My name is James Leonard. I was born in Monroe, Louisiana. Where my younger brother & I were in foster care by the age of 4 or 5. I never really knew my mother or two older brothers. As my oldest brother passed when I was 12, and my mother passed the same year. We moved around a lot as kids. In 1986 at the age of 17 and a junior in high school I joined the National Guard. I went on to be the first in my family to graduate high school in 1987.  I graduated from NLU now known as ULM of Monroe, Louisiana in 1992.  I moved to Texas in 2002 as an assistant manager for Walmart.  In 2004 I was deployed to Afghanistan where I was severely injured and later retired in December of 2006. After retirement I started mentoring kids through Big Brothers and volunteered at the American Cancer Society as a driver.  I have also volunteered for the last 10 years at nursing homes giving free hair cuts. My passion is helping others and I love kids. I have three of my own who are grown and gone.  I saw the CASA commercial on television a few times and decided to call and make a change. I am honored to be volunteer of the month.