Honor James D. O'Donnell

9:00am, followed by a Grand Marshal Breakfast at Kuhl's Catering Hall; and WHEREAS, The Grand Marshal for the 2019 from LAOH Division 1, Orange County, James D. O'Donnell is an active member of the Knights of Columbus in St. John's Church and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division 1, Orange County; and WHEREAS, James D. O'Donnell was born in the Bronx, New York, to John Kerry and the former Helen O'Donnell, who were the proprietors of the Gaelic Park Sports Centre for over 60 years; in 1975, he moved to Orange County; and WHEREAS, Currently retired, James D. O'Donnell spends most of his time volunteering his time and energies to various worthy organizations including the Newburgh Armory Unity Center, the Goshen Rotary, Safe Homes of Orange County and the Kaplan Family Foundation; and WHEREAS, James D. O'Donnell earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dominican College, and graduated from the FBI National Academy; he furthered his education by attending the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, and completing graduate level courses at the University of Alabama; and WHEREAS, James D. O'Donnell enjoyed a long and distinguished career in law enforcement beginning in 1974 as a New York State Trooper; through the years, he advanced through the ranks serving as Captain in charge of the state wide Violent Felony Warrant Squad and Major in charge of all State Police operations in New York City; in 1993, he returned to Orange County as Troop Commander of Troop F in Middletown, and two years later, he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel in charge of all Uniform Trooper patrol operations; and WHEREAS, Throughout his tenure, James D. O'Donnell accomplished numerous goals such as establishing the Troop "F" DARE Program and the Trooper on Patrol Program; for his steadfast and unremitting commitment to his profession and community, he was the recipient of numerous awards and accolades; and WHEREAS, Upon retiring from the New York State Police in 1997, James D. O'Donnell returned to his roots at Gaelic Park Sports Centre, where he oversaw major renovations in 1998; and WHEREAS, In February of 1999, James D. O'Donnell was appointed Chief of Police of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Police Department by Governor George E. Pataki; in this capacity, he initiated an aggressive reengineering of the former Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad Police Departments into the new MTA Police Department; and WHEREAS, In addition, Chief James D. O'Donnell improved planning for emergency preparedness, and secured assignment of his Deputy Chief to the International Association of Chief of Police Terrorism Committee and a Detective to the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorist Task Force, both of which were proven to be critical after the World Trade Center Bombing on

2005-2013, he served the citizens of Orange County as Deputy County Executive; and WHEREAS, In this role, James D. O'Donnell was in charge of Economic Development for Orange County, and served as the Executive Director of the Foreign Trade Zone as well as Executive Director of the Orange County Industrial Development Agency where he created and retained thousands of jobs; and WHEREAS, As Deputy County Executive, James D. O'Donnell instituted a Lean Six Sigma Program and management training for senior management positions, and oversaw the daily operations and activities of 35 County Departments and Divisions; he also created the "Team Orange" identity for the County's 3,000 employees, and helped lead the County during the emergency operations of Hurricanes Lee and Irene and Super-Storm Sandy; and WHEREAS, With him throughout have been his wife of 43 years, Margaret; their eight children, Christy, Joanne, Jamie, Maggie, Michael, Molly, Ellen and John Kerry; and their six grandchildren, Hudson, Luke, James, Cailyn, Kiera and Maya, all of whom have shown him love and support and rejoice in his many achievements; and WHEREAS, The St. Patrick's Day Parade celebrates the spirit, purity and strength of the Irish culture and its fine traditions; and WHEREAS, Through this heartfelt and compassionate expression, as well as through their sustained commitment to the cultural vitality of their Irish heritage, the Irish-American people of Orange County, the Mid-Hudson area and the State of New York bear witness to the deep faith and love of humanity which is their rich tradition; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to honor James D. O'Donnell upon the occasion of his designation as Grand Marshal of the 43rd Annual Mid-Hudson St. Patrick's Day Parade on March