October 2024 Volunteer of the Month

By Sarah Reilly

Jim has been involved for an incredible 18 years (beginning in 2006) and has been a pleasure to be around since. His service is truly unparalleled, and his presence is a welcome one. Jim has interacted with countless visitors and most staff over his years here. Officially nominated by Visitor Services Specialist Vicki Stoodley for being an “Extraordinary interpreter in the Discovery Center and longtime Albany Pine Bush volunteer”, Jim’s dedication to his community is commendable.

Jim served in the U.S. Navy on minesweepers for 4 years after high school, as he was unsure of what he wanted to go to school for but knew he wanted to see the world. Upon his return to the US, Jim saw a pamphlet in a library advertising becoming a forest ranger, leading him to enroll at Paul Smith’s college where he graduated from in 1968. He met his wife during his time there, and they moved to West Virginia for Jim to attend West Virginia University to receive a bachelor's degree in forestry. His wife missed home, so the couple moved back to NY and Jim began work at a tree preservation company- with a crew of his own trimming trees around powerlines and work at Mohansic (now FDR) state park. On a hot summer day in August of 1971, Jim was hired at the Office of General Services in Albany, working primarily on medical contracts. Notably, Jim worked on distributing defibrillators to schools once a law passed requiring them and on projects to get flu vaccines distributed to clinics. He briefly retired in the early 90s, before going back to work at the Hilton Garden Inn in Albany and back to the same office with OGS. In his official retirement, he saw an article in the newspaper about the SEFCU building being turned into a discovery center. SEFCU was his bank but he still cared about his forestry roots and wanted to be back out in nature, so he came to check the preserve out… and that is how he got involved with the APB!

Along with his volunteer work at the Discovery Center, Jim volunteers at the USS Slater and is a former volunteer at the Saratoga Auto Museum. He says his favorite part about volunteering at the Albany Pine Bush is “helping visitors. Everyone is always happy and in a good mood! Being here brings me back to my forestry roots… it is low-key, and I like to converse with people”. Jim is frequently seen enjoying a cup of coffee or walking the Discovery Loop, and would water Lupine plants as well as check up on our exhibits.

With the number of years he has spent volunteering, Jim has many memories to recall and stories to tell. His favorite is one he calls “the story of the mushroom caper”, where one day he was at the Discovery Center and a visitor came in to report seeing people harvesting mushrooms from the preserve. Jim went out to talk to them as foraging is not allowed in the preserve, and found out they were collecting the mushrooms for their local restaurant. Along with being a Discovery Center Docent, he has also been a Program Assistant and participant in our Community Science programs.
Congratulations and thank you, Jim- the Albany Pine Bush is lucky to have you!

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