St. John's Prep Assistant Principal Earns MIAA Service Award

DANVERS, MA — St. John's Prep Assistant Principal Jim O'Leary is being honored as one of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association's Distinguished Service Award recipients.

The Danvers school's former football coach and athletic director has been active in MIAA committees and tournament planning for more than three decades and was a driving force behind the new statewide playoff format.

"Jim combines a respect for the past and traditions with a willingness to think dynamically," Westboro AD Johanna Dicarlo. "The MIAA statewide tournament structure would not have come to fruition without Jim's guidance."

Chairman of the joint Tournament Management Committee and Football Playoff Committee, O'Leary was previously honored by the Massachusetts Secondary Schools Athletic Directors Association, Agganis Foundation and Boston Shriners Hospital.

He was also honored for his work with Healing Abuse Working For Change.

This year's other honorees include Oliver Ames Principal Wes Paul, Notre Dame Academy of Worcester Athletic Director Patty Provost and Bridgewater-Raynham Athletic Director Daniel Buron as the John E. Young Distinguished Service Award recipient.

"Jim genuinely wants what is best for everyone in the state, east to west and north to south," Wahconah Regional Athletic Director Jared Shannon said.

O'Leary also served as St. John's football coach from 1984-2013 and left as the school's all-time leader in wins with 207 and captured a pair of Super Bowl titles.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)