Biography
State Representative John P. Adams returns to the Ohio House of Representatives to serve his second term, and was elected by his colleagues to serve as Minority Whip of the Ohio House of Representatives. He represents the 78th House District, which is comprised of Shelby and Champaign Counties, as well as most of Auglaize County.
Originally born in Urbana and raised in Celina, Representative Adams attended Celina Senior High School. Following graduation in 1978 and several years working at Bethlehem Steel, Representative Adams left to join the United States Navy. He earned the exceptional honor of being selected to serve in the Navy SEALs and was assigned to a SEAL team in California. He also served overseas and assisted in training tactical units in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
While in California, Representative Adams married his high school sweetheart, Tara, and furthered his education by attending Mesa Community College in San Diego. He and his wife returned to western Ohio in 1987 after he was honorably discharged from the Navy SEALs.
Upon returning to Ohio, he attended Edison State Community College to continue his college education and began working at a local furniture business. He worked hard to build the experience and financial stability necessary to purchase his own business, and in 1997 he fulfilled his dream to start his own business by purchasing the Francis Furniture Store in his hometown of Celina. After two years, Representative Adams had expanded his business with the construction of a new store in Bellefontaine.
Representative Adams is a member of the National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio (NFIB) and was appointed to the NFIB/Ohio Leadership Council in Columbus.
Representative Adams has served two terms on the Board of Directors of the Shelby County United Way and was elected as president in 1991. He served as the chairperson of the annual Shelby County United Way Campaign, as president and member of the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association of Shelby County and as vice president of the Shelby County Rotary Club.
While Representative Adams is gratified by the success he has enjoyed in his business and community endeavors, his greatest joy is in his family. He and his wife Tara reside in Sidney and have been blessed with six children: Alex, Brian, Andrew, Maria, Lisa and Claire.
Education
Attended Mesa Community College
Responsibilities
A State Representative is an elected official whose job is to serve as a direct link between those Ohioans he or she was elected to represent and state government. In order to best fulfill this role, a representative responds to constituent concerns and works to provide solutions through legislative action. In order to best serve their constituents, a state representative attends meetings of their local civic, social and business groups in addition to responding to mail, email and telephone correspondence from constituents in their district.
The Minority Whip is elected by all members of the House and is responsible for monitoring legislation and securing votes for legislation on the floor. The term Whip originated in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is derived from the "whipper-in" at a fox hunt.
