Born on Jan. 16, 1952 in Sherman, Ill. While still in high school, Jim began working at the Rail Golf Course, which at the time was still under construction. The course was designed by renowned golf course architect Robert Trent-Jones. The golf course's front nine holes opened to the public in 1968, and the back nine in 1973. Jim continued to work at the golf course, and eventually decided to make this his life's career. In 1977 he became superintendent of the golf course, the same year he graduated from Penn State University's Turf Management program, considered the best such program in the country. In the mid 1970s, Jim Maxwell, the Rail's superintendent at the time, recommended that the course host a golf tournament. In 1976, the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Golf Classic was launched. For the next thirty years Jim was intimately involved with the tournament as it grew and evolved over the years. He worked closely with Sandy Wheeler, the tournament's Executive Director, for most of those years, and beginning in 1993 with State Farm Insurance, the tourney's title sponsor. In 1999, Jim became the General Manager of the Rail, overseeing all aspects of the golf course.
From the description of An interview with Jim Johnson / Jim Johnson, Mark R. DePue, interviewer. 2009. (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library). WorldCat record id: 434090660
