front&center Jim Magnus

LITTLE ROCK — In junior high school, Jim Magnus, 47, was looking at two career paths.

"I thought I'd either become a preacher or go into business, which is interesting because I do parts of both," Magnus said.

Magnus is chairman of the Ozark Conference Center board. The facility is a nondenominational camp and conference center in the Solgohachia community north of Morrilton. He also works for Little Rock-based Acxiom, which collects, analyzes and sells consumer data.

Bobbie Courtney, 68, has been the office manager at the Ozark Conference Center for 20 years. She said Magnus has been involved in the center since it started.

"He's a smart, likable family man. He's a very good leader," Courtney said.

Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Magnus is the youngest of four children. His father, Harold Magnus, worked as a chemical engineer for Gulf Oil and his mother, Melba, taught English.

Magnus said he had a normal suburban experience with Boy Scouts, baseball and band. His own experience with Boy Scouts has helped him appreciate the positive impact the camping program at the Ozark Conference Center has on youth.

"We find a lot of kids have hectic schedules, and some don't have access to the outdoors to get away and encounter God," Magnus said.

This summer about 975 youth had that chance.

The Ozark Conference Center has 325 acres on Jenkins Mountain with areas for swimming, fishing,hiking and rock climbing.

"Most of the summer staff are college students, and the camp gives them time to develop leadership skills, too," Magnus said.

Magnus said he still enjoys camping, but prefers for there to be electricity and hot coffee.

After graduating from Port Arthur's Thomas Jefferson High School in 1979, he went to Millsaps College, which is a liberal arts college in Jackson, Miss.

Magnus graduated in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in accounting and a bachelor's degree in economics. He landed a marketing job with IBM in Little Rock, wherehe met Kim Misenhimer of Atkins.

"When I first got there she wouldn't have anything to do with me. She had been interning there and was upset that I got hired for the job she wanted, but then she was hired and eventually we ended up working on a sales team together," Magnus said.

They married, and the team of Jim and Kim now includes their five children: Katie, 17; Claire, 15; Rebekah, 14; John Michael, 9, and Stephen, 6.

After a 10-month stint working as the finance director on the congressional campaign staff of Jim Keet in 1990, Magnus started working for Fidelity Information Services as a equipment analyst, working his way up to software acquisition manager and technology products manager.

Magnus felt the call to public service himself and in 1997 became a state representative for District 55, which serves west Little Rock. He was a freshman legislator with Pat Bond of Jacksonville.

"We went in the House together. He was one of the first people to befriend me, and even though he was a Republican and I was a Democrat, he was so gracious, and even though we disagreed on a number of issues we were still able to discuss things reasonably," Bond said.

Magnus held his seat in the Legislature until 2002.

"I've always been interested in current events and politics, and I really believe in a citizen legislature. The worst part of being a politician is being called a politician because of the negative connotation," Magnus said.

During his time in office, Magnus founded the Ad-vanced Communications and Information Technology Committee in 1999, and in 2001, he became the House minority leader. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette named Magnus one of the top legislators for 2001. He was term-limited out of office in 2002.

Magnus said the highlight of his legislative career was the Woman's Right to Know bill, which requires adequate information and a waiting period before a pregnancy is terminated.

"That bill was on the agenda for 10 years and we finally passed it. I had a woman walk up and thank me for that bill because it kept her from getting an abortion, so because of us there is one little 7-year-old out there today," Magnus said.

Although he's been out of the political limelight for six years he hasn't written off a return to the political arena.

"I'd consider it, because I loved my time in the Legislature and I believe I was able to make a contribution," Magnus said.

Since leaving the Legislature, Magnus has focused on work and family, such as learning to referee sports for home-school tournaments.

"With five children I have tended to limit my outside activities. I've kept friends in the Legislature and have remained active in home-school issues there in particular, but my political involvement has been much less these years. My own outside interests have been church and Ozark Conference Center. Our three girls play volleyball and two play basketball, so we've given time to supporting the clubs they have played in," Magnus said.

For the past two years he has been working as a procurement group leader for Acxiom and was elected chairman of the Ozark Conference Center board of directors last year. He said working for the center fits hand in hand with his family life because his in-laws, J.C. and Bonnie Misenhimer, live on nearby Crow Mountain.

"Some of my favorite memories are Christmases on Crow Mountain. There is a spot on their property where you can see both Petit Jean Mountain and Mount Nebo. We spend a lot of time on the farm with them and in the River Valley because there are a lot of wide-open spaces out there," Magnus said.

His ninth-floor office window in the Acxiom building provides a panoramic view of downtown Little Rock and the Arkansas River, but Magnus' heart is further upstream in the River Valley.

matter of fact I was named after: I think my dad wanted me to be a tycoon like J.P. Morgan or J.P. Getty because they named me James Paul, but I go by Jim.

My birthday is: Nov. 26, 1960 Age: 47 My siblings are: Judy, 63; Harold Neal, 61, and Lynn, 60.

My hobbies include: Deer and duck hunting.

Pets include: A chocolate Lab named Mocha, a Lab-mix named Will, and a cat, Oreo.

I can not live without: Coffee My biggest fear is: Drowning Someday I'll: Write a book. It will have to be about numbers though. I'm analytical.

The world would be a better place if: People were kinder.

I am most comfortable: Speaking in public.

One thing I am fond of saying is: It's not the critic who counts, but the man in the arena.

River Valley Ozark, Pages 141, 142 on 09/28/2008