Jeff

Schuh

What are some of your highlights or key moments in the Marine Corps?
Earning the title United States Marine.
Having the privilege to lead Marines in combat
Training Marines, impacting them on all levels (personal, professional, etc.), and building lasting relationships.
Watching Marines have that “ah-ha” moment when everything you have been working on them with comes to fruition. It is like the positive version of an “ I told you so”, which doesn’t need to be said.
What is your definition of, "If Not Me, Then Who..."? How do you apply your definition on a daily basis? How have you applied your definition to support youth in your community?
Don’t wait for someone else to do it or don’t believe that someone else is going to come along and take care of it.
I apply it anytime it seems someone may need assistance, opening doors, issues on the highway, picking up that trash, stopping and just taking the extra second to ask someone if they are in need when they appear to be. Daily, I try to sincerely smile at everyone and ask them how they are doing or just show kindness as much as I can in the interaction. Sometimes that’s what someone may need, just to feel heard or a reminder that there are kind people in the world, and they are not alone.
I have had the opportunity to do some Character Does Matter/ Character Leadership Courses to have these conversations with youth to give them different perspectives.
Have you faced any challenges while in the Marine Corps? How did you deal with those challenges?
I have faced several challenges: combat, mission accomplishment, leading peers, influencing subordinates/peers/superiors alike.
Through a combination of a few means, sometimes it's reverting back to our training which just takes over naturally. Training over and over and over can be so tedious, but the muscle memory and confidence it gives us is unwavering.
By learning from our failures or experiences. “A smart person learns from their mistakes; a wise person learns from other’s mistakes. It doesn’t matter who fails or succeeds, it matters what you take from those successes and failures. Always strive to find a way to improve yourself or others. If you make those around you better, then you’ll have to be better, which makes everyone as a team better.
What brought you to TMF and what's keeping you here?
Originally for a 9/11 hero’s run event where we brought our future Marines waiting to go to boot camp to participate in the run. I heard the story of 1ST LT Travis Manion and the ‘if not me, then who” mantra. I knew this was a place for me.
What keeps me around are the individuals in TMF, everyone is selfless, encouraging, respectful, endearing, and just great human beings to be around. I have had the privilege to participate in several events with TMF and sometimes personal issues have arisen, and everyone was supportive and helpful.
As I retire this November, I am blessed to know I am part of an organization that is very similar to the Marine Corps Organization when we talk about the brother/sisterhood. Everyone says when you transition it is hard to find what you had in the Marines, well it won’t be hard for me because I have people like Jason Dodge, David Boyd, Camile Minor, Whitney Hollingsworth, and many more who I know are there for me no matter what.
Who inspires you? How do they inspire you?
There are numerous people who inspire me, there is so much we can learn from people if we just watch and listen. Ultimately, they inspire me to be a better version of myself in all areas of my life. Kindness, respect, love, gratitude, humility, perseverance, growth, selflessness, and this is all through their actions, not their words.
My wife Amanda and her ability to persevere through her hardship. My son James and his pureness, he is full of love and laughter, unscathed by the distractions of our world. Jim Joseph, who I named my son after. He essentially took it upon himself to insert himself into my life to be a male role model, giving me guidance as I grew up. Whitney Hollingsworth is one of the most kind, sweet, selfless individuals I’ve met. Members of TMF staff, previously mentioned, they’re sincere individuals who care about the betterment of everyone which is not associated with a bottom line or dollar amount.
What has been your most memorable experience with TMF?
2019 Marine Corps Marathon, just running the 26.2 mile with the TMF flag in the pouring rain! I got to run with several legs of people, I had some extra boost that day from the flag! I met a woman the evening before in the elevator who was there for the blue mile, she lost her son a couple months before in Afghanistan. I needed a name to put on my “running in memory of bib”, I asked if I could put her son, Michael Nance on it and she happily agreed stopped on the side of the blue mile that morning in the rain while she was holding the American Flag to take a photo and have a big hug.
Personal life: married? children? etc. Any hobbies?
Wife: Amanda Jaye Schuh
Son: James Lawrence Schuh
Hobbies: soccer, golf, baseball, football, basketball, working out, scuba diving, fishing, anything with my son!!!