If you have been on Long Island, you may not know George “Chip” Gorman, Jr., ’87, but you have almost certainly seen his work. As Long Island regional director of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, Gorman manages 30 million visitors annually to his office’s 33 state parks, which include world famous beaches, golf courses, arboretums, preserves, and historic sites.
A devoted public servant for nearly 50 years, Gorman first joined the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation in 1977 as a park and recreation aide at Jones Beach State Park. There, his exceptional work ethic caught the attention of his supervisors, and he was quickly moved over to the Jones Beach Marine Stadium—now Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater.
“The assignment I had was cleaning up the bathrooms, scraping gum off the backs of the seats, all of the clean-up and maintenance work,” he said. “Every day I got there, and I would go over and get my little list of projects, mainly cleaning, and I would do that. And they obviously liked me because I did the work, and I could work independently.”
Before long, Gorman had done “every seasonal task that was required,” and “every year I got promoted.” He even met his wife of 42 years, Ann Marie Gorman, at Jones Beach State Park. They now have three grown children and four grandchildren.
For Gorman, it all started when he was a child growing up in Wantagh, New York. “One of my fondest memories is my family traveling down the Wantagh State Parkway, with all the kids in the car—my parents had seven children—and we would all be told, ‘Look for the pencil in the sky as you’re heading down to Jones Beach! See who can be the first to see it!’ So that was always fun. And then, going down to Jones Beach, playing on the sand, going into the swimming pool, so, very fond memories of Jones Beach.”
In 1977, Gorman also started as a criminal justice major, taking night classes at Farmingdale State College (FSC). High frequency hearing loss kept him from a career as a police officer, but “the foundation I received at Farmingdale has been instrumental throughout my career,” he said.
“I loved it,” he said of his FSC experience. “The teachers were great. They were helpful and that’s one of the reasons that I have my degree. They were really supportive of the students, and it was a learning environment that was very positive, so you wanted to learn. They are the reason I graduated. I can say that without hesitation.”
Gorman has had a profound impact on the Long Island region. His leadership has guided the annual Bethpage Federal Credit Union Jones Beach Air Show, dozens of July 4th Fireworks Spectaculars, world-renowned summer concerts, expanded parks programming, massive infrastructure improvements, environmental initiatives, an Ironman competition, Children’s Summer Theater, two U.S. Opens, two PGA tours and a PGA Championship, mass COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites, shark sightings, wintertime sledding at Bethpage State Park, and the occasional beached whale.
“You are the expression of Long Island’s soul— thank you for that,” wrote Erik Kulleseid, former commissioner of New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, in a note to Gorman. “Your humility and dedication to this agency is legendary. You set a tone of competency and ‘can do’ spirit that marks our Long Island program.”
“But all of that, it goes to the same thing—it’s the staff,” Gorman said of the force behind his successful career. “It’s the park workers, it’s the park police, it’s the lifeguards, it’s the managers. They’re the ones who make it successful, and they work extremely hard. And that’s why these big events are a success—period. There is a saying that I use: I need the employees more than they need me. And that’s very true. I need them more than they need me.”
