Jim Donahue is the President of National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) and was formerly President of the American Park and Recreation Society (APRS) Branch (1998-99) and past Chair of the Mid Atlantic Regional Council (MARC-1999-2000). Jim chaired the NRPA National Forum from 2000-2001. He served two three-year term as an NRPA Trustee and chaired the awards committee and the the information resources committee. Jim has also served as President of the New York State Recreation and Parks Society. He chaired the NY State "Friends of Parks and Recreation" foundation and helped raise more than $30,000 for scholarship and research.
He has been the Director of Parks, Recreation, and Information Processing for the Perinton Recreation and Parks Department in New York since 1978. The Town of Perinton has grown from a nine full-time person department in 1976 to more than twenty full time staff today. The Town of Perinton designed and built a $5.5 million community center in 1997. Final plans are underway to construct a $5.9 million indoor water park to add on to the community center.
Jim earned a Bachelors degree in Municipal Recreation (1976) and a Masters in Public Administration (1983) from SUNY Brockport. He also received an Associates Degree in Recreation Supervision from Monroe Community College in 1974.
He is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from both the New York State Recreation and Park Society (1993) and the American Park and Recreation Society (2001). He has served as an adjunct faculty member at both SUNY Brockport and the Rochester Business Institute.
Jim is an honorary member of the Rho Phi Lambda recreation and parks fraternity (2001). He received the NRPA Michael B. Berman Special Fellow Citation-Mid Atlantic Regional Council in 2000 and the NYSRPS Robert W. Miner Memorial, "Good Guy" Award 1999. Jim also received the American Red Cross-Rochester Chapter-Outstanding Volunteer Citation Award 1997 and the Outstanding Professional Service Award-SUNY Brockport 1991.