I am James McClellan, and I am running for Bath Township Trustee. I live in Bath Township with my wife Lisa and our cat Boo-Boo Fett! We love it here. When I retired from the United States Air Force, after 32 years of service, we could have moved anywhere in the world but we decided to “plant the flag” in the best place on the planet—Bath Township!
My values and beliefs were shaped by my upbringing here in Northwest Akron where I learned about hard work, perseverance, and thriftiness/practicality through my parents, Sam and Phyllis McClellan. My grandmother and grandfather, Lenore and Wallace, who was a Doctor, taught me humility and neighborliness, and the value of education. And, through my parents and grandparents, my Great Grandfather, Rev McClellan, passed on the tradition of faith and perseverance. Of course, I picked up a few things from my high school sweetheart, Lisa (who lived and went to school in Bath). We have been together since I earned my Eagle Scout rank in 1983.
But once I graduated from high school and college, it was off to the United States Air Force. My first assignment was to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware but little did I know this assignment was the first of 16 assignments in 32 years. Throughout my career, I led teams as small as 6 people all the way up to 1,800 personnel, here in the United States at bases in Virginia, Florida, Texas, Alabama, New Mexico, and Idaho and to locations in England, South Korea, Qatar. I also deployed to bases in Turkey, Republic of Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, and Bahrain, among other locales. Through all the assignments and deployments, Lisa and I raised two boys, Connor and Ethan. Connor is a Captain in the United States Army and Ethan is a Chief Petty Officer in the Unites States Navy.
As a decorated combat veteran who achieved the rank of Colonel, in 2021 it was time to retire, and we decided to move to Bath Township. However, instead of retirement, we found ways to serve. Both Lisa and I decided to continue to serve and support our community by volunteering with many wonderful local organizations in our community.