UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS

Jim (born in Lexington in 1930) was a student at Lafayette,  grades 7 thru 12.  He was the starting left tackle on Lafayette’s first 2 football teams, a member of the marching band for 6 years and a member of the National Honor Society.  While there, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout, was the 1945 KY 4-H Poultry Champion and was selected to receive a 4-year KY Dept. of Highways Scholarship at University of Kentucky.

While at UK, Jim was a member of the UK Marching Band (played at the Sugar Bowl & Cotton Bowl), was president of Tau Beta Pi (engineering honor society), and was active in the Baptist Student Union  He graduated at the top of UK’s College of Engineering class of 1953, and earned a Master of Civil Engineering (Structures) degree in 1954.  After retirement, Jim completed 4 courses at Lexington Theological Seminary and 12 courses at UK as a Donovan Scholar.

Following 2 years in the US Army Corps of Engineering in Panama Canal Zone, Jim received his Professional Engineering License and was one of  the founding partners at Kroboth Engineering designing bridges and buildings for 10 years.  He then continued engineering work designing shopping centers, buildings and water projects  for several companies until his retirement in 1993.  He served as President of both the KY Society of Civil Engineers and the KY Society of Professional Engineers.  He was elected to the National Board of Directors for both organizations.

Jim is very active in his community having served as President of both Burley and Bluegrass Kiwanis Clubs.  He is on the Boards of YMCA, Bluegrass Council of Boy Scouts and Spindletop Hall.  He also participated in 4-week-long Habitat for Humanity blitz-builds in Georgia and Kentucky and made 2-week long mission trips to Russia and Prague.  As a Christian, he felt his calling was to use his talent to work on projects for his church (Calvary Baptist) where he has served as deacon, trustee, teacher and choir member.

Jim is proud of his family.  With his wife of 57 years, Wini (died in 2021), Jim has a son David (in Lexington) and a daughter Diane Gordon ( Huntsville, AL).  He has 4 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.  He says that his family and his church work are the two most important and rewarding things in his life.

Jim has researched  and written: I’m Still Learning-An Autobiography (2015, 85 pages), At Calvary-A History of Calvary Baptist Church (2005, 134 pages), Lafayette's First Eleven (2008, 30 pages), Lafayette Champions (2018, 40 pages) and Hamilton Park (2011, 61 pages).

Honors received: Robert M Gillim Professional Recognition Award (Ky Section of A.S.C.E. 1981), Distinguished Service Award (University of KY Alumni Association 1998, Career Achievement in Civil Engineering Award (Dept. of Civil Engineering at UK 2020).

I want to thank the Alumni Association for awarding your scholarship to me. It is a huge honor and I really appreciate the Association’s confidence in me. I have spent the past four years in the Lafayette pre-engineering program, and I plan to continue to pursue engineering in college as a computer science major. I have always been accomplished in math and science, and I want to use those skills to develop technology that will make the world a simpler and better place. Due to the cost of tuition, fees and books it is difficult to make it through college without being thousands of dollars in debt. This scholarship has relieved a lot of financial stress and given me and my family peace of mind. Thank you again, I am so very grateful to have received your scholarship

Evan Damron joins our group of current Alumni Association Scholarship students.

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 REUNIONS