By Dana Erickson
It’s been said that life will eventually circle back around. This is definitely the case for Jimmie Lee Elliott, Jr. From Walterboro to Kuwait and back, Elliott gives back to the area where he grew up, in his own unique way.
Mr. Elliott is from the Walterboro, Sniders Crossroads area. He attended Bells Elementary School and was part of the last graduating class of Ruffin High School in 2002. While at Ruffin High School Jimmie had an impressive athletic catalog. He played football as a nose tackle, kicker, and punter, basketball as a guard, baseball in center field, and he ran track. He was never the tallest on his teams, but he was fast. After high school Jimmie attended Claflin University for a semester and a half and then attended Adams State College in Colorado where he majored in elementary education. He was following in the footsteps of his sister Kawaii Elliott who is currently a first-grade teacher at Bells Elementary School. However, due to a family tragedy, Elliott did not finish college and returned to Walterboro. He worked with his uncle for a time pouring concrete. Then he took another job in Charleston. Then came a defining decision in his life. After his brother and his cousin joined the military, so did Jimmie. His father, who served in Vietnam, told his boys never to join the military, but as sometimes children do, they did not listen. Elliott joined the National Guard and he calls it the best decision of his life. Jimmie served two tours overseas in Kuwait in his time in service. Their role was to help train the local nationals’ military and they were supporting active duty military also. His time overseas was during the Global War on Terrorism and Operation Enduring Freedom. He now serves as a recruiter.
Before his first tour, Elliott was a security guard. He was a supervisor at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice in Walterboro and at the Coastal Evaluation Center in Ridgeville. After his second deployment, it was noticed by his superiors that he was very adept at fitness and he was asked to be a fitness instructor in Columbia. He fulfilled that role for six months. While he was in Columbia he was approached and asked if he has ever thought about being a recruiter. Elliott gave the idea its due consideration. He reasoned he had already been a mentor at DJJ and felt he could make the transition to mentor young people about the military and the difference it has made in his life. He said, “I’ll give it a shot” and has now settled nicely into his role as a recruiter. Not only did becoming a recruiter satisfy Elliott’s professional aspirations, it also allowed Jimmie to meet his wife (who is also a recruiter) which makes his choice again, “the best decision of my life.” Jimmie and his wife Porsche have been together for six years and have 4 children: Trey who is 15, Jimariyah who is 13, Jimmie, III who is 4, and they have recently welcomed 4-month-old Nova into their family.
Jimmie further elaborates about how the military was the best decision for him and how it changed his life. He comments he did not join straight out of high school. He went to college for a while and according to him spent some time being a “knucklehead”. He was 24 when he joined and he comments that the military helps with stability, discipline, and it provides time to think about what to do in life. Getting paid and staying in shape was an added bonus for Elliott. The physical aspect of being in the National Guard appealed to the athlete in him and he deviated completely from his original intent of elementary education and went to school while on orders at Centura College at night on a 33-week accelerated program and became certified in massage therapy. His plans for furthering his education do not end here. Jimmie plans to go back to school online for criminal justice coming back around to his time spent at DJJ.
Elliott has a partner with him when he goes to schools for a recruitment event. National Guardsmen are also referred to as civilian soldiers and their approach to recruitment reflects that. When they go to the schools to talk to the students, Elliott goes in “civilian” clothes and his partner goes in uniform. Jimmie does not talk about the military directly; that is his partner’s job. Elliott talks about what can possibly happen to these students if they do not join. His words are direct, purposeful, sometimes seemingly harsh and jarring, but nonetheless true. He lays out the possible paths their lives can take and is honest about how things may turn out. He then lays out how the military can hand them control over their choices and as a result their lives. Jimmie shares that sometimes they get it right away and sometimes it takes a couple of years to “get it”, but if they do and join, then he feels he has helped that young person’s life.
Out of the uniform and at home, Elliott is a proud husband and father of four. He laughs and says he still get the exercise running around after the kids. He also enjoys cooking and grilling, a lot. Mrs. Porsche gifted him a big grill for his birthday which he uses whenever he can. This isn’t just a passing fancy or an in the house only kind of pursuit. When he retires, he plans on opening a restaurant or a food truck. I guess we will have to wait and see.
When asked what he would do if money or time or anything else was not an obstacle, Jimmie says it would be a toss-up between being a personal trainer and a cook. He thinks about it a little bit more and lands on becoming a public speaker and reaching out to the younger generation and leading them down the right path. He reasons he has been helping kids through the National Guard recruiting so it is not that big of a leap. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him accomplish all three.
