CAPE, STATE JAYCEES HONOR JUDGE GRIMM

John W. Grimm's first act of community involvement was at age 10, when he organized his friends to campaign for his father, Stanley, then running for circuit judge.

A circuit judge himself for six years, Grimm on Monday received the 2000 Distinguished Service Award from the Cape Girardeau Jaycees.

Jaycees President Dean Reeves presented Grimm with the award, the Jaycees' highest, during a banquet at Port Cape Girardeau restaurant. Among the 30 people present were past winners of the award along with a number of past Jaycees presidents.

Grimm also has been named one of the Jaycees' Outstanding Young Missourians for 2000, a statewide honor given only a handful of people ages 21 to 39 for outstanding achievements or contributions in their field.

A graduate of Cape Central High School and Southeast Missouri State University, Grimm graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. He clerked for U.S. District Judge Stephen Limbaugh for two years before returning to Cape Girardeau to become a partner in the law firm of Limbaugh, Russell, Payne and Howard.

In 1993, Gov. Mel Carnahan appointed Grimm circuit judge for the 32nd Judicial Circuit. At 31, he was the state's youngest circuit judge.

He won a six-year term in 1994.

The Jaycees cited Grimm in part for his work developing the domestic relations mediation program within the judicial district. The program helps parents resolve disputes to reduce emotional trauma to their children. The process resolves about 15 cases a month in the circuit, which includes Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties.

For 15 years he has devoted a week each summer to being a staff member in the American Legion Boys State of Missouri program that trains high school seniors for leadership.

He received the Young alumni Merit Award from Southeast Missouri State University in 1994.

He also has been active in the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, chairing the Leadership Cape Program and the Welcome Back Students' picnic attended by about 2,000 students a year.

He is a member of the boards of the Community Counseling Center Foundation and Southeast Missouri Hospital Board and belongs to the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club. He previously was on the board of the Cape Girardeau Civic Center.

He isupports Teen Challenge International Mid-America, the religious-based drug and alcohol treatment center in Cape Girardeau, often sending troubled youths to the program as an alternative to serving jail time.

Grimm is a member of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, serving on the board of directors for six years. He also has been a Sunday school teacher and youth counselor.

He and his wife, Michelle, live in Cape Girardeau with their 1-year-old daughter, Natalie.

Conservative syndicated columnist, attorney and Grimm friend David Limbaugh was the keynote speaker Monday night. He discussed the creation of the U.S. Constitution and the religious beliefs of the Founding Fathers, warning that America is in decline because "nothing is sacred anymore."

Limbaugh said he is not running down America, but added "As a nation we have abandoned God. We need a wake-up call."

He applauded the Jaycees' contributions to the community and society, urging them to stay involved after they leave the organization, which has an age limit.

"Let the Jaycees be the beginning not the end of your service," he said.