Former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney is joining the board of directors of the Timucuan Parks Foundation (TPF).
Delaney was first elected mayor in 1995 and won a second term in 1999, making him the first Republican elected to that post since Reconstruction.
After leaving office in 2003, he served as president of the University of North Florida (UNF) until 2018. During his tenure as mayor, Delaney helped create Preservation Project Jacksonville which is now TPF.
“The Preservation Project was an innovative conservation program that helped create one of the nation’s largest urban park systems. TPF supports, protects and promotes the vast network of preserves and the partnership between the City of Jacksonville, Florida State Parks and the National Park Service,” TPF noted.
“We are thankful that John has agreed to join our board and help guide our mission,” said Mark Middlebrook, the executive director of TPF, on Thursday. “His vision for conservation all those years ago helped add to the state and national parks to create one of the largest park systems in the U.S. We are committed to helping make our park system, not only the largest but the best and we look forward to having the former mayor on our team.”
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.