After 36 years as an educator, Joe Laufer retired at the end of 1997. However, within months of his retirement he was back at work in the educational community as Coordinator of the Burlington County School to Careers Consortium based at the Lenape Regional High School District. In 2001 he became the Director of Alumni Affairs for the four high schools of the District, a position he held until June, 2010.

In May, 2003, he was appointed to his current assignment as Official County Historian by the Burlington County Freeholders. He is President of the H.B. Smith Industrial Village Conservancy in Eastampton. He has been a member of the Board of the Burlington County Historical Society, the Jack Allen Memorial Early Country Living Museum, and the Roebling Main Gate Museum; he is past president of the Southampton Historical Society and is active in Burlington County's Tourism initiatives. He is an elected Committeeman in Southampton Township, now in his fifth three-year term. He received the United Way's prestigious Community Service Award and was recognized as Burlington County's Volunteer of the Year in 2007. An annual college scholarship is awarded in his name to local high school seniors who have demonstrated volunteer leadership in their community.

Prior to his retirement, he was a member of the staff of Burlington County College for 27 years, and prior to that taught at Gloucester County College and Canevin High School, Pittsburgh. He holds a Master's Degree in Educational Administration from the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.

Joe is an internationally recognized authority on Halley's Comet and Christopher Columbus. He has published works on both subjects and has appeared on the "Today Show", 20/20 and CBS News. He was featured in National Geographic Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and USA Today, for his unique educational projects dealing with Halley's Comet and Christopher Columbus.

Joe is a native of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He travels extensively, having visited over 55 countries since 1985. He and his wife, Penny, live in Vincentown. They are the parents of four adult children.

Current as of 01/01/2011