hope ) can follow in thar kind of footstep. That is my onl y purpose-to serve my profession."
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