Jim Wild Bio
Jim Wild was born and raised in McComb, MS. A lifelong resident of Mississippi, Jim has been a resident of Hattiesburg for the past 20 years. He retired in June 2021 after a long, successful career in commercial banking. As he approached retirement, Jim wanted to continue to be involved in the Hattiesburg community and Heritage Church. He had four objectives in retirement: 1) Become more involved in his church; 2) Spend more time traveling with his family; 3) Make investments in his personal health; and 4) Find something purposeful to become involved in.
In February 2022, Jim watched in disbelief as Russia attacked Ukraine. Over the next few weeks, his desire to find something purposeful combined with what he believes was a divine conversation led him and his wife to help relocate a Ukrainian family from Odesa, Ukraine to Hattiesburg, MS. Today, Jim will share that story.
Olha Zatsepilo Bio
Olha Zatsepilo was born in Odesa, Ukraine. While working for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines in 2015, she met Alex Fokin, a Russian national. Olha and Alex fell in love and married in December 2016. They moved to Odesa, Ukraine, where they worked and lived prior to the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Alex was visiting the U.S. at the time of the invasion. Through a personal connection with a Hattiesburg resident, Alex began efforts to get his family out of Ukraine and to the United States. So, on March 1st, 2022, his wife Olha (who was 7 ½ months pregnant with their 2nd child), their son Vova and Olha’s mother left Odesa by car and traveled to the border of Moldova, where their long journey began. Today, Jim and Olha will talk about her journey.