Growing up on Long Island, Jim was known as a gifted natural athlete playing football, basketball and lacrosse at Half Hollow Hills High School. He was a Suffolk County All-Star running back who started every game in his 3-year varsity football career graduating in 1977 with the distinction of being the school’s all-time leading scorer and rusher. As a sophomore Jim played for the 1974-1975 HHH varsity basketball team in the Suffolk County League 1 playoffs. His lacrosse accomplishments were even more impressive. He was an All-American and Suffolk County scoring champion. Most notably, he won the Ray Enners Award as the outstanding lacrosse player in Suffolk County in 1977. He was the first player at Half Hollow Hills High School to ever receive the award. Jim was the only athlete to be selected to play in both the North-South All-Star Football game and the North-South All-Star Lacrosse game. He was a starting running back on the North football team and a starting attackman on the North lacrosse team. Jim attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School in 1977-1978 where he was the lacrosse team’s leading scorer and Most Valuable Player. After high school, Jim played for the Hofstra University lacrosse team in 1979-80. He was named to the 1980 USILA Division 1 All-American team in his sophomore season. His record setting scoring average of 4.9 points per game still ranks fifth in the history of the Hofstra lacrosse program.
After college, Jim discovered his passion for the insurance industry. In 1983, he was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with two of the industries’ most prolific sales executives, Richard Ferrucci and Frank DeMartino. He learned the insurance business and then pursued his dream to run his own company. Jim founded his award winning agency, the Whitmore Group, Ltd., in 1989. Today, the Whitmore Group employs over 70 people and provides a full range of insurance products and services. It has received many of the most prestigious insurance industry awards including the Travelers Insurance Award of Excellence as top performing agent in the United States, Chubb Insurance Group’s Cornerstone Elite Agency designation, Harleysville Insurance Northeast Agent of the Year, member of the Merchants Insurance Group Presidents Club and the Ace Insurance Company’s Elite Network Agency designation.
