Longtime MPI member James “O.D.” O’Donnell passed away on Oct. 3.
The MPI Dallas/Fort Chapter shared a tribute on Facebook, calling O’Donnell—a 37-year MPI member—a friend, mentor, tireless advocate and relentless chapter volunteer who served in a variety of leadership roles that included numerous chapter committees and as a member of the chapter’s board of directors across three different decades.
“O.D. set the bar for member involvement and recognition,” the chapter wrote. “He was named the chapter’s Supplier of the Year in 1993, he same year he received the chapter’s highest award for membership recruitment (the Suzi Fiveash Award) for the first time—an award he eventually received a record 12 times (including five consecutive years, from 1995-2000). Across his many years of loyal and impactful membership in MPI, O.D. was personally responsible for recruiting more than 300 members to the association. For his numerous contributions, O.D. was the first member inducted into the MPI D/FW Hall of Honor in 2011 and granted lifetime membership status by MPI in 2016.”
“He was a titan, and we treasure the time and memories he gave us.”
Editors of MPI’s The Meeting Professional magazine had the honor of interviewing O.D. in 2014. He told us about how he got started with MPI (eventually becoming his chapter’s historian), and stories about his experience in the U.S. Navy (where he photographed U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower and Pope Pius XII) and booking stars such as Sammy Davis Jr, Elvis and Frank Sinatra.
Read more of our interview with O.D. below. Funeral arrangements are pending.
“There was no ‘quit’ in O.D., a lesson he learned serving in the Navy and one he followed throughout his career at Nightlife Talent & Entertainment,” the MPI Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter wrote. “He was a titan, and we treasure the time and memories he gave us.”
