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Chester County Press

Oxford Area High School to induct distinguished alumni class

05/14/2014 01:02PM ● By Acl

Jim McLeod has been named by Oxford Area High School as a Distinguished Alumni. This year's inductees will be honored at a ceremony on Friday, May 30.

On Friday, May 30, Oxford Area High School will hold its eighth Distinguished Alumni induction ceremony. The Class of 2014 includes David M. White, Class of 1960; Jim McLeod, Class of 1969; and Martin Sumner, Class of 1992.

The Chester County Press will highlight one of the Distinguished Alumni inductees in each edition leading up the ceremony on May 30, starting with McLeod.

After graduating with a degree in business administration from the University of Dayton in 1973, McLeod returned to Oxford as owner and operator of McLeod Motor Co., a Ford-Mercury franchise. From 1996 to 2001 the company transitioned to selling used cars and trucks.

McLeod served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Automotive Association, representing all new car dealers in Chester County. He was appointed to the association's Legislative Committee and participated in writing and reviewing pending legislation.

With Ford Motor Company, McLeod was a Zone Dealer Council member representing Ford dealers in Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Since 2001 Mr. McLeod has served as Executive Director of the Oxford Area Senior Center, and in 2005 he earned his Pennsylvania real estate license.

McLeod has a long record of service at the local, county and state levels. In 1994 he helped establish the Oxford Educational Foundation, which raises funds for Oxford Area School District teachers to implement innovative programs that are not funded through the budget and awards an annual scholarship to an Oxford Area High School senior. 

McLeod joined the foundation's Board of Directors in 1995, serving as president for the past seven years. He has also served on Oxford Area School District committees which studied truancy and drop-out rates. 

McLeod has served on various Oxford Borough commissions, where he has been responsible for studying parking, sidewalks, and signage. He served on the Police Chief Search Committee and is a current member of the Civil Service Commission.

McLeod has served on the Pennsylvania Legislative District 13 Advisory Board and the Chester County Department of Aging's Paratransit Advisory Council. 

McLeod served on the Board of Directors of the Oxford Area Chamber of Commerce, including two terms as president, and in 1986 was the recipient of the Oxford Area Community Service Award. For the past 30 years he has organized the Chamber's annual Halloween Parade.

McLeod is a member of the Fulton Bank Brandywine Division Board of Directors and for 16 years has been a member of the Oxford Rotary Club, where he serves as secretary. He was a founding board member of the Southern Chester County (Jennersville) YMCA, serving for 30 years with two terms as chairman. During this time he oversaw the fundraising and building stages for the current Y facility in Jennersville.

McLeod served nine years as chairman of the American Red Cross Chester County Brandywine Division’s Disaster Action Team, assisting displaced fire victims throughout Chester County. He was chairman of the Oxford Area Regional Sewer Authority for 12 years.

McLeod served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Oxford Neighborhood Services Center: As a member of the Oxford Presbyterian Church, he served three terms as an Elder and two terms as a Deacon.

McLeod is a current member of the Oxford Athletic Association, with which he served two terms as president.

The Distinguished Alumni Program was established in 2006 to ensure that the lives and achievements of Oxford's most accomplished graduates will be forever known among fellow graduates, current and future high school students, and the Oxford community. A luncheon in honor of each year's inductees is held each spring and is followed by a ceremony attended by the high school student body. Portraits of all the honorees are displayed in the high school's rotunda.