This week’s spotlight will focus on Jim Bailey.
There are several adjectives to describe Jim Bailey. Focused, driven, and goal-oriented are some of them.
Mr. Bailey is the quintessential native son. He was born and raised in Colleton County more specifically Walterboro. He is a product of the Colleton County School District. He attended elementary school at Forest Hills Elementary School (where his mother was an educator), he went to Colleton County Middle School, and Colleton County High School. His favorite subject in school was Social Studies/History. He enjoyed and still enjoys learning about how things were done in the past and how that evolved into how things are done today. The stories themselves are also fascinating to him. Of particular interest to Jim is the history of Colleton County from the beginning to where it is now.
Sports were also part of the curriculum in Bailey’s school career. He played a wide variety of sports: football, soccer, golf, basketball, and cross country. He sustained an injury in his sophomore year which took him out of cross country and soccer, but he still continued to play football and golf.
After high school, Jim made the transition to college. In August of 2019 he started at USC Salkehatchie and then COVID-19 made its global debut in his freshman year. All classes were redirected to virtual. Bailey did not have as difficult a time transitioning to virtual classes, due to his participation in the Cougar New Tech program at CCHS. The Cougar New Tech program started in 2013 and offered “incoming freshmen the opportunity to take part in an exciting new program that uses 21st century tools to learn 21st century skills.” The program used project and problem-based learning and utilized technology in order to achieve goals and complete projects. This background enabled Bailey to transition to full virtual learning without too much difficulty even though the pandemic itself interfered in some planning. Jim finished USC Salk virtually with an Associate of Science and an Associate of Arts. He then had to make the decision if he wanted to leave and continue college elsewhere or continue to stay virtual through USC Salkehatchie and the Palmetto College. With the state of many things still unknown regarding the virus Mr. Bailey decided to continue his college career virtually. He went virtually to USC Aiken graduating cum laude and obtained a Bachelor of Communications with a cognate in Education. Jim states, “I actually credit my ability to do the virtual learning to when I was in high school. The Cougar New Tech Program dealt with using projects and technology to learn” which facilitated how well he did in college. Jim concedes he may continue his education by obtaining his teaching certifications and utilizing his enjoyment of social studies/history, but has not committed to a decision yet.
After graduating from college in May 2023, Jim decided it was time to join the workforce. By August of 2023 he had a job with the Colleton Adult Learning Center with the Colleton County School District. There he worked as a College and Career Navigator. He helped the adult learners determine what they wanted to pursue when they completed CALC. In January of 2024 Jim was given additional responsibilities with the Adult Education Department overseeing all the data within the school. He remained at the data position until August of 2024. He was then offered another position at the Colleton County Recreation Center. He was offered this position because he stayed on there, where he was working part time over the summer with the Rec Center and the golf course. Even during his full-time employment with CCSD Jim never left his part time job. He would work on the weekends or holidays from school wherever he was needed. During this time, he was working a full-time job and two part time jobs. Feeling the pressure of spreading himself thin, Bailey looked for another opportunity. He was offered the Special Projects Coordinator for the Colleton County Parks and Recreation Department and took the offer in the late Summer of 2024. True to how his college career went, Tropical Storm Debby came through soon thereafter so his actual full week of work was the second full week of August. Jim grinned and laughed when I joked and said his adult life thus far had been defined by a worldwide pandemic and natural disaster. I asked him what exactly a Special Projects Coordinator is and does. With another grin he commented that was a question he got a lot. He takes care of the social media for the Recreation Center; Facebook, Twitter, X, and/or Instagram posting. He also compiles the newsletter. Additionally, he compiles reports of data and with the members that come in and check in and all the citizens that use the facilities. He also takes care of public outreach with events such as Trunk or Treat and the Elf Dash-n-Drive Golf Tournament. He comments he has projects he is working on for the upcoming year he wants to see come to fruition. With his background in sports, Bailey’s presence at the Recreation Center can only be helpful.
I asked Jim what he did when he was not going to college or working for the Colleton County School District or the Colleton County Parks and Recreation Department. I was going for leisure, but Mr. Bailey adhering to the adjectives focused, driven, and goal-oriented answered 180° degrees in the opposite direction. Jim Bailey is a Firefighter-EMT with Colleton County Fire-Rescue on a volunteer basis. He started with the Explorer Program when he was 14. When he turned 18 he became a volunteer with no training and began taking classes through the South Carolina Fire Academy. He gained his Firefighter 2 in April of 2021. His EMT training began the week before he started his college classes. COVID-19 interfered a little bit he also and delayed him getting EMT certification in 2020. True to form Jim help run calls and help anyway he can for CCFR.
I tried again and asked specifically what he likes to do for leisure. It turns out Mr. Bailey is a man of simple pleasures. He still enjoys playing rounds of golf. He also likes to go for walks outdoors. He also gets to be the “cool uncle” to his 2 nieces and one nephew.
As for the future, Jim hasn’t 100% figured out exactly what he wants to do in life. He has been accepted to some masters’ programs in different studies, but nothing is settled.
I asked him the million-dollar question of what he would do if time and money were no obstacle. Unsurprisingly, he said he would probably still work. With a little coaxing and a little thought, he finally said he would probably play golf for the rest of his life. He said his short game wasn’t good enough for the PGA, but I reminded him that if time and money were no object he could perfect his short game and be on the tour in no time. I was only half joking. Looking at all Jim has accomplished in his life so far, if he won the lottery I would not be surprised in the least if I saw him on the PGA Tour not long after.
