Jack L. Sparrow is the assistant to Clerk of the Courts Jim Fuller. He has been working to help provide technology to the clerk’s office since March 2001.
SINCE “PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN” BECAME A HIT, HAS HE BEEN CALLED CAPT. JACK SPARROW?
Yes. Sparrow was a captain in the United States Army for seven years. He said people will ask if his name is Capt. Jack Sparrow when they call him on the phone.
WHERE DID HE GROW UP?
Sparrow was born in a small town two hours north of Charlotte. He and his family moved to Jacksonville in 1960. His father, a railroad worker, moved his family here because of his job.
EDUCATION
Sparrow started as a Gator. He attended the University of Florida for four years, but joined the military before getting a degree. He eventually got his bachelor’s degree from Troy State University in Troy, Ala. “I’m very fortunate the military let me (go to Troy State). It was a great school.”
WHAT DID HE DO AFTER COLLEGE AND BEFORE MOVING BACK TO THE UNITED STATES?
He was an officer in the United States Army from 1970 until 1991. Sparrow retired as a lieutenant colonel from the 101st Infantry Airborne Division. He served in Vietnam and Desert Shield/Desert Storm in charge of the operations center. “That was because that was the last big thing I did before I left the Army. I had the opportunity to serve with some of the finest people I’ve ever met in my life.” While on active duty, Sparrow served in Germany, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Egypt. After retiring from the military, Sparrow went back to Saudi Arabia to work for Booz, Allen and Hamilton, a Saudi Arabian armor corporation. He and seven other ex-military ran the $6.7 billion project.
WHAT DID HE DO AFTER RETURNING TO THE STATES?
After returning to the U.S. to care for his wife, Sparrow spent six months with no job.
“I was looking for a job in training.” He signed on with Maxwell Technologies, to create training programs and training literature. Through Maxwell, he came to work with the Florida Association of Court Clerks and Comptroller (FACC), and that’s how he met Fuller.
WHAT MADE HIM DECIDE TO TAKE HIS CURRENT JOB?
Sparrow said his current position opened in November 2000 and Fuller offered him the job after meeting at a FACC staff meeting. “I turned it down several times before I took it.
DESCRIBE A DAY AT WORK?
He arrives between 6:15 and 6:30 a.m. “I always have a tremendous amount to do and I always had to do it in the military. It gives me time to think and organize what I have to do for the day.” He organizes his schedule by writing a list in a ledger he keeps, prepares for meetings and then works on technology for the office.
FAMILY
Wife, Becky and three children: Lance, 28; Andee, 26; and, Clay, 24. They also have one grandchild. All three of Sparrow’s children work in restaurants while attending school.
HOW IS HIS LIFE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT HE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE AS A CHILD?
“I never thought I would be this blessed. I have wonderful children and I live in the greatest country in the world.” Sparrow said traveling to other nations makes a person appreciate living in the United States. He also never thought he would be married to such a wonderful wife. “It’s different to be married to an Infantry Airborne Ranger. It takes a very, very special woman to be able to do that.”
WHAT ARE SOME OF HIS OUTSIDE INTERESTS?
Sparrow is interested in the history of the Civil War. “The bravery and the stories from people, both from the North and the South, are truly unbelievable.”
WHAT ARE HIS PLANS FOR RETIREMENT?
To spend more time with his grandchild and see more of the U.S.
— by Tammy Taylor