Kentland Community Supporter: Jim Sammons

I was born and raised in Kentland, went to South Newton High School, and then attended St. Joseph’s College over in Rensselaer. In my family, I have two younger brothers and I’m actually a fourth-generation Sammons to run the Savings and Loan up here in town, which has been in existence since 1920.

I’ve coached for over 32 years at one level or another at South Newton High School. Most recently, as the varsity boys’ basketball coach, I resigned from that position this past year when my triplet boys (Garrett, Eli, and Cy) graduated. My wife April and I also have an older son, Hume, who just graduated college.

As for my day-to-day work, we help people acquire their first real estate mortgages. On the other side, we have savings accounts and certificates of deposit. For any fans out there, I’m sure you’ll recognize the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life”. Do you know George Bailey? Essentially, that’s me. You call up, and you get me on the phone. You don’t get automation, you don’t get anything like that. I deal with third and fourth-generation families. It’s local money, serving local people. All of the investments are helping residents purchase homes here.

During my time in Kentland, I’ve served on the town board for 12 and a half years. I was first appointed on July 1 of 2010, then I won three elections after that. Before all of this, I served on a county board– the board of zoning appeals– back when the landfill first came to be.

How did I become involved in local government? My great-grandfather, besides being an attorney, was also the postmaster and president of the school board. This was back during George Ade’s time (I have records of correspondence from him with my great-grandfather). My uncles were both attorneys and one was the prosecuting attorney for a while.

My grandfather, George Sammons was the First Circuit Court Judge of this county, when we first became a county and broke off from Jasper. The governor appointed him as the First Circuit Court Judge. These were just a few things that ultimately led to my interest in local government. I wanted to do my part, and pay homage to where I came from.

For anyone who would be interested in serving their town, especially Kentland, I would tell them a few things. A position, for instance, a role with the Town Board, requires much involvement. You have to approach everything with an open mind and capture all of the details. Sometimes, things will be beyond your control, and that’s okay. You can help mitigate them to benefit your town and the people who live in it. I am proud to say that I have been able to be involved with projects such as the new water tower north of town, the pool project, various storm water projects, the new firehouse, and most recently, the ongoing Thrive Project.

Kentland is very safe, peaceful, and enjoyable. When I graduated, I had offers in other places, but seeing what this town provided me and my family over the years, it just kept me here. I thought it was a great place to go ahead and raise my family and instill in them the morals, values, and ethics that were given to me. I just consider this whole town as an extension of my family, and I always will.

If there is one thing that I want Kentland to be known for, I would want it to be seen as a place that all towns would aspire to be.