For James Ayers, success requires more than making money. Success involves leaving the world a better place than we found it. And in multiple ways, Ayers has become a remarkable success story. On December 1, Union University dedicated Jennings Hall — the first new building on its West Campus — named after Ayers’ grandparents, William Wesley and Laura Jennings. The new academic building was made possible by a major contribution from the Union benefactor.

A native of the small West Tennessee town of Parsons in Decatur County, his father ran a sawmill in the community. Though neither parent held a college degree, the family set high expectations for the children. As a result, Ayers earned a college degree in accounting; his brother went on to earn a doctoral degree, his sister a master’s degree.

After college, Ayers went into pharmaceutical sales and learned about the health care industry. That positioned him for entry into the nursing home industry, where he spent three decades and established his financial success.

While still engaged in the nursing home business, Ayers was approached by a business associate, Steve White, about investing in a small bank in Scotts Hill, Tenn. White would run the bank, with Ayers as a major investor. They moved forward with the venture, but Ayers’ passive role soon became an active involvement.

“We just built the organization until it merited that I spend more and more of my time in the banking business,” he recalls. As Ayers moved out of the nursing home industry, he and White moved the bank’s headquarters to Lexington, Tenn., and renamed it FirstBank. From initial assets of $16 million, they have grown the company into a major financial player in West TN, with assets of more than $500 million and some eleven branches across the region.

Curtis Mansfield, who serves as Regional President of FirstBank of Jackson, says Ayers is “one of the easiest people to work with I’ve known, but he sets very high expectations. He’s a mover and a shaker and he’s not going to stop. He wants to continue to grow. He’s a very gracious and giving person — but he also pushes hard to make it so he has more to give!”

That desire to give reaches back to his roots in Decatur County. That’s why he wants to make a difference in the lives of young people in the community where he grew up. The county has a population of about 10,000, graduates about 125 high school seniors each year, and “has a large number of people who are lower income and lower-middle income.”

Knowing the difference education made in his own family, Jim formed the Ayers Foundation and used it to launch the Ayers Scholars Program. The program works in partnership with local schools to raise the expectation level for students who are capable of attending college but might have otherwise thought it financially impossible. The Ayers Foundation works with the student’s family and the educational institution, providing a financial bridge between the family’s ability, other financial aid sources, and the cost of attending college. The program makes it possible to attend a technical school, a two-year community college, or a four-year institution like Union.

James Ayers visits with four of the six students he is helping to attend Union.

The program is now preparing to aid future generations by sending counselors into the homes of seventh and eight grade students, helping them prepare for a future as a college student.

“The Ayers Scholars Program is one of the most remarkable vehicles I’ve ever seen for making a life-transforming difference for young people and families,” asserts David S. Dockery, Union’s President. “It is hard to imagine the impact Jim Ayers will have on Decatur County and our entire region.”

Ayers has already made an impact on the life of Union University. As a trustee of Union, he participated in discussion of the campus master plan and the financial campaign required to fund the dramatic expansion. When he stepped forward with the first major gift of the campaign, a $2.4 million commitment, “Jim Ayers set the tone for the subsequent success we’ve seen in raising financial support for Union’s campus development efforts,” says Dockery.

Ayers’ involvement with Union begins with his Baptist roots as well as his involvement at First Baptist Church of Parsons. His mother attended Union but did not graduate. Her two sisters also attended Union, “so all the children in the family went to Union,” he notes.

He believes in Union because it is the kind of institution that forms “the bedrock for maintaining our moral values. It is absolutely imperative that they continue to teach the truth.”

For Ayers, making a difference in the lives of young people has become a major priority.

“For me,” says Ayers, “helping people has just been a logical thing to do. It’s helping your neighbors and people in your community. It’s what we’re all called to do: to give what we can and do what we are able.”