Media contact:
Fran Jackson
617-333-2970
fgately@curry.edu
For Immediate Release
Milton, MA --
Curry College President Kenneth K. Quigley, Jr. is pleased to announce that Donald E. Rodman, President of Rodman Ride for Kids and Rodman Ford, Lincoln-Mercury will receive an Honorary Degree and serve as Commencement speaker at Curry’s Commencement ceremony in Milton, Massachusetts on Sunday, May 18, 2008. Curry College will award Mr. Rodman a Doctor of Humane Letters.
Don Rodman is the President of the Rodman Ride for Kids, an umbrella matching gift charity that raises funds for child-related social service agencies in Massachusetts and serves as a catalyst by providing child welfare agencies an opportunity to raise funds through this event. The Ride for Kids and its 25 benefiting agencies fundraise year-round, culminating with the Ride event, a 25, 50, or 100-mile non-competitive cycling tour. 100% of expenses associated with the Ride are underwritten. Since its inception in 1991, the Ride for Kids has raised over $31 million to help at-risk children in Massachusetts
Widely recognized for his philanthropy, Don Rodman is a recipient of The Richard Cardinal Cushing Medal from the Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle; the Raymond J. Callahan S.J. Service Award from Nativity Prep; the John M. Corcoran Award for Excellence by St. Mary’s Women and Children’s Center; the 2002 Man of the Year Award by the Boston Police Athletic League (PAL); the Champion for Children Award by Robert F. Kennedy Action Corps; the Founder’s Award by the Kennedy-Donovan Center; the Paul Harris Award by the Foxboro Rotary Club; the 1997 Man of the Year Award by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and the 1993 Humanitarian of the Year by Ron Burton Training Village.
In 1993, he was proclaimed a Knight by Pope John Paul II and elected a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory The Great for his many charitable deeds.
An honorary graduate of Boston English High School with honorary doctorate degrees from Suffolk University, UMass Boston, and Stonehill College, Don Rodman has also been paid tribute for his support for youth organizations over the years by the naming of Rodman Field in Foxboro and Rodman Family Hall at Catholic Charities Sunset Point Camp in Hull, MA. Additionally, he is a member of the Canton Public Schools Hall of Fame.
His public sector service and charitable affiliations include roles as Director of the Boston Police Athletic League (PAL), Chariman Emeritus of Catholic Charities of Boston, Chairman of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester, Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Action Corps for Children, Inc.; President of the Ron Burton Training Village, and Vice President of The Red Auerbach Foundation.
As President of Rodman Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, the renowned Foxboro, MA dealership, Don Rodman focused on customer service and loyalty to develop the business into one of the leading automotive dealership groups in New England. Rodman Ford, Lincoln-Mercury received the 2004 TIME Magazine Quality Dealer Award and is a 13-time winner of the President’s Award – Ford Motor Company’s top award for customer satisfaction.
Don Rodman’s private sector career has also included roles as Director and past Chairman of the New England Ford Dealers Advertising Association, Past Director of the Ford National Dealer Council, and member and past director of the National Automobile Dealers Association.
An avid racquetball, tennis and biking enthusiast, Don Rodman is married to Marilyn G. Rodman and has five sons, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandsons.