St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke Names James Lavelle 2025 Grand Marshal

HOLYOKE — The St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke announced that its 72nd grand marshal is James Lavelle. The grand marshal is the highest local honor given to a person who has distinguished themselves as a loyal person to their career, their family, and their Irish ancestry.

James and his wife, Liza, are the parents of four grown children: Hugh, Grace, Owen, and John. Son of the late Bernard and Mary Lavelle, James is a native of Holyoke, where he and his eight siblings grew up in the Oakdale neighborhood.

The Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade runs deep with the Lavelle family. James’ father, Bernard Lavelle Jr., was a very active member of the St. Patrick’s Committee, having led the parade as grand marshal in 1988, and James’ daughter, Grace, was a member of the Grand Colleen Court in 2016.

James Lavelle is the general manager of Holyoke Gas and Electric (HG&E), which provides gas, electric, and telecommunications services to its customers. Through his leadership, HG&E has implemented innovative projects, such as the acquisition of the Holyoke dam and canal system and the development of solar and energy storage, which not only benefit customers and the environment, but have also been recognized through several achievements, including the 2021 and 2023 Utility Transformation Leaderboard by the Smart Electric Power Alliance.

He is a graduate of Holyoke High School and UMass, where he received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration. He serves on the boards of several professional associations, including the Municipal Electric Assoc. of Massachusetts, the Northeast Public Power Assoc., PeoplesBank, the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, as director of the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co., and as director and president of the Holyoke Solar Cooperative and Massachusetts Clean Energy Cooperative.

Lavelle also enjoys giving back to his community, having served as a trustee for Holyoke
Community College, on the finance committee of St. Jerome Parish, on the board for the Greater Holyoke YMCA, and as coach for Holyoke Youth Football and Holyoke YMCA Basketball.

“I am excited that we are honoring Holyoke native James Lavelle as grand marshal,” said John Beaulieu, parade president. “His dedication to his family, his career, and his community are well-known, and I’m grateful to the grand marshal’s selection committee for choosing him with this most esteemed honor. I look forward to having James Lavelle and his family lead the 72nd Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade on March 23, 2025.”

Lavelle added that “I am very grateful to be recognized by the parade committee and truly honored to be asked to lead the 72nd Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The parade committee does such a wonderful job producing the parade and related events that have such a positive impact on Holyoke and the region, and I am thrilled to be asked to be part of it. I look forward to following in my father’s footsteps and marching in the parade with my family.”

Lavelle will be honored at the Grand Marshal’s Reception on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. For more details or to purchase tickets to the reception, email Stephanie Joyce at [email protected].