This endowment fund was established by Jim’s family to honor his commitment to the community and helping others.  During his retirement he became very active in the Trenton Rotary and the Boys & Girls Club of Mercer County.  He saw both of these organizations as a means for him to give back to others.

The following is Jim’s story:

James Anthony Vinson was a resident of Pennington, NJ, where he raised his family. James was born on April 13, 1945, in Jersey City, NJ, to father, Eustachio Visceglia and mother, Lillie (nee Piscitello). Jim grew up on a farm in Englishtown, NJ, with his older sister, Lucille. His father had emigrated from Italy alone at age 16, and started a coal and ice delivery business without ever having learned to read or write in the English language. Jim did chores on the farm before school, earning him the teasing nickname, "Goat," among his elementary school classmates. By high school, those same classmates had elected him class president. Jim was a self-made man. He put himself through school, studying finance at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was elected president of the Sigma Chi fraternity. After graduating, Jim served as a second lieutenant in the United States Army, stationed in Germany. Following his military service, Jim worked as a certified public accountant at Arthur Andersen in Philadelphia before going back to school to earn his MBA degree at Wharton. Thereafter, he began a career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch in New York City. By age 40, Jim was named president of Merrill Lynch Hubbard, a real estate investment platform that he helped develop within the bank. He retired from Merrill Lynch in 1995, focusing on his own real estate investments. Jim was a man of uncommon character, integrity and substance. He transformed many lives through quiet acts of generosity for which he never sought recognition or publicity. In recent years, Jim found great fulfillment through his involvement in the local Rotary Club, the Boys and Girls Club of Trenton and other civic, environmental and religious groups. He was a natural-born leader who applied his many talents to improving his community and the lives of others. More than anything else, Jim was intensely dedicated to his family. He was an extraordinarily devoted husband to Rhonda, his wife of 38 years. Jim was a deeply caring father to his five children and a playful and kind grandfather to his eight grandchildren (with number nine on the way). He found his greatest pleasure celebrating his golden years with his wife, giving guidance and support to his children, indulging in the innocence of his grandchildren and planning the next big family event. Jim was a proud patriarch who was greatly loved, admired and respected by his family.