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WHERE ARE THE NOW GRAPHIC JIM LUNDY

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Men's Golf's Jim Lundy: Where Are They Now?

He may be the most entertaining former Bison to appear in this feature. He came to Lipscomb from Oregon in search of a Christian school where he could play golf, and those who know Jim Lundy recognize him as a comedian in a CPA's hat. He's now a partner for Marcum LLP, an award-winning public speaker, a husband, and a father of two. We learned a lot and laughed even more when he sat down this week for a conversation with LipscombSports.com.
 
 
What years did you compete for Lipscomb?
 
I played golf for Coach Ralph Samples from 1977-80 – my freshman and sophomore years plus half my junior year. At that point Coach made an "administrative decision" that I should focus on accounting, and it was probably the better move for both of us. I suspect he needed to give my scholarship to someone who could really play golf instead of just looking like they could play, and it worked out well. Playing golf at Lipscomb was a great experience, and one I wouldn't trade for anything.
 
 
What teammates were most memorable?
 
There were some older team members when I arrived on campus – Darrell Shelton and Bryan Kendrick – who were the "big brothers" for our team. Of course, everyone knows that big brothers aren't always nice. They may be good for you eventually, but you might not fully appreciate it at the time.
 
Darrell and Bryan assumed the self-assigned duty to provide all of us with nicknames – sort of like the movie Animal House. Darrell's nickname was "Divot" and Bryan's was "Bear," but somehow that's about as flattering as the names got. My roommate, Jeff McClain, was called "Hairdo" thanks to a memorable perm he wore when returning to campus from Thanksgiving break. Jeff Wilson's nickname was "Toad" because, according to Darrell and Bryan, every time he hit a bad drive he said, "I toed it." I guess that's a golf thing.
 
My nickname was even less user-friendly – trust me – and as the featured former Bison in this week's column, I will exercise the power to keep it to myself.
 
 
What degree have you earned?
 
I graduated from Lipscomb in 1981 with a B.S. in Accounting and Business Management.
 
 
Why did you attend Lipscomb?
 
I grew up in Oregon in the church of Christ, and I wanted to go to a Christian school where I could play golf. In my junior year of high school, Will Brewer won the NAIA National Championship in golf, and he was featured on the cover of Teenage Christian, a magazine for, yep, teenage Christians, even in Oregon. Naturally, I saw Will in that position and asked, "Why not me?"
 
Add to that the fact that my dad was Dean of Administration at a college in Oregon, and the Director of Athletics knew Coach (Ralph) Samples very well through coaching connections. He offered to write Coach Samples for me, and suddenly I received a scholarship offer from Lipscomb. The athletic money combined with some academic scholarships made Lipscomb attractive to me … but one more factor sealed the deal.
 
I was a Civil War buff – probably the only one in the state of Oregon – and I had read about the Battle of Nashville and its location in the Green Hills area. Naturally, I thought, "How cool is this! I'll be going to school on a Civil War battlefield!" It was only after I moved to Nashville that I realized there is little mention of the Battle of Nashville except on those metal signs located near intersections, but I can't read fast enough to get to the bottom of those before the traffic light changes. The Civil War selling point was enough, however, to clinch my decision to move across the country for college, and I'm glad for that.
 
I'll admit I got a little homesick at first but being a member of the golf team and my quick connection to Sigma Chi Delta and High Rise Dorm helped me feel at home.
 
 
What is your favorite athletic memory at Lipscomb?
 
We got to go on a trip to Hawaii one year! I think it was actually a trip for the baseball team and their fans, but somehow Coach Samples snuck us on the flight. It was a great golf tournament that included some future PGA pros, Fred Couples and Bobby Clampett, and we had a blast.
 
The fans and supporters on the trip obviously had the choice of watching the baseball team or watching us play golf, and I'm pretty sure even Coach Samples chose the baseball games. But we had a great time and made some entertaining memories.
 
 
Who influenced your athletic career at Lipscomb?
 
The obvious answer is Coach Samples, but whether it was his fault or mine, he didn't influence me by drastically improving my game. His favorite saying at the time was "Let it happen." My response was always, "Coach, I'm letting it happen, but 'it' isn't good."
 
I love that guy, though, and the best way he influenced me was probably by telling me I needed to find a different career than being a golf pro.
 
 
What do you remember about Lipscomb campus life during your time here?
 
Just about all my campus life memories are tied to social clubs, whether you consider that to be good or bad. Even today when a classmate is mentioned, I connect them to their club and remember them that way. Please don't take that in a bad way – we didn't use those labels to include or exclude anyone. It's just the way my brain helps me remember people.
 
The clubs were always good for social interaction. There were plenty of events in which different clubs worked together – like Bison Day and Singarama – that provided a natural way for us to make connections on campus.
 
 
What is the most valuable lesson you learned in your time at Lipscomb?
 
I suppose this ties in with the last question, but I learned from my time on campus and I tried to tell my children the same thing: just be friends with everybody. That way, you can go into the Dining Hall and sit down at a table with five people you don't know yet, and you'll find common ground and build a community. And of course, those people will probably be your Facebook friends in 40 years, so be nice to them.
 
 
Who were your favorite professors?
 
The week I got "cut" from the golf team, I was in the middle of Intermediate Accounting, which to me was just brutal, and I decided to change my career path to pre-Law. I took my drop/add slips to Dr. (Charles) Frasier, and he actually took my slips and ERASED them. He said, "Nope, Jim, you're not gonna do this."
 
I asked, "can you do that?" and he said, "I'll see you in class tomorrow."
 
I also have great memories of Dean (Dennis) Loyd. He is a great man, and thanks to my role in Sigma Chi Delta, I got to spend plenty of time in his office. I found myself doing lots of explaining and he spent lots of time shaking his head. He was also the Babbler sponsor and I served several years as sports editor, so we had some good interactions too.
 
I really enjoyed Don Meyer. Lots of people in my circle were afraid of him because he could be very intimidating. But I was dumb enough to jump right in, and I almost always came away from our talks with some priceless nugget.
 
And finally, Jim Thomas is kind of a hero to me. He taught Speech to a group of freshmen at 8:00 in the morning, and that couldn't have been an easy gig. He made us comfortable, though, and created a good learning environment. We didn't see eye-to-eye at first because he didn't think EVERY speech should be a comedy routine. I tried to explain, "My speeches don't start out funny, they just end up that way."
 
I've thought of him many times, because now I have a box of trophies for being "Speaker of the Year" for National CPA conventions, and he says, "That's fantastic!" That's when I remind him, "My competition is just CPAs. As far as making entertaining speeches, the bar is set pretty low."
 
 
Where did you grow up?
 
I grew up in LaGrande, Oregon. Ironically, it's French for "the big," and I guess that's subject to your perception.
 
 
What do you do now?
 
I'm the Tax and Construction Partner for Marcum CPAs and Advisors. Another Lipscomb guy, Greg Golden, and I had our own firm until about five years ago when we merged up into Marcum, which is about the 14th or 15th largest CPA firm in the country and wanted to move into the Nashville market.
 
 
Tell us about your family:
 
I met Debbie when she transferred to Lipscomb from Vanderbilt. We've been married 39 years, and she's an event planner in Nashville.
 
We have two children, Clark and Claire. Clark graduated from SMU, married, and works in Dallas. Claire also graduated from SMU, and she lives in Nashville as communication director for White's Mercantile – a group of stores in 12South and Green Hills.
 
 
FAST FINISH: 
  • Favorite food: Fried Chicken
  • Favorite TV show or movie: Seinfeld and Shawshank Redemption
  • Favorite Bible scripture: Romans 8:28 – "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
  • Favorite sports team: Tennessee Titans (and recovering Dallas Cowboys fan)
  • Pet peeve: Texts from unidentified senders
  • Person I most admire: My mom, who has valiantly fought MS for 45 years
  • Person I'd most like to meet: Garrison Keillor
  • Rather ride or drive? Drive
  • Pick one – salad or dessert: Dessert, but not TOO sweet
  • Dream vacation spot: Scotland, home of golf!
  • Early morning or late night person? Early morning 
 
You can reach Jim via email at Jim.Lundy@marcumllp.com.
 
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