PARSIPPANY — For over 40 years, Jim Walsh has played a vital role in shaping and maintaining Parsippany’s parks, recreation facilities, and public works. A lifelong town resident, Walsh started his career 1982 as a seasonal worker before joining the Shade Tree Department full-time in 1984. Over the decades, his career grew alongside Parsippany’s evolving park system, earning him a reputation as a dedicated steward of the town’s natural and recreational spaces.
In the early years, Walsh worked his way up through the department, holding positions as a laborer, tree maintenance worker, forestry aid, and supervisor. When the Shade Tree Department merged with Parks and Recreation, forming the Parsippany Forest and Recreation Department, he took on even greater responsibilities. By 2003, Walsh had become the superintendent of parks and forestry, overseeing the care and expansion of Parsippany’s vast park system, including some of the town’s most significant projects.
One of Walsh’s earliest and most unique contributions was serving as the first caretaker of Craftsman Farms in 1990, ensuring the historic property was properly maintained as it transitioned into an important landmark. He also played a key role in the expansion of Smith Field, one of Parsippany’s largest and most frequently used parks. Under his leadership, the town’s recreation system grew to include a wide variety of facilities, from pickleball and tennis courts to four artificial turf fields and one full-sized cricket field and one temporary cricket field, reflecting the town’s increasing diversity and changing recreational needs.
Throughout his career, Walsh worked under eight different mayoral administrations, navigating the challenges and opportunities that came with each. In 2021, under Mayor Michael Soriano, he was appointed director of public works, becoming a certified public works manager, overseeing an even broader range of municipal operations while continuing to prioritize the town’s parks and natural spaces.
Among the many responsibilities Walsh took on, one of the most unconventional was his role as the first and only town employee to train and run border collies to chase geese off the golf course, an innovative and effective method of park maintenance. But perhaps one of his greatest points of pride is Parsippany’s longstanding designation as a Tree City USA community. The town first earned this national recognition in 1976, and today, it remains one of only two towns in New Jersey and 17 in the entire country to have held the designation for this long. To maintain the status, the town must meet strict requirements, including a per capita budget for tree planting and an annual Arbor Day celebration, a program that Walsh helped organize and sustain.
Looking back on his career, Walsh describes his time with Parsippany as more than just a job—a lifelong commitment to the town he grew up in and loved. From park expansions to forestry programs, his contributions have helped shape the town’s recreational landscape for generations.
