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Jerry Sims promises, "you've never seen
anybody like me before." Growing up in a poor family,
he was one of 10 children who had to learn, very early on,
the skills to help him survive in the real world. Jerry has
been passing on those survival skills learned from his
childhood to soldiers in the Army National Guard for the
last 20 years.
A 1st Sergeant and specialist in Nuclear Operations, Sims
just recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
No stranger to being in a leadership position, Sims was in
charge of 100 men and not only knew how to manage them, but
also earned their respect. "With this big smile and
this convincing attitude, I get them to do exactly what I
want them to do!"
He's always been a strong proponent of the team concept, a
skill that came in handy growing up in such a large
household, especially around dinner time "where you had
to be on time!" Jerry is also a family man, who's been
married for 25 years and has both an adult son and daughter.
He has no qualms about saying he's doing this for the money.
"The million is in my grasp! I've got to have it. I'm a
competitor. I like to win. I like to win, win, win!"
Raised on a chicken farm in South Carolina, Jerry also knows
how to live off the land and involve everyone in the daily
chores. This self-proclaimed jokester says he will give his
fellow castaways some much need entertainment, but nobody
should misinterpret his cheery personality for weakness
because Jerry proudly proclaims, "I am physically fit,
I am mentally strong and I'm ready for the million."
Jerry currently resides in Rock Hill, SC. His birth date is
May 18.
Jeff Probst: Jerry is
a loveable man. There's so much more to Jerry though than a
big smile. I mean this guy has been in Afghanistan...he's
led troops. And he's explained to me before his philosophy
and it's not about: 'who are my leaders'....it's about 'who
needs my help'. That kind of leadership is really mature.
Whether people recognize it or not, it could serve him
really well.
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I'm 49 years old. I work at a
Nuclear Power plant...working there for 30 years. And I'm also
a member of the South Carolina Army national Guard. I been
doing that for 26 years. So I don't mind work. I don't mind
work at all. I have 10 brothers and sisters. So it was all in
the same household. So when it came time to eat meals I mean
you'd better be on time because food goes pretty quick.
Personality-wise I'm laid back,
easy going...try to figure out any kind of problem and try to
fix anything. If you put something in front of me I'm gonna
try my best to...I gonna try my best to fix it. I'm a 'Mr.
Fix-it' man.
And when they find out I'm 49
years old...they gonna say: 'whoa wait a minute'...'what is he
using'...'what is he drinking'. 'Cause I...the military
requires us to stay in fairly decent shape. 'Cause once a year
they give us a physical fitness test and every soldier gotta
practice things. If you don't you won't get promoted, you stay
at the same rank that you are. It's a big incentive for you to
stay in shape. And not only that if we get the call to go
overseas or anything, you want to be in pretty good shape.
I bring not only my charming personality [laughs], but I'm
talking about my military background that's gonna help me out
in this show a lot. I mean I better use some of this stuff
that I've learned. Not try to be the leader though...I wanna
lay back and be low key. But just help...help me to win this
game. That's my ultimate goal. I was made for this show. This
show...I am a different individual...I am different from
anybody that you've ever seen. When you see me out there in
the field you will see why. 'Cause I am calm, I am laid back
and I know how to get inside of people's head. I gotta go into
this as a game. I'm gonna have to drop everything at the
steps...my beliefs and everything. 'Cause I gonna have to tell
some stories that I really don't want to tell. And manipulate
people the way I really normally wouldn't manipulate people.
So I'm gonna have to leave all my morals at the door and bring
in a whole different set of rules to win this game. I was born
for this occasion [laughs]. That's why I'm here today. It's
not a coincidence that I am here today...I am here for a
reason, a purpose. It's one million reasons and the one
million dollars is why...I want that million dollars in my
hands.
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