James E. Daly ’69 is the 2018 recipient of the Humanitarian Award, which recognizes an individual’s contributions to the betterment of the spiritual and material welfare of the less fortunate.
After a 26-year career with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, Daly settled into a life of volunteer service the likes of which few people could imagine. He has shown generosity of time and spirit to countless victims of catastrophe as well as those who aid them, from disaster-relief work at 9/11’s Ground Zero, to Hurricane Katrina relief, to on-site management in the wake of the 35W bridge collapse (for which he received a President’s Volunteer Service Award from President Bush himself).
“It just seemed like a continuation of being a police officer,” said Daly in a 2017 Star Tribune article featuring him. “It’s just a different way of helping people.”
Daly’s volunteer work through the Salvation Army has taken him around the country, usually managing the serving of huge quantities of hot food to those at disaster scenes.
“He is so level- and clearheaded in his decision-making,” Salvation Army Major Rae Doliber told the Star Tribune. “He can just bring a peace and calm to a situation that’s just totally out of control.”
“He is a humble servant of the Lord, and he just keeps on going,” said Salvation Army Capt. Leticia Crowell.