HOLYOKE — The St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke announced that its 58th Citizenship Award winner is the Rev. Fr. Robert Gentile Jr. The Citizenship Award is presented annually to a person or organization that may be of non-Irish descent and has made substantial contributions to the parade and/or the parade committee.

Gentile has been a long-time friend to the St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke, both providing spiritual guidance to the committee and being a long-time supporter for parade weekend.

While pastor of Holyoke’s Blessed Sacrament School and Parish, Gentile encouraged students to participate in the many celebrations of the famous Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race and Parade. Whether it was managing water stations and cheering on the thousands of runners, encouraging students to enter (and sometimes win) the annual Grand Colleen Float Design Contest, and marching with students and parishioners in the Parade, his support for the committee and its events has helped to ensure that these community traditions will continue.

Gentile served as interim chaplain to the St. Patrick’s Committee, and to this day, although he now serves as pastor of Ste. Rose de Lima Parish in Chicopee, he continues to provide spiritual guidance and friendship to the committee.

In 2003, Gentile was ordained to priesthood in the Diocese of Springfield. After ordination, his first assignment was at St. Thomas in the Apostle Church in West Springfield as the parochial vicar, where he served for 33 months. That assignment concluded when he was asked to become the new pastor of Blessed Sacrament in Holyoke. He served that parish from May 2006 until March 2024, when he began his assignment at Ste. Rose de Lima.

“I’m honored that Father Bob will be marching in the 72nd Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade as its Citizenship Award recipient,” said John Beaulieu, parade president. “Father Bob’s service to his parishioners and his community is well-known and appreciated throughout Western Massachusetts. We are grateful to the contributions he has made to the parade and support he has given to my fellow committee members. As his parishioner, I’m especially grateful for his spiritual guidance.”

Added Gentile, “I have the greatest job — God does all the work, and I get all the credit. Thank you to the St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke for this great honor. I look forward to marching again in the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade.”

The 72nd Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade will be held on Sunday, March 23, 2025, and the 48th Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race will be held on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

James Lavelle

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].

HOLYOKE — The St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke announced its participation in the #KeepitClean2K23 initiative hosted by OneHolyoke CDC and the city of Holyoke. Committee members will be helping to clean streets along the 2024 Holyoke St. Patrick’s Road Race and Parade routes on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 1 to 3 p.m. The public is invited to join.

All participants are asked to fill out a registration form by clicking here. Supplies will be provided, and registered volunteers will be given a T-shirt and invited to a post-cleanup reception at City Sports Bar and Lounge, 352 High St., Holyoke.

“The St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke is grateful to the city of Holyoke for its annual support of the St. Patrick’s Day weekend festivities,” said Hayley Dunn, 2024 parade president. “As we near the halfway to St. Patrick’s Day, we will be celebrating by rolling up our sleeves and helping to beautify the streets that thousands will be running on and marching in next March. I’m excited to launch our first Parade Committee Day of Service, and I invite the public to join us and learn about the St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke.”

HOLYOKE — The St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke announced that its 71st grand marshal is Mary Lynch, a Holyoke native and 34-year member of the St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke. The grand marshal of the annual parade is the committee’s highest local honor given to a person who has distinguished themselves as a loyal person to their career, family, and Irish ancestry.

Lynch is a graduate of Holyoke Catholic High School, Holyoke Community College, and Westfield State College, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She retired in 2017 as a long-time professor of Early Childhood Education at Holyoke Community College. She also served on several boards, including the Greater Holyoke YMCA and the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England. She was honored in 2010 with the Oldershaw Award from the Greater Holyoke YMCA, which is its highest honor given to an individual who has made significant volunteer contributions to the Greater Holyoke community.

“Auntie Mary,” as she’s known to many on the committee, has held many important roles, including chair of the JFK and Memorial Mass, Grand Marshal’s Reception, Coronation Ball, and Awards Dinner. She has also served on the program book and tartan committees, parade coordination, and the board of directors. She was honored with the Rohan Award in 1996 and was a member of the Grand Colleen Court in 1970.

Lynch and her twin brother, Ray Feyre, also have the distinction of being the only set of twins to serve as Grand Marshal of the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade. Ray led the parade in 2015.

“Mary Lynch is most deserving of this esteemed honor,” said Hayley Dunn, parade president. “Not only has she served on nearly every subcommittee, but she has held several leadership roles and is instrumental in the overall success of the parade. Her calm and friendly demeanor has welcomed many new members, and all look to her guidance each parade weekend. Mary’s love of heritage, family, education, and community makes her the perfect choice for grand marshal.”

Lynch will be honored at the Grand Marshal’s Reception on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. For more details or to purchase tickets to the reception, email Jane Chevalier at [email protected] or Barb Rogers at [email protected].

The 71st Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade will be held on Sunday, March 17, 2024 and the 47th St. Patrick’s Road Race will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2024. For more information, visit www.holyokestpatricksparade.com.