Jim Wyche
Seldom has a man been as well-suited to a calling as Jim Wyche was at TVPPA.
The Mississippi native retired June 1 after 17 years at TVPPA. HIs mission was to assess members’ training needs, then build for those members the best possible array of programs from TVPPA’s extensive Education & Training course catalog.
Given that Wyche is an educator by training, it was right in his wheelhouse. He earned his undergraduate degree in education from Southern Adventist University, near Chattanooga, TN, and a graduate degree in education from Loma Linda University. He taught at various levels for nearly 50 years, and taught more than a few TVPPA offerings.
Wyche’s job also required considerable travel around the Valley, which meant that he had ample opportunity to indulge his passion for driving Ford Mustangs – a little too fast, on rare occasions, for law enforcement.
So he’s finally come off the road, but not without having left his mark.
“Anywhere you go in the Valley, people know and love Jim Wyche,” said TVPPA Education & Training Director Kim Culpepper.
“His wit is contagious, and it’s matched by his graciousness; he’s a southern gentleman of the old school. It’s been a pleasure to work with him and a privilege to call him a friend,” Culpepper said.
Wyche is looking forward to spending more time at home with his wife, Jayne, and their beloved pugs, Shelby and GT, but admitted that it’ll be tough to leave his life’s work in the rear-view mirror.
“The sweetest moment in the life of any teacher or trainer,” Wyche said, “is when a third-grader or CEO – same personality; one’s just taller than the other – comes out with a little ‘Oh!’
“That’s when you know the synapses have fired,” Wyche said, “and that new concept is now theirs forever.”