Jimmy Haire arrived on the City Council with a lifetime of experience in the community. Born and raised in Sanford, Haire is respected as a local historian, professional photographer and owner of Jimmy Haire Photography Studio, a successful local business for more than three decades.

He was named 2007 Lee County Small Business Owner of the Year and received the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award from The Sanford Herald, where he began in 1959 as a 10-year-old paperboy and later served as writer, ad salesman, photographer and circulation director.

Haire lives in Sanford with his wife, Tonya. The couple has three grown children, Justin, David and Allison.