“Instead of being in the community and complaining, step in and try to help,” he declares. “We’ve entered the ‘no nonsense’ zone,” and Jim isn’t playing. “I don’t like to stand on the sideline and complain if you can do something. It might be 100% wrong, but at least you try.” His conviction reveals his nature, which values optimistic yet practical solutions above all. He’s here to help, and throughout our conversation, that conviction rang clear.

 

Though a long-term resident of Waverly, Jim grew up in Virden. He believes this distance gives him a unique perspective. “I think having outside eyes sometimes gives you a different view,” he says and hints at the common small-town conflicts that can arise when emotions run high. Jim strikes as someone who brings balance and measure to the kitchen when the heat rises. He sees fixation on symbols like mascots counterproductive to the larger mission of education as a waste of time. “They’re student-athletes. They’re not athletestudents. We have to rearrange that priority,” he insists. Again, the man’s right.

 

Jim firmly believes that Waverly’s attentive education results from its smaller class sizes, which he considers a draw to new faculty talent. “Everybody likes a small class. If you have twelve kids, you can take care of them pretty well,” he says. Compared to the class sizes of 30-plus that professionals might face in larger metropolitan areas, he touts Waverly as a very attractive place for teachers to work and thrive.

 

Leaders should be allowed to lead, he emphasizes. “Let the principals put their players into motion. Let’s see how it works out,” Jim stresses, indicating his sports-inspired view of educational management. Jim also sees parallels between keeping his gutter business clients happy and his role on the board. “Sometimes you just have to defuse the situation and explain a different way of doing the same thing,” he states, acknowledging that “Some people don’t want to hear it. They’re just going to be mad to be mad.”

 

At the end of the day, the buck stops at someone. A warm body must be on the other end of the line to make tough choices for the greater good. “If it’s for the betterment of the district, you have to do it,” Jim says, encapsulating his head-over-heart decision-making style. This approach was evident when the board undertook an asphalt project during COVID, converting a previously rocky and muddy driveway into a sleek entrance, enhancing the first impression of visitors to our campus.

 

In Waverly, Jim Brown is not just a board president but a man deeply integrated into the fabric of where he lives. His journey from a business owner to a symbol of educational leadership is a testament to his belief in volunteer community involvement, accepting difficult choices, and how districts that stick together end up channeling and directing flow together. We know seamless gutter metaphors aren’t pretty, but gutters are practical, calm, and not emotionally charged. That’s Jim Brown. A man committed to getting things done.