{"id":4038,"date":"2024-11-08T15:43:33","date_gmt":"2024-11-08T15:43:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4038"},"modified":"2024-12-05T15:15:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T15:15:46","slug":"jamie-hayes-emphasizes-fathers-legacy-joins-big-dawg-leadership-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4038","title":{"rendered":"Jamie Hayes emphasizes father\u2019s legacy, joins Big Dawg Leadership Society"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Big Dawg Leadership Society: Jamie Hayes (FULL Length)\" width=\"474\" height=\"267\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RV7O-n358lI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Jeff Wilson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Hayes family has been a fixture around Saluki Athletics since Jim Hayes first came to Southern in 1961 on a football scholarship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy dad played linebacker at SIU. He had a great nickname, \u2018The Axe,\u2019\u201d his son, Jamie Hayes, said. \u201cFrom there, it was just always following the Salukis. He had a lot of great loves. He loved his family, the business, his employees, customers, and he loved SIU.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4039\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4039\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4039\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jamie-Hayes-1-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Jamie Hayes\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jamie-Hayes-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jamie-Hayes-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jamie-Hayes-1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4039\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jamie Hayes is the owner of Jim Hayes, Inc., in Harrisburg. The car dealership was started by his father, Jim, in 1976.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After graduating from SIU with a degree in education in 1962, Jim Hayes moved to Macomb, where he taught, coached football and married his wife, Bette, in 1966. After taking up car sales as a part-time job, he found a knack for the profession and moved his family to Harrisburg in 1976, founding the Jim Hayes, Inc., car dealership.<\/p>\n<p>Raising his family and growing his business in Southern Illinois, Jim Hayes made a point to support SIU through Saluki Athletics. Jim Hayes passed away in 2018, leaving an incredible legacy at Southern. The dealership is now owned and operated by Jamie Hayes.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4041\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4041\" style=\"width: 189px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4041\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jim-Hayes-189x300.jpg\" alt=\"Jim Hayes\" width=\"189\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jim-Hayes-189x300.jpg 189w, https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jim-Hayes-645x1024.jpg 645w, https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jim-Hayes-768x1218.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jim-Hayes-968x1536.jpg 968w, https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Jim-Hayes.jpg 972w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 189px) 100vw, 189px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4041\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jim Hayes played linebacker for the Saluki Football team in the 1960s, earning the nickname &#8220;The Axe.&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI grew up going with my dad to basketball games. SIU has a history of great coaches and great teams,\u201d he said. \u201cThe time spent with my dad was always good. I have great memories of these programs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jamie Hayes has continued and expanded that support throughout his life, including a recent $25,000 pledge to the athletic department and a significant contribution to the Pride of Little Egypt, the Name, Image, and Likeness collective for Saluki Athletics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is just a way of adding to my dad\u2019s legacy,\u201d he said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be in a position to do that if it weren\u2019t for him. I think he would be proud. I\u2019m trying to take it to the next level for him. He\u2019s up there cheering on the Dawgs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These gifts make him the newest member of the Big Dawg Leadership Society. The society honors the most resolute supporters among Saluki Nation and offers them unique access and opportunities to enhance the fan experience.<\/p>\n<p>The Big Dawg Leadership Society includes three levels:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Legendary:<\/strong>\u00a0$75,000 pledge over five years to Saluki Athletics and $2,500 for three years to the Pride of Little Egypt<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hall of Fame:<\/strong>\u00a0$50,000 pledge over five years to Saluki Athletics and $2,500 for three years to the Pride of Little Egypt<\/li>\n<li><strong>Champion:<\/strong>\u00a0$25,000 pledge over five years to Saluki Athletics and $1,000, one-year commitment to the Pride of Little Egypt<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe success of SIU can do nothing but help the region,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, more than ever, it\u2019s time to step it up a little bit more. You\u2019re going to need more community involvement. You have to bleed maroon no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about the Big Dawg Leadership Society, contact Todd Reeser at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:toddr@foundation.siu.edu\">toddr@foundation.siu.edu<\/a>\u00a0or Kat Martin at\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:katm@foundation.siu.edu\">katm@foundation.siu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jeff Wilson The Hayes family has been a fixture around Saluki Athletics since Jim Hayes first came to Southern in 1961 on a football scholarship. \u201cMy dad played linebacker at SIU. He had a great nickname, \u2018The Axe,\u2019\u201d his son, Jamie Hayes, said. \u201cFrom there, it was just always following the Salukis. He had &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4038\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Jamie Hayes emphasizes father\u2019s legacy, joins Big Dawg Leadership Society<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donor-stories","category-saluki-athletics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4038"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4046,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4038\/revisions\/4046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}