West Peoria Residents' Association

  James “Jim” McCarter is the first West Peoria Lions Club member in its 27-year history to become District Governor, a position which he has held since July 2008.  His term will end in July 2009.  Illinois Lions are divided into twelve districts.  Jim serves as the governor of District IH, which includes fifty clubs in Rock Island, Mercer, Henry, Tazewell, Peoria, Fulton, Knox, Stark, Warren, Henderson, McDonough, and part of Hancock counties.

  “Service from the Heart,” McCarter’s theme as District Governor, epitomizes his dedication to the Lions and to the community of West Peoria.  From 1989, when McCarter first joined the West Peoria Lions, he has served in several capacities and has received several honors.

  Having served as WP Lions secretary and director, McCarter became the club’s president in 1992 and served on the governor’s cabinet in 1993-94 and returned to the cabinet in 2000.  He is a Melvin Jones Fellow—an honor awarded to those with outstanding contributions to the Lions and named after the founder of Lionism—and he is an Eighth Level Sustaining Supporter.  In 1992-93, he received the Lions International President Certificate of Appreciation.  He was a 2006 graduate of the Lions International Senior Lions Leadership Institute and received a Lions International Presidents Distinguished Leadership Award in 2006-07.

  As the time for West Peoria’s Fourth of July parade approaches, McCarter will once again be reminded of the first time he attended the West Peoria parade in 1989.  Later that year he accepted West Peorian Chuck Boyer’s invitation to join the Lions Club.  Eventually, as a member of the Lions Club, McCarter served for nine years as the chairman of the Fourth of July Parade.

  While McCarter’s affiliation with the Lions Club has benefited West Peoria, his membership also brought benefits to his personal life.  McCarter, who was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, eventually went to work for Komatsu and was transferred to Peoria’s plant as a Quality Control Engineer in 1983.  Originally living on Peoria’s north side, McCarter moved to West Peoria in 1986.  As a result of joining the Lions Club in 1989, McCarter made many new friends—one of which was Lions member, Carolyn Jeschke, whom he met in 1990.  By 1994 Carolyn and Jim were married.  Together they created their own “Brady Bunch,” including Jim’s two sons and one daughter and Carolyn’s one son and two daughters.  Today they have five grandchildren, ages three to twenty-three.

  During the twenty years since McCarter first joined the Lions Club, his service to West Peoria has expanded to include his activities as a member of the West Peoria Democrats and the West Peoria Residents’ Association and as a trustee on the West Peoria Fire Department, where he has served as its secretary.  McCarter served on the Mapping West Peoria Program and has worked with Bob DeSutter on landscaping for the Welcome to West Peoria signs.

  Both Jim and Carolyn McCarter represent what is best about West Peoria—residents who work tirelessly to give meaning to the slogan “Living Is Best to the West of Peoria!”