MACON, Ga. — Jim Leonard turned 80 this year, but there's nothing old about him.
"All I read is electronics stuff, anything -- magazines I read, I've just always been electronically-connected, I guess. I just, I don't play golf, I tried it one time and I didn't like it," he said.
His interest in technology began before any of the devices he works on now were invented.
"Started in electronics when I was 14 playing with the family radio, wondering what made it tick," Leonard said.
He left Macon after high school for the Navy, working on gunfire and radar controls as an electronic technician for 8 years.
"Came out and I was even more into electronics then because I learned a lot in the Navy and the Navy schools. Then I got out of that, and finally got a job at Mercer University. Stayed there for 12 years, left there and came here and been here ever since at Bibb County Schools," he said.
His colleagues are grateful for everything he does.
"I basically wish our youth today would have his work ethic, because he certainly has that. He doesn't have to work -- he enjoys working, so he continues to do it," Westside High School Media Specialist Laurie Griffin said.
"We all got together to celebrate his 80th, when he came in he had no idea," Literacy Coach Teri Byrd said.
"I was like 'Wow!' A big shock! They are just wonderful ladies, great people to work with," Leonard said.
From working on old-fashioned tube radios to the latest Microsoft laptops, he says helping students get what they need to learn makes it all worth it.
"They'll see you come in the rooms and say, 'Oh, Mr. Jim, he's going to fix this,' it makes you feel good and satisfied that you've done something and you do your job well," Leonard said.
Leonard was born on June 28th, 1939.
He says he got his work ethic from his parents.
He plans to retire somewhere on the beach in the next three years.
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