He's put this talent to great use at the APCO Resource Center: he's installed things, organized things, and generally helped with arranging things that most folks don't really miss except if they're not there — working — when needed. Things like projections screens and white boards, area dividers and bookcases, door alarms and rerouted telephone lines.

Jim and his wife Nancy found the Alamo city after their kids flew the nest, when they decided to escape Michigan winters for the warmer climes of Harlingen and San Benito. San Antonio was a popular hub for snowbirds on their way to the Rio Grande Valley. In 1992, they decided to really indulge their love of travel: the sold their home in Kalamazoo, bought an RV, and hit the road. Avid birders, their odyssey frequently followed the flocks’ migratory patterns. For four years, they generally enjoyed their nomadic life, but there were unexpected events to liven things up. One involved their big old Maine Coon Cat, who had a notoriously rotten disposition. He'd run away before but always ambled back before the Nehrings broke camp. Once, though, he didn't, and Jim and Nancy reluctantly left without him after alerting the park rangers. Sure ‘nuf, the Nehring’s daughter got a call a bit later; the cat had come back and was, in fact sitting at the end of the park ranger's desk as they spoke. “That's not our cat,” she said. “Ours is too mean to sit quietly like that!” But it was, and animal lovers everywhere will rejoice to learn of its dramatic personality change once it found a pack of other like-minded cats! Now it even sends Christmas cards to let Jim and Nancy know all is well.

Their vagabond days came to an end when Nancy took up quilting and Jim started upgrading his computers. “Nancy's sewing machine and fabrics started taking over the bedroom and my computer parts were all over the kitchen table,” said Jim. “Quilting patches were everywhere.” Fortunately [for us], they've made San Antonio home. But Jim recently spotted hawks in the sky. Time to hook up the trailer and head to the Valley. Just a short trip this time, he says.