Newly installed Staff Council President Jim Kay looks forward to helping support any effort that benefits the majority of employees.
“Our goal is to provide a platform and representation for the common causes and interests of every staff member,” said Kay. “We want to partner with the Chancellor’s Cabinet and Faculty Council to discuss a number of issues that concern every state employee and every faculty and staff member of the UNC system.”
Kay and the fellow council officers are working on an agenda for the entire organization for the next fiscal year. A former area representative, Kay was approached to run for Staff Council president. After discussions with his wife Jan and colleagues, he decided to undertake the challenge.
“In Iredell County, I started a youth athletics organization that oversaw activities for more than 500 kids, and I served on the Iredell County Commissioners Advisory Board for Sports and Recreation for about seven years,” Kay explained. “So my involvement in local government has been to have a positive effect on the lives of others. I think the Staff Council can do some really great things on campus.”
Serving as Staff Council president will be in addition to Kay’s normal campus duties as a facilities maintenance supervisor for the Student Union. He and his team take care of a major portion of the building’s needs.
“We are unique to the Union, and our work is dedicated to supporting the Union’s clientele,” said Kay. “We do lots of renovations and custom-built carpentry. My guys have built stuff all over this place – display cases, computer workstations, office furniture, storage cabinets – we’re a full-service shop when it comes to such requests.”
Kay and family moved to North Carolina more than 25 years ago from Florida. His wife is a psychologist who works with special needs populations, and she accepted a job in Salisbury. For Kay, who earned a degree in theatre, it required a career change. In Florida, he was a member of the Actor’s Equity Association, and he worked as a stage manager and technical director for theatre and film productions. In North Carolina, there was little demand for such employment in the Charlotte area. He helped build homes for individuals with special needs before joining UNC Charlotte in 2005.
Although he worked with a number of celebrities in Florida, including José Ferrer and Burt Reynolds, Kay said the chance to meet Jackie Gleason was a highlight.
“Mr. Gleason was in Fort Lauderdale shooting a commercial. I grew up playing billiards, and if you remember the movie ‘The Hustler,’ Gleason did all his own shots. So, I got the chance to play a couple of games of Nine-ball against him. Now, I’m a pretty good player, but I lost them all,” stated Kay, who is the staff advisor for the University’s Billiards Club.
Beyond the University, Kay is an avid gardener who relishes “growing good things to eat.” He also plays golf and enjoys coastal fishing. He and his wife have two daughters – Jenessa, a graduate student at Louisiana State University who is pursuing a master’s in marine biology, and Chelsea, a graduate of Warren Wilson College who is completing her second week of boot camp at Fort Jackson.
Photo: Jim Kay is pictured near a display case he designed; the case, located in the Student Union, contains coins and medals created by art professor Jamie Franki.