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Community Corner

Howard Herman Looking Forward to Serving as Grand Marshal of Falls Church Parade

Retired city employee who has arranged the annual parade for 20 years will serve as grand marshal

When the Memorial Day parade makes its way down Park Avenue this year, Howard Herman will not be worrying about vendor spaces or portable toilets like he has done for the last 20 years.

Almost two months into retirement, he will not even have to send city residents notices of impending street closures or worry abut booking entertainment. On May 30, Herman will be in a laid back mood, performing the duties of a grand marshal like waving at revelers from the front of the parade and saluting the various marching bands making their way in the parade.

Herman said he had heard a rumor floating about his office before he retired April 1 that he had been selected grand marshal, but it was not until all his workmates crowded his small office and broke the news that he knew for sure. He said he was delighted to serve as grand marshal.

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“When you live in a community like this, it is a great honor,” Herman said. “It is a tremendous honor to be chosen.”

Daniel Schlitt, who replaced Herman as the director of Parks and Recreation, says a newly formed sub-committee in his department’s advisory board committee staffed by volunteers, picked Herman to serve as grand marshal from a dozen nominations. He said in previous years a Memorial Day advisory committee selected the marshal but has since been phased out due to decreased participation.

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Schlitt, who does not sit in the sub-committee, said they could not have picked a better person to serve as grand marshal. Among the many things he admires in his former boss, he said, are his desire to create a team oriented approach in any situation and his devotion to the community of Falls Church.

“The city is a better place for everyone that lives in it,” he said, “because of the contributions made by Howard plain and simple.” 

Jenny Paxton is the city employee who solicits nominations but does not sit in the selection subcommittee. She said when selecting a grand marshal, the advisory committee looks for someone who has given an extraordinary amount of service to the Falls Church community or to the nation in military service. She too said the committee made an excellent choice by picking Herman, whose influence in Falls Church,  from a recognized all year farmers market to coaching basketball team at the community center made him a strong contender for the position of grand marshal.

“It was an appropriate time for him with him retiring and everything,” she said.

Herman, who has lived and worked in the city for more than 40 years says serving as grand marshal is a well deserved break from his annual worry over logistics of the parade like carrying chairs and making arrangements for portable stages.

“This time I get to relax and have fun,” he said. “If I see something that’s out of place it’s not my problem. I will be catching up with old friends.”

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