If you’ve noticed a few extra American flags popping up around Shearwater the last two summers, there’s a good chance James Celkis had something to do with it. A veteran, a Realtor®, and a man of faith, James has spent his time here quietly looking for ways to serve - whether that’s leading a discussion group, mentoring teenagers, or simply handing a neighbor a flag.

“Since serving in the military, I’ve had a mindset of contributing wherever I am,” James says, “and that attitude is amplified by my faith.” With America’s 250th birthday on the horizon this July, that mindset feels especially timely - and James had plenty to share about both.

James’s week is full of opportunities to show up for others. On Wednesday nights, he serves the veteran community as a Discipleship Group discussion leader with Project Savior Outdoors, a faith-based organization. On Sunday mornings, he leads a discussion group for high school boys through the student ministry at his home church.

And he’s not stopping there. James is currently in the process of chartering a TPUSA Faith Hub in our area and is actively looking for others who’d like to get involved. “Please reach out if that’s you!” he says - so consider this your invitation, neighbors.

Ask James about America’s 250th birthday, and he doesn’t just talk about fireworks and barbecues. “It seems We the People have largely forgotten, or at least underestimate, what a significantly liberating divergence from human history the Declaration of Independence was at the time,” he says, “and why it’s still worth supporting, as did our Founding Fathers, ‘with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence’ with a willingness to pledge ‘our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.’”

He points out that the Declaration itself wasn’t born in a quiet room - it was forged through vigorous debate and discussion during a hot Philadelphia summer, with a revolution already underway in the background. “Surely we can draw upon the spirit of America 250 to navigate our current challenges in like manner,” James says.

When James talks about what he’s most proud of, two threads keep coming back: service and the American Dream. He’s been overjoyed by the response to handing out American flags around Shearwater the last two summers - a small gesture that’s clearly struck a chord with neighbors.

As a steadfast patriot, James still champions the American Dream - an important part of which, he notes, is property and home ownership. “Just ask William Bradford and the Pilgrims at Plymouth,” he adds. It’s a belief that shows up in his professional life too: as a Realtor® and as a capital raiser for multifamily properties, James does his best to help others move toward that same goal.

He’s the first to admit that achieving home ownership feels increasingly out of reach for many. But he also takes the long view: every generation has faced its own hard circumstances over the last 250 years of American history, and somehow, things have moved forward. For James, that’s exactly why showing up - for your family, your faith, and your neighbors - still matters.

Between the discussion groups, the new Faith Hub in the works, and a few hundred flags planted in Shearwater lawns, James Celkis is making the case that “making a difference” doesn’t have to be complicated - it just has to start somewhere. As America turns 250 this July, maybe that’s the spirit worth carrying forward: lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, one neighbor at a time.