James J. Finke, Class of 1957 is being inducted into the Hall of Fame for his abundant community service and volunteer work.
Jim started out at Fort Crailo elementary school, and spent the first year of high school in Washington, D.C. where his father's job took the family. They returned to Rensselaer, and Jim graduated from Van Rensselaer HS. While in high school, he served on student council, was a member of Varsity Club and was Sport's Editor for the "Crest and Shield". Athletically, he played basketball and softball. He earned a Regent's Diploma and went on to St. Lawrence University where he played baseball his first year, belonged to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics in 1961.
Jim began his long career in N.Y.S. civil service in 1961 at the Dept. of Public Works, testing materials in the laboratory as an Engineering Materials Analyst. He continued in that field, advancing up the ladder until reaching a top managerial position in the Dept. of Transportation, supervising the chemistry testing section of the Materials Bureau. He retired from there in 1998. While with NYSDOT, he participated on several regional and national committees for transportation product evaluation.
While his family grew, Jim served his church, becoming an elder, deacon and eventually the treasurer. He joined and is still a member of the Friends of Fort Crailo, the Greenbush Historical Society, and the Masons. He is a charter member of the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Rensselaer County, and served on the Finance Committee, and then as Vice President and President of the Board of Directors.
His volunteerism in athletics includes coaching and managing youth baseball for the E. Greenbush Babe Ruth League from 1977-1988, becoming District 4 Commissioner from 1987-98, and State Commissioner from 1998-2006. From 2004 to the present he also is the Assistant Regional Commissioner of the Middle Atlantic Region Babe Ruth League. Jim was assistant Varsity Baseball coach for Columbia High School, where his children attended, from 1983-87, was basketball statistician for boys and girls teams from 1982-present, and for those efforts was inducted into their Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011. Jim's talents also include being writer and publishing assistant to his college Intercollegiate Hockey Newsletter from 1967-94. He was tournament staff for the ECAC championship tourney at Lake Placid from 1995 to present and remains so as the historian.
Jim's Masonic activities are too numerous to list. He has been a Mason since 1961, holding various office positions, being part of affiliate associations, clubs and bodies, receiving his apron in 2014.
Jim is a published author of a paper entitled "History of Albany Masonic Meeting Places" and co-authored the pictorial history of "East Greenbush, Then & Now".
Jim has been an active member of the Alumni Association for the past 3 years. He was nominated by Ginny Lazzaro, the association's treasurer. Jim and his wife, the former Elaine Whitbeck, have 4 children and 6 grandchildren and still live locally.
James E. Finke, class of 1928 is being inducted posthumously into the Hall of Fame for his academics, his distinguished career, and service to his community.
James graduated from the class of 1928 where he was an honor student and Vice President of his class. He graduated with a BS from Union College in 1935, a time when most people did not attend college.
During WWII, James served as an Air Warden for the city of Rensselaer. He was an active member of the Rensselaer Republican Committee and was a featured speaker at the Van Rensselaer High School Class of 1954 Senior Sunday ceremony and gave the keynote address at the graduation ceremony for the VRHS Class of 1957. He was a prominent area Mason for over 40 yrs, holding many offices, including Master in 1942, District Grand Master in 1952, and served on many Grand Lodge committees. He also held memberships in City Chapter #242, Royal Arch Mason Temple Commandery #2, Knights Templar and Cyprus Temple Shriners all of Albany. He was a member of the University Club in Albany and the Fort Orange Club. All of these organizations have as their purposes, service to the community.
James' career achievements included 32 years of service affiliated with the Citizens Public Expenditure Survey in Albany. His positions included editor of the "N.Y.S. Taxpayer" and Director of Research and Public Relations. Frequently he was appointed by Governor Rockefeller as a delegate to represent N.Y.S. at the Annual Conference of the National Tax Association. In 1953 he was appointed a special consultant to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee on Social Security in Washington, D.C.
James was nominated by his son, James J. Finke, class of 1957. James was married to the former Marion Hyland and had two sons, one of whom is also being honored tonight. He also had six grandchildren.
