At its virtual show, the World Waterpark Association announced this year’s inductees into its Hall of Fame.
Two aquatics veterans were recognized: Jim Dunn, president of waterpark design and building firm Aquatic Development Group in Cohoes, N.Y.; and Jim Basala, CEO of Lake County Parks and Recreation, home to Deep River Waterpark in Crown Point, Ind.
Dunn, a registered architect, has specialized in aquatics for more than 30 years. He joined ADG in 1988 as a designer focused on wave-generation equipment and filtration systems, then progressed to park engineering and waterpark design. He is especially known for advancements in wave system technology, which have benefited not only waterparks, but venues such as zoos, aquariums, military rescue training centers, and even motion pictures. Among many recognitions, he was included in AI’s “Power 25” in 2011.
His portfolio includes high-profile projects for Six Flags, Premier Parks, Wet n Wild, Gaylord Hotel Resorts and Columbus Zoo.
Basala developed one of the earliest and now largest municipal waterparks in the U.S. He joined the county parks department in 1977 as a groundskeeper and worked his way up the ladder. In the late 1980s, he was charged with converting a soybean field into a 22-acre aquatics facility with slides and a lazy river, which was very progressive at the time. When Deep River Waterpark opened in 1995, it enjoyed 50% more traffic than projected. Ten years later, he oversaw an expansion that doubled its size.
He is also known for running the waterpark like a business, turning enough profit to supply about 65% of the county parks budget. Basala appeared in AI's Power Issue in 2018.
WWA plans to include Basala and Dunn in next year’s Hall of Fame presentation at its event in San Antonio, Texas, in October, 2021.
