A La Porte County Life in the Spotlight: Jim Antrim

Jim-Antrim 1This week's La Porte County Life in the Spotlight, is an exceptional young man with a gift of making everyone feel special! From the moment you walk in the door, Jim Antrim is ready to greet you with, "Welcome to Walmart", a warm smile, and a most sincere compliment. Although he has been pleasantly greeting folks since 1995 as a La Porte Walmart People Greeter, he hasn't been without struggles of his own.

Jim has been a lifelong resident of La Porte County, where he completed elementary, middle and high school. Upon his graduation in 1988, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves, Military Police squadron, and completed basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama with aspirations of becoming a police officer. He beamed as he shared his experiences in basic training.

"I got to jump out of planes, and shoot guns," he said.

After basic training, he returned home and began his collegiate studies at Purdue North Central. He was on track to accomplish his goals until a fateful day in October when he was involved in an automobile accident that nearly took his life, placed him in a coma for 3 months, and left him with debilitating brain injuries that would take years of rehabilitation.

After spending more than a year in rehab, re-learning the basic skills learned as a child, he would not give up as his drive and determination helped him battle the simple skill sets that most of us take for granted every day.

"I even had to re-learn how to talk and walk again," he said.

Although he still struggles with lapses in short term memory, he doesn't let it affect his daily routine.

Jim-Antrim 2He spoke fondly of his accomplishments before the accident, in Taekwondo, where he earned his 3rd Degree Black Belt before the age of 18, and spent some time teaching the martial art to fellow high school students. He started a Taekwondo program at the La Porte County YMCA, which is still currently offered.

After he had regained the ablility to walk and talk again, his giving nature saw him looking for opportunities to become engaged with the community. He began volunteering as a tutor at his alma mater, Riley Elementary School and St. John's Lutheran School. He would also spend time visiting nursing homes to play cards with the residents.

1995 would prove to be an exciting, eventful year for Jim. In May of that year, Jim would marry his high school crush and the love of his life, Cindy Schrader. Although they never dated in high school, Cindy caught Jim's eye early on. During high school, he would make daily trips to the office, where she worked as an office assistant, to see her and flirt.

"I would always go down to the office to see her during 6th hour. She was just like my mom, she had 6 sisters and no brothers. My mom had 4 sisters and no brothers," Antrim said.

In October of that same year, when the new Walmart came to town, he accepted a position as a People Greeter.

As one of the highlights of his job, he shared, "I enjoy how well I can communicate with the world. It makes me happy to be able to be self-sufficient and to have the ability to provide for my family."

"Everyone in town thinks Jim is their best friend," said his only sibling, sister Trudy Menke.

And this is evident as he was chosen as a Grand Marshall of the La Porte County July 4th parade, one of the largest parades in the state, and has had a Facebook page created for him by his fans, which boasts over 6,600 likes.

Jim, Cindy, and their children, Schasta, Clae, Cole, and Floral, reside in La Porte.

He attributes his remarkable recovery to his strong Christian faith and offers, "Please do your best, when you think you're doing your best, try harder!"

Thank you Jim, for your words of wisdom, your positive influence in your community, and the incredible role model you present! We congratulate you and are proud to honor you as this week's La Porte Life in the Spotlight!