Former reporter changes lives

Miranda O’Berry
Entertainment Editor

Jim Cullumber has been the Director of Institutional Advancement at Crowder College for two years now. Cullumber works alongside Joanna Decker, Lori Barnes, and Haley Reardon, overseeing scholarship and fundraising events for the college and for students. 

“I’m blessed with the team I’ve got here,” Cullumber states. “They are very skilled and they know what they’re doing.” 

Throughout his 20s, Cullumber was an accomplished reporter for the Quincy-Herald Whig in Quincy, IL. He moved from being a police reporter to the head of the copy editing team in his 17 years there. 

Ready for a change, Cullumber moved to Indianapolis as a communications director for the Christian Church Foundation. There, he worked closely with Randy Johnson, Vice President of the foundation. Johnson spoke highly of Jim’s character and performance.

“(Jim) gently coached us, encouraged us and made us all better resourced to do our jobs. He did it humbly, with grace and a playful sense of humor that kept us on our toes and laughing.” 

Cullumber spent 20 years there helping people through faith-based connection and learning about fundraising. Johnson referred to him as the “communications guru” of the foundation; keeping the church focused on how to better serve its members, donors, and the community.

However, Cullumber had a growing family in Missouri. He had to find something closer, but it couldn’t be just anything. “I knew if I was gonna do something else, it would have to be something I would be passionate about.” 

His experience in communications and leadership led him towards something he was passionate about at Crowder College, where he works resourcefully with a cohesive team. 

Haley Reardon, Assistant Director of Resource Development & Alumni Relations at Crowder, works closely with Cullumber on the daily. Reardon accredited the many ways Cullumber’s wisdom has benefitted the college. 

“Jim brings a wealth of planned giving experience to our team which is vital to our ability to support the college long-term. Under his leadership, planned giving to the Foundation has increased greatly.” Reardon leads the main fundraising event, the Festival of Wreaths, for Crowder College. Together, the team effectively gathered over 540 items total for last year’s event.

An intriguing story about his first profession, however, brings to light a secluded topic. When Cullumber was working as a police reporter, he covered a story on a dangerous serial killer, Michael Swango, who loved killing people with poison.

The story was so intense that last fall, CNN flew Cullumber to New York to interview on the topic for a story. The Swango story is going to be a two hour episode of CNN’s series “Very Scary People,” airing this summer. 

There will be a separate story on the crowdersentry.net website titled “Murderous doctor poisons patients.” It includes a deeper look at Swango, with first-hand knowledge from Cullumber himself.

The details of the story impel Cullumber to be all the more eager to be a part of the safe community of Crowder College. Here, he enjoys the embracing nature of the people.

“[There’s] just something so neat about being engaged in this kind of community. You come here, and you can see the care and concern that people take with the students…there is much more of a family atmosphere.”

Nowadays, Cullumber is settled happily in the corner of southwest Missouri. He enjoys spending evenings with his family, relaxing and watching his grandchildren interacting and playing. Cullumber attests the pride he holds for his job and his life with a single, passionate sentence. 

“We, here, are impacting lives.”