Blooming Grove has the Honor and Great Challenges of Hosting the Next Grand County Firemens Parade

Blooming Grove Councilmembers give their questions and recommendations about designing a successful Firemen's Parade

Jim Skelly and Tom Lynn of the Washingtonville Fire Department and the OCVFA

Hard at work, the Blooming Grove Town Board spent the month of October's Work Session with Jim Skelly and Tom Lynn of the Washingtonville Fire Department Town Supervisor Rob Jeroloman invited them so they could join the Board and began tackling the mountain of details that will be faced while determining where the Parade will begin; who will be participating out of hundreds of Fire Companies and Performers, what the exact route will be, how to use shuttle buses to facilitate the movement of both participants and attendees, and the stack of paperwork that needs to be filled and filed by January, which is coming up in just about 8 weeks.

While it's a daunting chore, they all tackled it with gusto. With Jeroloman having had a career in NYPD as well as local Mayor and Supervisor, he clearly enjoyed working on the puzzle pieces with Fire Department veterans also having had many years of parade design and oversight and NYPD experience. This being the second round of design, the councilmembers also had comments, questions and suggestions. Jim Skelly has top class credentials in the field, serving as Deputy Fire Coordinator at Orange County Fire Services, Assistant Chief at Monell Engine Company, and an NYTF1 FEMA Rescue Specialist. Tom Lynn is the First Orange County Volunteer Firemen's Association Vice President and at the time of the Parade he will be the OCVFA President.

Apparently this year's Parade in Monroe was a huge success, with thousands being both in and watching their Parade, the only drawback having been some issues navigating the shuttle buses... so for this coming year's Parade they will be tackling that challenge early.

Councilmember Johanna Kiernan had a suggestion, having noticed that a favorite participant in the Monroe Parade who was a teen musician and one of the parade favorites, she inquired which troop she was a part of. Councilman Frank Malloy, having fire department experience himself, reviewed some of the sticky details. This team, having knowledge of which participants got the most attention and were the most appreciated in a dozens of area parades will be an invaluable asset this time around. It may seem like September is a long time ahead, but considering the hundreds of contacts they need to make, it is paramount to start now, ensuring they are doing it early enough that the groups they want the most still have the date open. And why not, when with a wealth of experience it is such a fun project. Who knows, it might just end up being the biggest Parade in local event history?