Joseph E. Curtis retired after a long and distinguished career as a park and recreation leader and advocate. From 1975 until his retirement he served as Commissioner of Parks and Recreation and then Commissioner of Human Services for the City of New Rochelle, New York. Prior to that he served as Commissioner of Parks and Recreation for Boston, MA and White Plains, NY. He also held positions as an area supervisor with the Department of Recreation and Parks, Baltimore County, Maryland, and Director of Recreation in Oceanside, New York.
Joe is the author of two textbooks and over 75 professional articles and monographs. He served as the President of the American Park and Recreation Society, and President of the Long Island Recreation and Park Society, as well as societies of New York, Maryland and Westchester County. He also has been the chair of all major national professional committees of NPRA, and a past member of the Board of Trustees.
Joe received the Distinguished Fellow Award from the American Park and Recreation Society and additional awards from B’nai B’rith, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Brotherhood Foundation, U.S. Jaycees, Buttenheim Award for Excellence, and awards from state societies in New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Illinois, Georgia, and Maryland. He received his BS in Liberal Arts from Fordham University and his MA from New York University in the Administration of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.