Jim’s Rotary service and recognitions include Assistant Governor and the Follow Me Assistant Governor of the Year Award, Rotary Foundation Bequest Society and Benefactor, Paul Harris Society and Paul Harris Fellow +8, 2017 Rotary International Convention HOC Executive Committee, RLI Graduate + 3 Graduate Courses, Georgia Rotary Student Program Will Watt Fellow, District Youth Services Chair, and Georgia Rotary Laws of Life Board member. He is Past President of the Rotary Club of Sandy Springs and recipient of the District 6900 Sheffield Leadership Award, Club Rotarian of the Year, two Service Above Self Awards, and sponsor of twelve Rotary Club members. A Certified Franchise Executive, Jim is Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer at Firestorm, overseeing franchise development and alternative channel expansion for the brand. Firestorm is a national franchise company specializing in crisis management, vulnerability analysis/threat assessment, and business continuity. Jim is founding chairman of the International Franchise Association’s Institute of Certified Franchise Executives, and a former member of the IFA Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees of the IFA Franchise Research and Education Foundation, where he received the Foundation’s highest honor, the William Rosenberg Leadership Award. On the local level he serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Southeast Franchise Forum, and a member of the Georgia State University Franchise Entrepreneurship Advisory Board. Jim also maintains a high profile in the foodservice industry as Chairman Emeritus of the Georgia Restaurant Association, and a member of Georgia State University’s School of Hospitality Industry Advisory Board. He is past president of the restaurant division of the Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association, which presented him with the Chairman’s Award in 2003 and designated him Food Service Industry Leader of the Year in 1990. Jim lives in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and is a member of the City of Sandy Springs Development Authority and American Legion Post 201. He and his wife Donna are active members of Dunwoody United Methodist Church, and they have a son and a daughter who have blessed them with three grandsons and two granddaughters.
Rotary Club of North Cobb
Copeland's Restaurant
1142 Ernest W Barrett Pkwy NW
Kennesaw, GA 30144