Who would have thought that a talent for the spoken word would turn out to be a supplemental career for one of Wayne County’s finest?  If you attended the Officer of the Year ceremony in mid-December, then you witnessed first-hand the smooth, eloquent presentation of Commander Donafay Collins.  During the day Commander Collins is the CO of court services, however when he’s off-duty he’s displaying his vocal abilities as an emcee for various events, including the hugely popular Friday night “Back Jam Show” broadcast live from Lucky’s Restaurant in Southfield.

Always the consummate professional, Cmdr. Collins speaks with a tone like no other that he says got him noticed back in the day when he began patterning his voice and style after James Brown’s emcee Danny Ray.  That led to his first emcee gig at the The Detroit Emerald’s Lounge in Detroit.  He even had the opportunity to tour to 36 cities with ‘The Floaters’ in their heyday.  Though the pay was minimal, the rewards were great.  Collins enjoyed serving as an emcee and deejay at a few of Detroit’s top urban radio stations including WGPR and Mix 92.3.  Some 40 years later, Cmdr. Collins says he hasn’t lost his love for emceeing concerts, serving as a DJ, giving speeches and being involved with mass communications.  However, he won’t be quitting his day job.  Cmdr. Collins says his 22 years with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office have been the most rewarding experience to date and he’s looking forward to continuing his career with Michigan’s third largest law enforcement agency.