Joe Donnelly

At Virginia Tech, Joe Donnelly, a Cornerstone Alumni and Platinum Hokie, is a member of the        Ut Prosim Society, the 1872 Society, the Legacy Society, the Pylon Society and has served as a member of the Board of Advisors, Department of Accounting and Information Systems since 1995.

Mr. Donnelly is a CPA (retired) and owns and serves as president of Donnelly Real Properties, LLC, a real estate holding company.  He is also a principal and treasurer of both Roger Browns Restaurant and Sports Bar, Portsmouth VA, and The Cove Tavern, Newport News VA.

In 2006, at the age of 64, Mr. Donnelly retired from the Norfolk and Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad Company, having served 20 years as vice president, corporate secretary and comptroller.  While at the railroad, Mr. Donnelly was also a CLE (Certified Locomotive Engineer).

Prior to entering the railroad industry in 1986, Mr. Donnelly worked 8 years in manufacturing and 14 years in banking and information systems.  He was employed as vice president and division head at Dominion Bankshares Corporation, Roanoke VA, and vice president and controller at First Financial Management Corporation, Atlanta GA.

Joe grew up in the Roanoke Valley in southwest Virginia, enlisted in the U.S. Navy while a senior at Roanoke Catholic High School ‘61, was honorably discharged in 1966, and relocated to Virginia Beach in Hampton Roads, VA in 1983. While a senior at VA Tech, Joe married Loretta Robinson Donnelly ’70.       They had 2 sons, Joseph M. Donnelly III (Mike) ‘94 and Benjamin T. Donnelly (Trev).

He earned a BS in Accounting at Virginia Tech ‘70, and an MS in Business Administration at Radford University ‘79.   He also completed post graduate work at Rutgers University and the University of Virginia, as well as various certification programs at Roanoke Tech and Virginia Western CC.

He has served and continues to serve on various boards, in various capacities, including having served as Chairman, Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce; Chairman, Hampton Roads Workforce Development Board; Chairman, United Way Campaign (Portsmouth VA); President, American Heart Association (Portsmouth VA); President, Portsmouth Rotary Club; President, Portsmouth Partnership; Vice President, Railroad Museum of Virginia; and Treasurer, American Red Cross of Southeast VA.

Mr. Donnelly can be contacted at:     joedonnelly1@cox.net