Alumni Travel Back in Time
Graduate Spotlight: James F. McClung, Jr.
Jim was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1942 with Cherokee Indian ancestry. He was raised in the rural town of Lindsay, Oklahoma until the end of World War II. His father worked for an oil company and relocated his family many times during his youth. The family lived in Corpus Christi, Midland, Abilene, and Dallas, Texas. After moving around Texas, his family moved to Denver, Colorado, and ultimately landed in Southern California. Until the age of 16, Jim spent his summers in Oklahoma with his grandparents, where he rode horses and learned to rope calves for local rodeos. His grandfather had been a professional calf roper and his mother had been a champion barrel rider. With their influence and family genes, Jim developed a strong interest in the western way of life, which continues to this day. As an example, he has taken part in the annual festivities during Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming for the last 36 years! You will also find him at the national rodeo finals each year in Las Vegas.
Jim attended high school in Pasadena and graduated from San Diego State College in 1966 with a B.A. in Social Science. He met his future wife Mary, at a church service when they were both 16 years old and nine years later, they tied the knot. Like his father before him, Jim relocated his family several times during his early career. After a short stint in the U.S. Army, he started his career in with a sales position with Texaco and was soon relocated to Bakersfield. Later his career changed to the medical field with a sales position with Johnson & Johnson. This position took him to Albuquerque, New Mexico, Fort Worth, and Houston, Texas. His sales experience included selling medical supplies and artificial kidneys for dialysis patients. Jim also worked for several hospital management firms with locations around Texas, the Southwestern United States and Saudi Arabia.
In 1985, with two young children in tow, Jim relocated his family to Southern California, and began his career in environmental consulting. He gained early experience working with a firm headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee and later in Boston, Massachusetts. During this time, Jim was the founding member and initial two-term president of the California Chapter of the National Asbestos Council (before a name change to the Environmental Information Association). He also served as a national president. In 1992, he started his own environmental consulting business in Huntington Beach, California with one part-time secretary. Today, American Environmental Specialists, Inc., is a thriving business with an experienced and qualified staff performing project management, as well as inspection and compliance consulting services. With his expertise in the field, Jim is frequently called upon to speak on various environmental issues including microbial contamination. He has worked with several task groups that have developed some of the industry’s current regulations dealing with asbestos and lead-based paint.
With a strong interest in civic and charitable pursuits, Jim maintains memberships in Shiner organizations and is a current trustee and past president of the Northern California Scholarship Foundation. Jim and his wife enjoy traveling to international destinations and have made many new friends during their visits to Europe, Eastern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. Jim is also an avid wine connoisseur and enjoys wine tasting and adding to his collection. His two grown children live nearby with their spouses. His daughter evaluates student teachers for the education department at California State University, Fullerton and his son is a fireman/paramedic for the City of Brea, California. Jim considers his family truly blessed with a six year old granddaughter from his daughter’s family, and a set of one year old triplets from his son’s family.
