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Date: 9/6/2022
HOLYOKE – Newly announced St. Patrick’s Committee Grand Marshal Jane Coughlin Chevalier grew up in Holyoke and every year looked forward to the parade and celebrating with family and friends.
Chevalier’s father Edward “Pop” Coughlin worked regularly on the Parade Committee during his life and was grand marshal himself 30 years ago. Through their father’s involvement with the parade’s planning, Chevalier and her sister saw early on the importance of the celebration for the community.
“Our whole family would go to the parade, and it was always a great experience for all of us. He worked as parade coordinator for many years and he was very involved. We used to joke if it was a cloudy day we would hide in our rooms and not really want to come out, but if it was a bright sunny day, and he’s walking around getting ready and whistling then we would be like, ‘OK, it’s safe to come out because its going to be a good parade day,’” Chevalier said with a laugh.
Now it is a new generation working on behalf of the Parade Committee as Chevalier was named the 70th Grand Marshal during the St. Patrick’s Committee announcement in August. The Grand Marshal of the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade is the highest local honor given to a person of Irish ancestry who has distinguished themselves as a loyal person to the Parade Committee, their career, their family and to their Irish ancestry.
Chevalier has been a member of the Parade Committee since 1998 after witnessing her father’s involvement and love of the committee. She said she is honored to follow the route her father marched as the parade’s grand marshal in 1992.
Chevalier has been honored by the committee in recent years. In 2011 she was named the Rohan Award winner and in 2014 she served as parade president. She has served multiple terms on the Board of Directors, including as chair. She has also chaired the Marshal’s Reception, assisted with the Memorial Mass, chaired the Program Book Committee, works road race day and works on the Parade Coordination Committee, among other roles.
2023 Parade President Karen Casey said the committee unanimously chose Chevalier and felt her work over her time with the committee exemplified what the grand marshal recipient is supposed to be.
“I’d like to thank the Grand Marshal Selection Committee for their hard work on choosing a grand marshal, it isn’t easy with so many great choices, but they came through with the perfect choice. Jane will represent the city well and I am looking forward to spending the upcoming year with Jane and her family and following her down the streets of Holyoke on March 19,” Casey said. “I know her family is proud of her and that her dad, ‘Pop’ is looking down on her with great pride.”
During her almost 25 years working on behalf of the committee, Chevalier started off working on the Marshal reception itself. She said she has met so many friends who she has stayed close with to this day during her time working with various groups for the Parade Committee.
Chevalier said she could not have invested so much time to the committee the last 20 years without the love and support of her family.
“Anyone who puts in the hours and the commitment to the Parade Committee cannot do it without the support of their family and partners. We love doing this and that doesn’t mean they want to be dragged along for the journey, but they know what it means to us,” Chevalier said.
Having support from her family allows for Chevalier to take the necessary time to commit to the organization of the parade every year and ends up being a part of one of Western Massachusetts biggest celebrations.
Chevalier added it is always refreshing to see everyone out and about on parade day having fun and enjoying time with one another. This is what makes it all worth it for Chevalier and her fellow committee members.
“We are exhausted by the end of parade night, but its like, OK, give us a week and we will start planning for next year. It’s very heartwarming,” Chevalier said.
The marshal’s reception will be hosted in January where Chevalier will be honored and announced to a more public reception. Chevalier will also be appearing at many events leading up to the parade.
Casey called Chevalier’s honor a culmination of her work with the Parade Committee.
“On parade day she leads us off and hopefully she goes the right way,” Casey said with a laugh. “She’s done so much for the committee that we are very excited. Her family is very proud of her, and I can’t wait to spend the whole upcoming season with her because she’s deserving.”
Chevalier said she is humbled by the honor and feels overwhelmed and still in shock to be added to the list of marshals.
“I look forward to seeing everybody and getting to bring the sense of community and parade. It helps bring the spring on,” Chevalier said. “They keep saying the marshal is in charge of the weather and I want to put it out to everybody that everybody needs to help get good weather on parade day. I am looking forward to meeting people and sharing the love of the committee and our Irish heritage with everyone.”
The 70th St. Patrick’s Parade will take place on March 19, 2023, and the 46th St. Patrick’s Road Race will be the day before on March 18.