Tribute to a Sea Isle Legend
Plaque and Portrait Dedicated to James Iannone by the South Jersey Transportation Authority
Barbara Iannone admires the tribute after the unveiling with her children and grandchildren.
“There are special people in lives that never leave us, even after they are gone.” – D. Morgan
Jim Iannone will forever live on in the hearts of his family and the many, many friends that he made throughout his life. Now, however, the memory of his numerous civic contributions will extend well beyond the borders of Sea Isle City or even Cape May County.
A tribute plaque and portrait were dedicated in Iannone’s memory on April 1 at the South Jersey Transportation Authority administration building in Hamilton Township, Atlantic County. It’s an appropriate location for a man who dedicated so much of his life to tourism and travel in southern New Jersey.
The building, located at milepost 21.3 of the Atlantic City Expressway, is within the Frank S. Farley Service Plaza. The administration building is the base for millions of travelers each year.
The South Jersey Transportation Authority is charged with coordinating the area’s transportation systems, including the region’s highway network, aviation facilities, and transportation needs. This includes the Atlantic City Expressway and Atlantic City International Airport. Iannone served as a founding commissioner, vice chairman, and executive director of the SJTA. John Glassey, who served as an SJTA commissioner with him, was thrilled to learn of the honor recently bestowed to Iannone, who passed away in 2020 at 73.
“Without a doubt, in my opinion they don’t make them like Jim Iannone any longer,” Glassey said recently from Florida. “Jim was a no-nonsense guy who was thoughtful, intelligent, and was always guided in what he did by common sense.”
Under Iannone’s watchful eye, the SJTA was established, and parking facilities at the airport and in Atlantic City were planned and constructed.
“Under Jim’s guidance, the authority, flourished setting milestones in the world of transportation,” SJTA executive director Stephen Dougherty said, before unveiling the plaque and portrait outside of the conference room named in Iannone’s honor. “Jim had the ability to navigate complex challenges with grace and determination while always placing the needs of the public at the forefront of every decision.”
The honor is a fitting tribute to a man who was not only a beloved husband, brother, father, grandfather, friend, and businessman, but also a Sea Isle City commissioner for 22 years beginning in 1985 and the city’s director of recreation and tourism. Iannone was always a tireless proponent of Sea Isle City tourism.
Sea Isle City honored him in 2021 by making him the namesake of newly constructed James R. Iannone Fishing Pier and Kayak Launch at 60th Street and the bay. The South Jersey Transportation Authority also placed a plaque in Iannone’s honor at the Atlantic City International Airport upon his retirement from the SJTA in 2006.
Among those pleased with the SJTA’s latest tribute is retired Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten, a former Sea Isle City resident and longtime friend of Iannone. “I’m just ecstatic!” he said. “I wholeheartedly support anything to honor a man that I consider one of my best friends. Jim was such a special person. This is a wonderful tribute.”
Batten was acknowledged several times during the ceremony as the catalyst behind the honor.
Iannone’s daughter Dana Hannah was quoted several years ago here in the Sea Isle Times saying, “Our dad’s greatest gift was his ability to gather people.” That was never more apparent than on Apil 1, when nearly 100 of his friends, family, and former co-workers packed the administration building for the moving unveiling ceremony.
Just some of Jim Iannone’s family and friends who gathered on April 1, for the unveiling at the SJTA headquarters in Hamilton Township.
While Iannone was described by Dougherty as “someone whose dedication and passion left an indelible mark on the SJTA,” it was obvious by those who ventured through a torrential spring storm from all over the Delaware Valley to attend the unveiling, that he left an even deeper mark on his family and friends.
It was no doubt a comforting thought to his many friends in attendance when Iannone’s wife Barbara promised, “When my girls and I travel the expressway, we will always be reminded of Jim’s legacy.”
His daughter Alexa Stefan made it clear that those trips are plentiful as she told the gathered crowd of her recent trip home to Sea Isle City. “My Waze [driving app] told me that I should change my route to avoid the Atlantic City Expressway,” she related to the crowd. “But I naturally rerouted,” she said, smiling. “Dad always told us, always take the expressway!”
“New Jersey lost a very good man when we lost Jim Iannone,” concluded Glassey.
Thankfully, with tributes like those in Sea Isle City and at the SJTA, Jim Iannone will never leave us.