SPRINGFIELD, MA - The 2019 Springfield Parade Marshal and Award Winners were revealed at an official press conference on Sunday, November 4th at the John Boyle O'Reilly Club. The 2019 Springfield Parade Marshal is Monsignor David Joyce. The Parade Marshal is someone who has contributed greatly to the Irish community of Springfield. The Springfield Parade Marshal will lead the Springfield contingent in the 2019 Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade on St. Patrick's Day; Sunday, March 17th 2019.
Monsignor Joyce is currently celebrating his 50th year as a priest in the Springfield Diocese. In each of his assignments, he has played an important role as a leader in the community. He is an example of a proud Irishman and has done his best to promote Irish traditions, particularly in his assignment at Our Lady of Hope. As pastor of Our Lady of Hope, he welcomed the Springfield Parade Committee in hosting the colleen preliminaries at the parish school. Despite Our Lady of Hope’s closing, Monsignor has maintained a close connection to the Irish American parishioners of Our Lady of Hope.
The Springfield St. Patrick’s Parade Committee also announced the following award winners:
The 2019 John & Agnes Burke Award winner is Tom and Mollie Sullivan. This award is presented in memory of John and Agnes Burke for outstanding service to the Irish community of the City of Springfield.
Thomas and Mollie Sullivan, residents of Holyoke, MA, met as a result of the Hungry Hill connection. Tom born and raised in the Hungry Hill section of Springfield, MA and Mollie born and raised in Ware, MA met through family and friends on the Hill. Both members of the John Boyle O’Reilly Club and the Springfield St. Patrick’s Parade Committee they have taken on various roles with the parade committee throughout the years. For the last 10 years, Mollie has been a member of the colleen committee helping to organize and chaperone each year’s colleen and her court. Also a member of the John Boyle O’Reilly Scholarship Committee, Mollie works to promote Irish culture through the scholarship committee’s endeavors. As Spfld St. Patrick’s Parade committee chairperson for three years, Tom worked tirelessly to reorganize the committee and expand on the great work of the chairpersons before him. Son of Jim and Peg Sullivan, formerly of the Irish Hours radio station, Tom spent many Saturday mornings spinning records with his parents. Both active members of the Springfield community, Tom is a MA State Trooper assigned to the Hampden County District Attorney’s Detective Unit and Mollie is a mental health therapist with Mercy Medical Center’s Health Care for the Homeless Program in Springfield, MA. Tom and Mollie’s great joy is their two-year-old son, Cullen James.
The 2019 Paul G. Caron Award winner is Bob Charland. This award is presented each year in memory of the founder of the Springfield Colleen Contest.
Bob is the Founder of Pedal Thru Youth, Inc. He started working with children in 2003 when he led a Girl Scout Troop for his daughter and coached her softball team. He started teaching automotive for Willie Ross School for the Deaf in 2012. Around the same time, he started fixing up bikes to donate to less fortunate kids. In 2017, after being diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease, he decided that he wanted to create a formal organization and start donating bikes to large groups of children. Thus, the idea for Pedal Thru Youth was born. Bob has received numerous awards from local government and community agencies for his contributions to the community, including being recognized by the Springfield City Council and the Center for Human Development in 2017. He currently works and lives in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The 2019 Mary B. Troy Appreciation Award winner is Paul A. Phaneuf. This award is presented in memory of Mary Brigid Troy to a person or business that has given outstanding service to the committee.
Paul A. Phaneuf, owner of the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Funeral Chapels, is a native of Ware and graduated in 1973 from the New England Institute of Anatomy, Sanitary Science, Embalming and Funeral Directing in Boston. Paul came to Springfield in 1979 when he purchased the Edward F. O’Donnell Funeral Home which was established in 1936 by Edward F. O’Donnell. In 2015, Paul Phaneuf was appointed by Governor Charlie Baker to a five year term on the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Embalming and Funeral Directing. He was also appointed by Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno to the Springfield Community Police Hearing Board and by Chicopee Mayor Rich Kos to the Chicopee Landfill Advisory Committee. Paul has been a strong supporter of the parade committee for many years, generously donating limousine services for the Colleen and her court during the St. Patrick’s Day season.
About:
The Springfield St. Patrick’s Parade Committee is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization committed to promoting and celebrating Irish heritage in the Greater Springfield and surrounding areas. Founded in 1962 by a small group of Irishmen, to honor the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick, and to improve, develop and foster the capabilities of all persons who are of Irish descent, to promote Irish heritage in the City of Springfield, culturally and socially to the best of our ability.
Our committee nominates the Springfield Parade Marshall to lead the Springfield Contingent of the Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade. We also nominate the recipients of the John and Agnes Burke Award, the Paul G. Caron Award and the Mary B. Troy Appreciation Award.
The committee is responsible for selecting the Springfield Colleen and Court Members who will represent the City of Springfield. Additionally, the Parade Committee awards annual scholarships in honor of Mossie and Kathleen Murphy. Learn more at www.springfieldstpatricksparade.org/