Ira J. Middleberg
Partner, Middleberg Riddle Group
I had the pleasure of serving on the Board of Directors for my military high school. For a number of years, I chaired the finance committee. During my tenure as finance committee chairman, Dr. Jim Benson assumed the position of the presidency of the academy. He brought a unique set of skills to the academy. Not only was he an educator with a military background, he also brought outstanding financial skills. Jim understood how to build a budget and manage it to deliver the results at year end. He managed the staff and facility through a difficult restructuring period. He strategically reduced spending across the board and turned an annual loss of $5 million to a profit of $1-3 million per year.
Jim increased our revenue and increased our enrollment to the highest levels that we had seen in many years. It was truly a pleasure to have the opportunity to work with Dr. Benson
Ernest T. Lopez
President, Atlanta Paving and Concrete Construction Company, Inc.
I have read both of Dr. Benson’s books on leadership and management (I read the draft of book two, ‘Executive Courage – Sometimes You Have to Walk Point’) while observing his amazing turnaround of my then struggling alma mater. Today, I frequently use the wisdom from both manuals as we have turned our company into a multi-million dollar success story. Presently, Jim consults with me on efficiencies and strategies and can and will help others as he has helped me.
D. Dale Browning
Former Chairman of the Board for Frontier Airlines; former President and CEO of Colorado National Bank; President and CEO Plus Systems ATM; and Senior Consultant to the Board, Visa International
The Board of Trustees of St. John’s Military School retained Dr. Benson to assist us in evaluating the school’s operation and to assist us in identifying candidates to serve as President. I had regular contact with the Jim during this time. His experience and background became quite evident when discussing marketing strategies, financial planning, or the administration of the Cadet Corps. He is very likable, articulate, and quite willing to discuss various issues respectfully and with objectivity.
Importantly, Jim is committed to the education and the development of young men. He takes a personal interest in the tasks assigned to him, follows thru in a timely fashion, and is quite creative in identifying solutions to rather complex problems. I will continue to call on him when needed. He is a very valuable resource.
K.L. McKelvey
CPA (emeritus), RRP
Defender Resorts, Inc.
Dr. Benson was president of our school, and his tenure included three years when I served the Board as its Chair. During this three year period, I experienced firsthand Dr. Benson’s ability to grow student population, cut cost where necessary without harm to the total mission of the school, maintain a high moral integrity amongst the school community, and dramatically improve the caliber of the staff and importantly the quality and commitment of the teaching facility. Jim is able to get to the heart of the matter, is not afraid to make the hard choices looking you in the eye, and has an innate ability to lead others when others do not want to be lead.