Jim Colvin a born leader

Community Leadership Series

Jim Colvin is perhaps the areas most well noted paintball personality. Jim is not only know for being the owner and CEO of Great Lakes Paintball, but also as a very helpful, inventive, and avid paintball player.

Jim has participated through the years in many national level tournaments. He has participated in NPPL tournaments with various teams, and has also been involved with local tournaments. Jim has the skill and intensity to play on the “higher” level, yet has the heart and love to help out with local tournaments.

My first impression of Jim was when I met him at the very first LND paintball tournament of 1998. We had just started the day, everyone was preparing their equipment, and he noticed me having trouble with my gun. A screw on my marker had fallen out and rendered my marker completely useless. Being the gentleman and competitor that he was, Jim offered to help. He pulled out his kit and worked on my marker until it was in proper order.

At another tournament, one of my teammate’s marker kept chopping balls. Jim knew what was wrong and spent the break working on it. Eventually, our marker was working. Turns out that the marker was very dirty and rusted out on the inside near the breech.

There are many other examples of the type of “little things” that Jim does to make paintball a better world. Have you ever been to his store? Have you ever played in a tournament that he has hosted? have you played on the same team as him?

This is the type of leadership and personality that the paintball community needs. Jim was not selfish, he did not leave us to suffer without equipment. In fact, his teams went on to win those tournaments, but his actions taught us a valuable lesson in life. If he had won, due to everyone else’s equipment being nonoperational, we would all have complained and felt that his victory was not legitimate. But Jim is not that type of person.

If the entire paintball community had the character and vision of Jim, we would probably be a lot better off than we are today.

Visit Jim at Great Lakes Paintball.