Shay Family Athletic Hall of Fame

Harold A. Shay was nicknamed “Tim” as a child, due to his slight stature (a reference to the character in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol), yet “Tim” became a giant in the community. An entrepreneur from an early age, Tim formed Shay’s Service Trucking Co. in 1936 with his father Lloyd. Tim became a pioneer in the transportation industry, launching the early use of two-way radios and double bottomed trailers. Mr. Shay was recognized by his peers on both a state and national level, being a founding member of the New York State Motor Truck Association and elected First Vice-Chairman of the American Trucking Association. Tim’s entrepreneurial career included starting several successful businesses that created jobs and commerce in the Dansville area, including Shay Oil Company, Shay Trucks, Shay Motors (Cadillac-Oldsmobile), Shay’s Service, Main Tire Exchange and Dansville Mini Storage.

Happily married for nearly fifty-five years, Tim and Margaret Bacon Shay had four children, Jon, Timothy, Mimi and Katherine. The father of four was also extremely generous with and dedicated to community service. He was a member of the SUNY Alfred State College Council as well as a member and president of the Dansville Central School Board. He donated land for the construction of the Nicholas H. Noyes Memorial Hospital, was a member of the Dansville Memorial Hospital Board and a member of the Board of Overseers of Strong Memorial Hospital. He was instrumental in breaking ground for the Dansville Airport and enjoyed being a licensed pilot for many years. He was a life member of the Dansville Fire Department and a member of the Dansville Fish & Game Club. Mr. Shay served as a Councilman and Supervisor for the Town of North Dansville, was a Commissioner and Vice-Chairman of the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transit Authority, a president of the Dansville Exchange Club, first president and founding father of the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce, and a president of the United Fund Campaign.

Timothy L. Shay graduated from Alfred State College in 1971 and from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1973. He moved to the Buffalo area in the 1970s, but always remembered his roots, supporting Alfred State College financially and with his time. Tim was a proud member of the Alfred State College Development Fund Board when he passed away at age sixty-six due to brain cancer.

Tim entered the transportation industry and gained experiences outside the family businesses, spending part of his career at Mason & Dixon Lines and Teal’s Express, Inc. A third-generation tire man, Tim returned to the family’s entrepreneur ways and followed in his grandfather Lloyd’s and his father Harold’s footsteps. He joined the family’s Main Tire Exchange business in 1998 and served as its president until the sale of the business 2012, having increased sales from $10,000,000 to a high of $20,000,000. He was also a president of the New York State Motor Truck Association.

He was a member of St. Gregory the Great Church and a long-time member, director and avid golfer at Brookfield Country Club. He enjoyed traveling and was a local food pantry volunteer. He was a longtime skier and member of the National Ski Patrol. Taken by cancer far too young, Tim is an on-going inspiration to his wife (Debbie), stepchildren (Robert and Kristen), siblings (Jon Shay, Mimi Burdick and Katherine Carlson), family, and friends.

There is an old expression, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” That saying certainly rings true for Jon - following his father’s example not just in career, but especially in terms of community service.

After graduating from Dansville High School in 1960, Jon quickly became involved in the family trucking business - Shay’s Service, Inc. He remained in an ownership role of Shay’s Service and other family corporations until 2012. During these 50+ years, Jon oversaw the growth of existing family businesses with his brother Tim, and father, Harold. Jon was an integral part of the creation and expansion of new family businesses: Main Tire Exchange, Inc., HASCO Realty, and Dansville Mini-Storage, Inc. Jon was a president of the New York State Motor Truck Association.

Jon and Linda were married in 1963 and had three girls, Kelly (ASC ‘85), Kristine (ASC Admissions Counselor 1990-99) and Nicole. Like his father before him, Jon has demonstrated enormous generosity in giving back to his community. He is a former member and president of the Noyes Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, a former member and president of the Tri-County Family Medicine Board of Directors, past Chair of Noyes Health Foundation, former member and president of Dansville Chamber of Commerce, current and 40+year member of the Dansville Rotary Club member and multiple term president.

Jon was recognized by the Dansville Chamber of Commerce as the 1982 Man of the Year. He was the first recipient of the George Trabor Community Service Award from the Livingston County Chamber of Commerce. In 2002, he was an Olympic Torch Bearer. Jon was recognized in 2006 as the Tire Dealer Magazine (a national publication) Humanitarian Award Recipient, given for charitable and civic community contributions. With little sign of slowing down since his “retirement” in 2012, Jon was enshrined in 2020 on the Foundation for Dansville Education Wall of Pride, one of the Dansville community’s highest honors. Alfred State College is fortunate for and proud to call Jon H. Shay a champion Pioneer!

Jon Shay passed away on Jan 19th, 2021. Read the recap of the 1st annual Jon Shay Memorial Golf event that was held in memory of Jon Shay in his hometown of Dansville, NY. It was sponsored by the Dansville Lion’s Club to support Noyes Hospital in Dansville through the Foundation for Noyes Health.