It’s weird when someone you’ve known seemingly for ages, spoken with moderately regularly, and run into face-to-face from time to time is gone. Yesterday, my colleagues and I received word that Jim Fullilove, the longtime managing editor of Marine Electronics Journal, had passed away. Jim was an institution in the marine industry, always stopping in to see us at the Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show or reaching out to discuss the latest in marine electronics.
Jim took on the managing editor role at MEJ twenty-seven years ago, just as I started my career in the marine industry. When I took responsibility for KVH’s media relations soon after, Jim was the first interviewer to whom I spoke about KVH’s technology. He let me babble on, asked good questions, and didn’t hold it against me that I might have been a bit wet behind the ears in that particular role.
I’ve lost track of how many conversations Jim and I had over the intervening years as he would grill me on new tech, industry trends, and most importantly, why all of this mattered to boaters. I also had the opportunity to write for him on many occasions, spurred on by requests that usually started with “Hi Chris. Hope all is well in your world,” followed by an inquiry about whether I might have the time and the interest to write a five-part series on satellite communications and TV, a timely feature article, a sidebar, or just a good quote for him to share with MEJ’s readers.
Upon hearing the news of Jim’s passing, one of my colleagues wrote, “Very sad, he has been a fixture in the marine industry for as long as I can remember. I started attending National Marine Electronics Association conferences and meetings since the early 90s, and he has always been right there and did an incredible job with MEJ and promoting the marine electronics industry.”
The last time I spoke with Jim was in May of this year. We spent an hour on the phone discussing some new tech to make communications for boaters easier. He mentioned that he was retiring and was looking forward to spending more time with his family. My heart, and the hearts of my colleagues, go out to Jim’s family as well as all those industry friends and colleagues who mourn his loss.
So now it’s weird to realize he and I won’t be chatting at the KVH booth during FLIBS this fall or working together on an article for MEJ again. Jim was a fine writer, a passionate advocate for boaters, and, in the words of another of my colleagues, “a good dude.” He will be missed.