President, Canal Society of New York State, 1979 – 2016
President Emeritus, Canal Society of New York State, 2016 – Present
President, Inland Waterways International (UK), 2002 – 2010
Vice-President, Inland Waterways International, 2006 – 2015
Commissioner, National Park Service’s Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Commission, 2001 – 2019
EDUCATION:
University of Buffalo
Bachelor of Arts, Geology and Geography (1963)
Cornell University
Master of Arts, Paleontology, and Stratigraphy (1966)
Thesis: Faunal Zones of the Middle Devonian Hamilton Group in the Tully Valley, Central New York
EXPERIENCE:
2017 – 2018 Chair – Barge Canal Centennial Celebration Committee, Rochester, NY
2010 Chair – World Canals Conference, Rochester, NY
2004 – present – Author of the plan to restore to full navigation Rochester’s downtown 19th century Erie Canal united with today’s Erie and across an 1842 aqueduct in the city center.
2001 – Chair, Erie Canal Marketing Subcommittee, City of Rochester Tourism Campaign
2001 – 2012 – led 6 international tours to the canals and waterways of France, Great Britain, Germany, and Belgium; guidebooks cited below under publications
2000 – Co-Chair, Worlds Canals Conference, Rochester, New York
1988 – 1994 – Member of the Barge Canal Planning & Development Board, Albany, NY (Appointed by the Governor to the state legislative commission)
1968 – 1999 – Chairman and Professor, Department of Geosciences, Monroe Community College, Rochester, NY
1995 – 2016 – Led the Canal Society’s efforts to bring to fruition the Port Byron Old Erie Canal Heritage Park – a preservation and restoration project of late 19th century authentic Erie Canal structures and buildings with unique and direct access from an interstate highway (NYS Thruway) and a local road (NY 31).