Meet Jimmy Collins

Retired Major General James ("Jimmy") Collins
Introduced on March 6, 2013 by John Steckler

Fellow Rotarians, Honored Guests, Service is described as an act of helpful activity.  Service above self is described as Rotary.  Service as a career is best described by our newest Rotary inductee, Retired Major General James Collins, who joins us today under the classification: Leadership Consulting.

Now if you think that a title like Major General sounds impressive and formal, you’d be half right.  The title is very impressive, but the man behind it is anything but formal.  James Collins prefers to be referred to as Jimmy. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, he went to Fayetteville to attend college, earning a BS in business administration.  He also graduated with an R.O.T.C. commission of Lieutenant, and he met and married his wife and life partner, Linda. The Vietnam War was winding down and Lieutenant Collins was sent to  Stuttgart, Germany.  He also served at Fort Lewis in the late seventies.  It was during this time that Jimmy and his wife Linda added their son Andy and their daughter, Lauren, who is here today to see her father introduced into his fourth Rotary club. 

At the conclusion of his service at Fort Lewis, Jimmy and Linda decided it was time for him to resign his commission and return to Little Rock to join the family business.  Although they stayed four years it became clear to Jimmy and Linda that they were West Coast people and decided to move back to the Seattle area. In Bellevue Jimmy found work with newly formed AT&T Communications.  Two years later he went to work for Weyerhaeuser. During the next two decades he served in information technology and supplier management roles.  During his civilian career, Jimmy also served as a leader in the Army Reserve.  When 9/11 occurred he was serving here in Seattle as a two-star reserve General at Fort Lawton.  Finally, in 2002, Jimmy decided it was time for him to take a leave of absence from Weyerhaeuser and go back to the active-duty Army to serve.  From 2002 to 2005, Jimmy Collins was the Deputy Commanding General and Chief-of-Staff at Fort Lewis.  In that role he led over 30,000 soldiers and employees.  His military awards include, among others, the Army Distinguished Service Medal.  He retired from the Army in 2006 and returned to Weyerhaeuser for the next three years.  He retired in 2008 and started his own company, Jimmy Collins and Associates.

As an entrepreneur and business leadership consultant, Jimmy’s ideal customer is any CEO who is looking for a way to get more, or better, performance from his staff through enhanced organizational leadership. Beyond his service in the military, Jimmy has always been a service to his community.  His contributions include his role as a board member and past board chairman for Seattle Seafair, helping to found Hire America’s Heroes, a 501c3 non-profit corporation that connects America’s corporations with the talents and abilities of returning military service members, and serving as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Washington State. 

Jimmy is sponsored into the Club by two retired Admirals, Bill Center and Herb Bridge.  In case you didn’t know, an Admiral is like a General, who floats, in the Navy! It must be a hoot when these three get together for a game of War, or better yet Battleship. When I asked Jimmy why he wanted to rejoin Rotary again, he said, "Rotary is a service organization epitomized by their commitment to Service Above Self." Jimmy himself is a service-oriented person; therefore Rotary gives him a forum where his values are reinforced every day.  Welcome!