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Pictured: UDC Secretary-Treasurer Al Henry (Berlin Township); Chairperson Jim Rodgers (Town of Fremont); and Vice-chairperson Evan Padua (Town of Tusten).

NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Council, Inc. (UDC) board elected Town of Fremont Representative James R. Rodgers to serve as its 2025 chairperson at the non-profit organization’s annual meeting held Jan. 2nd.

UDC Representatives Evan Padua, Town of Tusten, NY, and Alan F. Henry, Berlin Township, PA, were elected vice-chairperson and secretary-treasurer, respectively.

While the election results were immediately binding, the officers will be ceremonially sworn in at the UDC’s next monthly meeting on Feb. 6.

Chairperson

“Jim” Rodgers rejoined the UDC board effective January 10, 2024 after having previously served as alternate representative from Nov. 10, 2004 through Jan. 2013.

At the time of his original appointment by the Fremont Town Board, Rodgers had been a frequent audience member at Council meetings due to his interest in Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River conservation and environmental stewardship.

Born in Brooklyn, an eight-year-old Rodgers and his family moved to West Milford, NJ in 1960. He attended high school at St. Joseph’s Seraphic Seminary in Callicoon, NY from 1966-68 before finishing his secondary education in Wayne, NJ and then studying Sociology at Montclair State College.

Fond memories of his time in the Upper Delaware River Valley brought him back to Sullivan County in October 1974, originally living in Kenoza Lake before settling in an area historically known as Fernwood, between Long Eddy and Basket Creek.

He was an original staff member of the Delaware Valley Job Corps Center in Callicoon when that federal vocational facility opened in 1979. He worked in the recreation department for 16 years, 10 of which as supervisor. After a year as sports editor for the River Reporter, Rodgers worked in the areas of staff training and development, and taught high school level history and English before retiring in 2009.

Rodgers is a member of the Adirondack Mountain Club Mid-Hudson Chapter and the Natural Resources Defense Council, among other conservation groups. He’s a former Sullivan County Youth Board member, basketball and soccer referee, and a water safety and first aid/CPR instructor with the American Red Cross.

He enjoys kayaking and canoeing on the Upper Delaware River, social and natural history, and hiking.

Jim and his wife, Mary Ellen, a Registered Nurse, have been married since 1980. They have two daughters, Eve and Kathy, and three grandchildren.

Vice-Chairperson

UDC vice-chairperson is the first executive officer role for Evan Padua to hold, after being elected by his peers to chair the Council’s Water Use/Resource Management Committee in 2024.

The Tusten Town Board appointed Padua as its UDC alternate on May 1, 2018. He stepped up to the representative role in January 2023.

While growing up in Narrowsburg, NY, Padua attended Homestead School, Damascus Elementary School, and graduated from Honesdale High School in 2009.

He moved west at age 18 to seek adventure in the mountains and rivers. He guided on rivers in Alaska and Wyoming and skied all over the Rockies before opting to return to the Upper Delaware River Valley in 2015 to join his father, Michael, in operating Sweetwater Guide Service.

They offer guided fishing trips on the Delaware River and its branches year-round.

Padua broadcasts a “Hooked on Fishing Report” for WJFF Radio Catskills’ Farm & Country program seasonally, has provided angling seminars for the Western Sullivan Public Library System, is a member of Trout Unlimited, TU’s Shehawken Chapter, the Delaware Highlands Conservancy, and participates in several land and river litter clean-up initiatives.

Evan and his wife, Cherene, reside in Tyler Hill, PA with their baby daughter, Desirae.

Secretary-Treasurer

Al Henry was appointed by the Berlin Township Board of Supervisors as its UDC delegate on Jan. 3, 2012.

This is his 12th stint as secretary-treasurer following a partial term from Aug. 1-Dec. 31, 2013, a full year in 2014, his 2015 election as chairperson, then resuming this role from 2016-2025.

He sits on all three UDC standing committees, chairs its Personnel Subcommittee, and is a member of the Telecommunications and Building Subcommittees.

A native of Beach Lake, PA, Henry was employed by the National Park Service (NPS) for 32 years, all but three years of that tenure with the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, before retiring on June 1, 2009 as Chief Ranger.

The Honesdale High School graduate earned a 1976 Bachelor’s degree in Recreation and Parks from Penn State University and studied Outdoor Education at the University of Northern Colorado before joining the NPS ranks in 1977.

In addition to extensive law enforcement credentials, Henry earned certification as an NAUI Divemaster, served as a volunteer firefighter, and coached baseball and soccer locally.

Henry helps maintain his family’s 300-acre Village View Farm property in Beach Lake and is a member of the Beach Lake Hunting and Fishing Club.

Al and his wife, Karen Carlson, are the parents of Dr. Alana Rickard and Dylan Henry, Esq., and they have five grandchildren.

About the UDC

Established in 1988, the Upper Delaware Council works in partnership with the National Park Service to oversee implementation of the River Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.

The U.S. Congress designated the 73.4-mile-long, 55,574.5-acre corridor to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in 1978.

The UDC’s members are 13 local governments (eight NY towns and five PA townships) that have property along the river, as well as the State of New York, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Delaware River Basin Commission.

The business office is located in Narrowsburg, NY. For more information, please visit www.upperdelawarecouncil.org or call (845) 252-3022.