“[Sewanee graduates] excel because they learn how to think. They learn how to learn. They’re open to new ideas, versus being in a box or having blinders.”
James Spriggs III, C’97, excelled as a student-athlete at Sewanee, and he wholeheartedly embraced the University’s social scene too. “I had a great time,” he says. “I’d be telling a lie if I said anything different.” To this day, he has one small complaint about a specific part of his undergraduate career: the final comprehensive exam. In particular, Spriggs bemoans the fact that his comp took place two weeks after spring break. “I had to spend the whole break studying! I’m still mad about it,” he laughs. Still, he says, the comprehensive exam “solidifies ideas and concepts, and puts a bow on the whole Sewanee experience. And you feel pretty doggone accomplished once you get through it.”
Spriggs also praises comps—and a liberal arts education in general—for giving students a wide knowledge base. “I feel like the idea of a Renaissance man or woman, who is well-rounded in many areas, has kind of gone by the wayside,” he says. “[Sewanee graduates] excel because they learn how to think. They learn how to learn. They’re open to new ideas, versus being in a box or having blinders.”
As the founder and owner of Concierge Home Care, an in-home senior healthcare service with offices throughout Florida, Spriggs says he benefits from the flexible mindset he cultivated at the University. For many years, he has regularly supported the Sewanee Fund, and he is a member of the Alumni Executive Board, a group convened by the Office of Alumni and Parent Programs to advance the University’s mission. Spriggs says he values the Sewanee Fund’s broad reach as an unrestricted pool of support. “I think Sewanee is the whole experience. So, when it comes to [donating], you have to trust in the University’s leadership—that they’re going to do the right thing with your gift. It’s almost like tithing.”
law (Tony Jones), dad (James Spriggs Jr.), and
grandmother (Barbara Spriggs)
Football put Sewanee on Spriggs’ radar. Though he grew up outside Chicago, he spent most of his adolescence in Hudson, Ohio, where he attended Western Reserve Academy as a boarding student. During his senior year of high school, he was recruited for Sewanee’s football team by Bill Samko, who served as head coach from 1987 to 1993. Years later, when Spriggs was a rising junior at the University, Samko helped him secure a summer internship as a runner at the Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX)—which was its own type of athletic experience. “Back then, [CHX] wasn’t as automated.” Spriggs says. “So, [interns] took orders and ran them from one part of the floor to another. It was a great experience.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, Spriggs also stood out on the University’s track and field team. Midway through his freshman year at Sewanee, he was offered a scholarship to run track at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and he transferred away from the Mountain. His adventures at Miami didn’t last long, he says. “I had a great track season [at Miami]—but being at a larger university, I definitely wasn’t mature enough not to spend more time partying than studying.” Realizing Sewanee’s academic environment was a better fit, Spriggs re-enrolled as a sophomore. “I knew in my heart I needed to go back.”
After experimenting with majors in political science and philosophy, Spriggs found his academic stride in the Religion Department. As he explored connections between religion and history, he says, he gained appreciation for the fun of learning. “Getting the opportunity to study something I really enjoyed made all the difference in the world.”
(Deborah Spriggs), dad (James Spriggs Jr.), brother
in law (Tony Jones), and sister (Tammy Spriggs)
Following graduation, Spriggs returned to Western Reserve Academy to teach courses in religion and ethics and coach multiple sports. He also lived in and oversaw two campus dormitories. “Needless to say, I learned a bit of patience and how to communicate with kids,” he says. “I absolutely loved it.” Still, he says, “I was young—and it was very different being a teacher and employee versus being a student.” Ultimately, Spriggs decided to move on and explore other career opportunities. After relocating to Jacksonville, Florida, on a whim and working briefly as a shipping supervisor for collectible plates and glasses, he landed a position at a healthcare staffing agency. “I took to it,” he says. “I don’t know why. It was just the right thing for me. I had success pretty quickly.”
Several promotions later, Spriggs joined with two business partners to launch his own medical staffing company, Apex Home Healthcare Services, LLC. He acknowledges that it was a risky move, but, he says, his education equipped him to “work hard and be open to new ideas.” Additionally, he jokes, “I just think I was dumb enough to believe I could do it.” Spriggs’ parents supported him initially by investing their life savings in Apex. Less than five years later, he and his partners sold the agency in an eight-figure deal. “I was able to walk in and tell [my parents], ‘You guys don’t have to work anymore,’” he says. “It was one of the highlights of my life.”
In 2015, Spriggs started his current company. “We’ve done 24 acquisitions, and we have about 2,400 employees now,” he says. He attributes this success to a client-focused approach, plus a healthy dose of humility—and “a lot of luck.” He notes that he generally keeps a low profile, preferring respectful communication over a more hierarchical leadership style. “I’ve always told people, ‘I’m not the engine—I’m the oil.’ You don’t see it. You may not even know it’s there. But if you don’t have it, nothing runs.”
and her two sons, Chase and Drake McCoy
Whitney Franklin, executive director of the Sewanee Fund and advancement services, says Sewanee philanthropy works in a similar way. “Sewanee is able to grow and thrive thanks to an amazing community of donors working largely behind the scenes,” she says. “At the Sewanee Fund, we are so grateful for donors like James who understand the need for flexible support and trust the University to be a good steward.”
Spriggs, who is a first-generation college graduate, says he’s excited to see the University evolve and enroll students from a wide range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. “I think Sewanee will benefit from having more diversity.” One of his goals in serving on the Alumni Executive Board, he says, is to help steer the University’s next chapter. He envisions prospective students from all walks of life stepping on campus “and saying, ‘Holy moly, look at this place. If I work my butt off, I can [enroll] here and change my family’s trajectory.’”
