James Bacher

James W. Bacher has served as a staff volunteer with Lake Erie International Model United Nations (LEIMUN) for the past 13 years. LEIMUN is a 501©3 non-profit educational organization that offers educational programs for high school and college students across the United States and Canada.

Since 1966, James has served in a wide variety of positions, including 6 years on the Board of Trustees, 4 years as Chief Financial Officer, 2 years as Registrar, 1 year as Secretary General and 2 years as Under Secretary General. James was the creator and administrator of LEIMUN’s website for more than 8 years. He was also the creator of the online registration system. He implemented staff training programs. He was instrumental in balancing the budget and putting the organization on the path to growth and profitability. He was instrumental in making one of the largest changes in the history of the organization, i.e. moving the collegiate program from a small regional campus to a major downtown venue.

James served on multiple organizational committees including Rules Revision, Bylaws Revision, Governance, Development, and the Advisory Council. He worked directly with student participants as the chair of multiple simulations of international organizations. He served in several of these positions and on several of these committees simultaneously. He contributed all of this volunteer service (and much more not delineated here) while in college and law school and later as a practicing attorney and adjunct professor.

James has served his community by significantly contributing to the ongoing growth and improvement of LEIMUN, a non-profit corporation providing an educational programming to high school and college students from across the United States and Canada. Through participation in our programs, students obtain a unique educational experience through hands-on, experiential learning. Students gain greater knowledge and understanding of international relations: past, present, and future. They hone their researching, debating, public speaking, and writing skills, which will be beneficial for the rest of their educational and professional careers. Through their involvement, participants will interact with other students with backgrounds and viewpoints both similar to and different from their own. This broadens their horizons and provides them with a greater insight into the world that we live in now and the world in which we will live in the future.

Without James’ selfless involvement and years of dedicated support, LEIMUN would not be able to offer the high quality, low cost programs that the organization is known for. This organization would have far fewer participants and be in a far weaker financial position without James. In fact, the organization may have folded were it not for his fiscal restraint and dedication to serving the needs of our participants.

What makes James special is that he has contributed countless hours of his time each and every year for 13 years—a length of service very few people attain. James could have devoted his time and energy to any number of other pursuits. Instead, he chose to contribute to the organization where he had gained a unique educational experience and great personal insight as a student participant. He is one of the few people who would stand up and always do the right thing even when it made him unpopular. He has been one of the few individuals without whom this organization would not be where it is today.