Who is Jim Lorimer?  Father, Husband, Vice Mayor of Worthington, lawyer?  Yes, Jim Lorimer is all of those things, but the role he is most known for is co-founding the Arnold Sports Festival along with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
 
It would be easy to miss the Classic Productions office.  The humble office is only noted by a small blue awning above the door.  However, there is a different world inside.  The foyer is modernly decorated with plush carpet and a life-sized portrait on the wall of a young Arnold posing.  The conference room is lined with posters of each Arnold event since the inception of the Arnold Classic, and earlier, dating back to 1967.  The office is busy with clients gearing up for the March 2010 Arnold Fitness Weekend.
 
In September 1970, Jim Lorimer first met a young Austrian bodybuilder, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  This bodybuilder would go on to be the most famous bodybuilder of all time.  Arnold told Jim Lorimer that when he was finished competing, he wanted to begin promotion of the sport and grow it into something bigger with larger cash prizes.
 
With the combined knowledge and love of the sport, Jim Lorimer and Arnold formed a partnership on a handshake in 1975.  Arnold's goal was to increase the cash prize from the $500 he had won in his years of competing, to $10,000 in the first year and $100,000 by the third year.  They accomplished this and continued growing until reaching the half-million dollar cash prize that is in place today.
 
In the early 1990's, they decided to expand the Arnold Classic beyond bodybuilding.  Thirty-five years after the initial handshake, there are now 44 sports and events, including 13 Olympic sports. It is no longer simply a body building event.  In fact, body building athletes only comprise a couple hundred of the 18,000 athletes competing over the weekend.  All 50 states and more than 80 nations are represented among these athletes.  To put this in perspective, only 15,500 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games combined.
 
The first question that some might ask is "why Columbus?"  To answer that, we must go back to the beginning.  In 1970, Lorimer invited Arnold to the Mr. World contest at Veterans Memorial.  However, Arnold had already scheduled to compete in the Mr. Universe competition in London that same weekend.  It was agreed that if Arnold wanted to compete, the local committee would provide him with a jet to fly him to Columbus.  The support that Columbus showed at that time mixed with the fact that this was to be the first time this sport would appear on national television, made it an easy decision for Arnold.  He competed in Saturday's competition in London and made it to the Veterans Memorial stage on Sunday for the Mr. World competition.  He won in front of a packed stage at Franklin County Veterans Memorial and that is when the tradition began.
 
Since its inception, other cities have tried their best to get the Arnold Sports Festival to move.  The staff of Classic Productions has been wined and dined, but to no avail.  There are a few things that Columbus has that no other city can offer.  First, there is no comparison to Columbus when it comes to organizational support.  The Arnold weekend is made possible due to 150 volunteer nurses and doctors, 600 additional volunteers, five venues (Franklin County Veterans Memorial, Greater Columbus Convention Center, LC Pavillion, Nationwide Arena and the Dispatch Ice Haus), transportation committee and wonderful facility management and staff. 
 
The second reason Classic Productions has chosen to remain in Columbus is due to Franklin County Veterans Memorial.  In Jim's words "Franklin County Veterans Memorial's auditorium is the key to the success of the weekend - with a unique 4,000 banked auditorium and plenty of backstage area with dressing rooms, and the addition of the two exhibition halls.  Veterans Memorial is ideal; the staff is professional, and I have every confidence that what we do at Vets will be successful.  This is a crucial facility to accommodate the history and tradition of the Arnold Classic.  This stage is known worldwide for this event.  Athletes around the world aspire to be on this stage."
 
Each year, Jim Lorimer's team has a goal: "to do better than their previous best".  This year is no exception.  There will be eight new events added to the 2010 Arnold Sports Festival including skateboarding which will take place in the North Hall of Veterans Memorial on Saturday and Sunday following the archery competition on Friday when 1,300 young Ohio archers will compete.  There truly is something for everyone at the March 2010 Arnold Sports Festival Weekend.
 
Although Jim Lorimer is the co-founder and Director of the Arnold Sports Festival, you will not see his picture or name on any of the brochures or marketing material or on the website.  With no plans to retire, Jim Lorimer and his hardworking staff of five, is and will remain the silent backbone to the Arnold Sports Festival, the largest multi-sports festival in the world.