{"id":42437,"date":"2026-05-22T08:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=42437"},"modified":"2026-05-22T08:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T12:06:10","slug":"furmans-super-duper-mr-jim-announces-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/furmans-super-duper-mr-jim-announces-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Furman\u2019s \u2018super-duper\u2019 Mr. Jim announces retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of Furman University\u2019s friendliest ambassadors is retiring. Jim Benes, affectionately known as \u201cMr. Jim,\u201d will retire from his role as custodial manager at the end of June, after just shy of 15 years.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI truly love Furman,\u201d Benes said. \u201cThe faculty, staff and students are our community, our family.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Benes was a fish out of water when he joined Furman\u2019s staff in 2011. He previously worked as a grocery manager with Publix in south Florida when he and his wife, Patricia, moved to Greenville, South Carolina for a change of pace.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

A student fan of Mr. Jim designed a series of stickers celebrating his exuberance and the sustainability initiatives he\u2019s involved in, and Mr. Jim hands them out on campus. Photo by Owen Withycombe, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cMy neighbor worked in housing here and said, \u2018You need to go to Furman. The type of person you are, you\u2019ll get along with the people there,\u2019\u201d Benes said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like so many people who visit Furman\u2019s campus, Benes\u2019 first day left him stunned not only by the natural beauty of its mountain views, but the friendly faces he met. Benes started as an assistant custodial manager, and his on-the-job learning involved more than discovering how to keep campus clean and running smoothly. He learned to take pride in making it safe, beautiful and comfortable for students.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming \u201cMr. Jim\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Benes also quickly learned that students who are away from their home and families are often looking for more than mentorship; they want friendship<\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people tell me I\u2019m their Furman dad,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Mr. Jim has been a familiar sight on Furman\u2019s campus for nearly 15 years, often seen behind the wheel of his decorated golf cart. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.<\/p><\/div>\n

It started when a student desk manager at the Trone Student Center was panicking over a scheduling issue involving the Watkins Room. Benes helped calm her down and resolve the issue, and the relief on her face was all the inspiration he needed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFrom then on when students introduced me to their friends, they\u2019d say \u2018This is Mr. Jim. He can help,\u2019\u201d Benes said. \u201cBefore I knew it, I was building friendships with so many students.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether he\u2019s wishing people a \u201csuper-duper\u201d day from behind the wheel of his custom-decorated golf cart, handing out Mr. Jim-branded stickers designed by a former student, or working with students on recycling and sustainability initiatives, Mr. Jim makes friends everywhere he goes. But he said it\u2019s his co-workers on the Furman custodial services<\/a> staff that make him look like a hero every day.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t do it without our staff. We work so well together and have each other\u2019s backs,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re here to do the best for this campus and these students.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Mr. Jim might be retiring from his position, he hopes to keep connected to the campus he loves by working part-time. In the meantime, he\u2019s planning to travel, go camping with his wife and indulge his lifelong fandom for local drag races.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an amazing time! Thank you all for the great times and friendships,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd FU all the time!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The custodial manager and surrogate \u201cFurman dad\u201d to many is grateful for nearly 15 years caring for the campus and its community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":42425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2255,27,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-updates","category-student-life","category-sustainability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42437"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42442,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42437\/revisions\/42442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}