Welcome to the 'Ville

Name: Jim Landers
Title: Technician, Electrical Engineering Programs

Jim Landers
  1. Where are you originally from? I was born and raised the great state of Nebraska around Omaha. Through corporate downsizes, we were transplanted to Chicago for 4 years, then transplanted to the Dayton area for the past 13 years.
  2. What did you do before coming to Cedarville? I worked as a Communications Tech/Supervisor/instructor/project manager for AT&T & NCR until the group I had was downsized to nothing in 2002. I have been doing a lot of electrical/computer/home remodel work for that past two years before signing on with CU.
  3. What brought you to Cedarville? One of the CU employees called me up one day out of the clear blue sky and said the engineering department was looking for a tech that could do computers and electrical/electronic type repair and installation. I applied, was interviewed, and made a job offer. I had known that Cedarville existed since I was in junior high. I had contemplated coming to Cedarville as one of the colleges to go to. 30+ years later I'm working here. When we first moved here, I had no idea where Cedarville was. It was really amazing to know that we had moved into the area that contained a school that I had considered.
  4. What do you like most about your job? Teamwork and variety. I am in a mode of playing catchup, but I think in a year or so I should have it under control. I also love the fact that I get exposed to new ideas and technologies every day. The E.E. field is constantly in a state of flux so it is a wonderful challenge keeping up and reacquainting myself with new theories and ideas.
  5. What hobbies do you have? I enjoy a number of things. I have a old Yamaha SY55 synth and a TG33 module that I program from time to time. I enjoy arranging music in quartet style. I love to lead and plan congregational singing. Music plays a big part in my life. I am an avid woodworker. I love to find a piece of furniture that has caught my eye, redesign it with new techniques, and build it. It was my release from the pressures of the corporate world. Lately, I've been working together with an fellow who has woodworked for 60 + years. He has taught me some old tricks, and I have taught his some new ones. I love the teamwork and he has taught me patience with my skill. I also ref soccer. I am a certified U.S.S.F. (United States Soccer Federation) referee and an OHSAA High School referee.
  6. Where is your favorite place on Earth? Why? Anyplace that puts me in the country. I'm a farm kid at heart. My favorite past time is to go for a Saturday morning drive to a high point and watch a sunrise anytime of the year. In the fall I love the morning orange colors on a harvested field. Watching the frost take the last leaf from the top of the tree. I love to see the field just after a night snow. The summer smell of freshly cut grass. Springtime daffodils and tulips and freshly plowed fields. I've traveled all over this country with business to know there is no place like home. The one place I do enjoy are the mountains. When I am in Denver or Charlotte, I always take a drive in the mountains (Dayton is a lot like Omaha where I grew up except the weather is much milder). I just love to go for a drive in the hills or country and explore the roads.
  7. What is your wife's name and do you have any children? My wife is Linnet, and I have three children, Ashley, 20, and Erin, 16. We also have a son, Andrew, who is enjoying heavens' glory. I long to see him.
  8. What style of music do you enjoy most? I am a big Southern Gospel music fan. There is no other music on earth that has the uplifting power that this music brings. Yes we get to stomp our feet and clap our hands. But it is the power of the words that makes it what it is. It's happy music. Family music. I used to be picky about the groups, but as I get older, it is the words with the heart that make it for me. The music is the testimony of the heart who writes it, the person who presents it, the story of what God has done in their life, where their trust lies.....it encourages me!