Clayton’s Citizen of the Year

The Clayton Chamber Commerce is proud to announce Jim Schnauber as their 2022 Clayton Citizen of the Year.

Jim Schnauber grew up on the family farm in Depauville with his parents, Robert and Mary Schnauber, sisters Kathy and Ellen, and brothers Mike and Donnie on Schnauber Road. It was a great time and place for Jim to grow up. On the farm Jim learned to work hard and help his neighbors when they need it. This instilled Jim with a strong work ethic and a sense of responsibility to his community.

Boy Scouts Troop 76, from Depauville, reinforced Jim’s feelings of community responsibility.  As a Boy Scout, Jim was involved in several community events and volunteered often.  Jim became a Life Scout and received the Order of the Arrow Award.  

After graduation from Clayton Central School in 1964, Jim left the family farm and went to work for Churchill & Sons, painting water towers. Jim then went on to work for Leo Ingerson for 10 years and learned the building trade. Leo taught Jim the importance of always doing quality work.

In 1977, Jim created Schnauber Construction, with the motto “When Quality is What Counts”.  For the next 35 years Jim had the pleasure of building and renovating many fine homes in the community and among the islands, as well as some commercial properties. Jim was blessed to have many great employees that worked for him, as well as his wife Patti who ran the office operations.  Jim has taken great pride in purchasing and renovating many properties throughout Clayton, to ensure that the community remained a beautiful place to live and visit as well as provide quality rentals for his fellow community members.

Throughout his career and after his retirement, Jim has been involved in many community projects, often overseeing building projects. It has always been a great joy of Jim’s to help these organizations and keep the community vibrant and beautiful. Some of the highlights include serving on the Clayton Opera House Board for 10 years and assisting in some renovations within the building; sitting on the Village of Clayton Planning Board; serving as a Clayton Chamber of Commerce board member; building the Baptist Church steeple; caring for St. Mary’s Church buildings as well as consulting and overseeing renovations; serving on the Antique Boat Museum buildings and grounds committee; working with the Thousand Islands Land Trust and Zenda Farms to renovate the creamery, assist with the design and construction of various aspects of the buildings and grounds, and serve on the Zenda committee which he received Volunteer of the Year in 2014 and 2017; volunteering for Thousand Islands Emergency Rescue Service (TIERS) as an ambulance driver, building cabinets and minor maintenance around the building; assisting the Thousand Islands Arts Center’s building and grounds and overseeing renovations; and serving on the Village of Clayton’s Playground Committee where he also assisted in the construction of the “wooden park” playground on Mary Street.

The Clayton Christmas Parade has particularly brought Jim much joy and has participated with his family for 40 years.  “The Christmas parade embodies much of what I love about the Clayton community – its families and businesses pulling together to have fun and spread cheer.  It is a night when the entire community comes together to celebrate all the people that make Clayton such an amazing place to live and grow.  I know my family will forever have fond memories of the parade and of our time together planning and participating as part of a community. Throughout my years of living in Clayton, I have enjoyed helping others when needed, and have developed many great friendships along the way” stated Jim.