What I remember most from any St. Patrick’s Day celebration in my childhood was that my mother made me wear something green, and that as a family we went to the St. Patrick’s talent show in the municipal building on Partition Street in Saugerties in part to watch my oldest brother play the trumpet in Father Hardy’s Drum Corp and in part to listen to people tell funny stories and jokes and to listen to Jack Keeley and Joan Feldman sing usually sad or melancholy songs. As a third generation Irish child, I didn’t know then what it really meant to be Irish. I remember the nuns in St. Mary’s of the Snow School lecturing us about St. Patrick and the lesson of the trinity reflected in the shamrock. I thought that was really special and different; it was a tangible symbol. Eddie Doyle, from Brooklyn, standing in my parents’ kitchen singing “Danny Boy” gave me chills with his extraordinary Irish tenor voice. I remember how he always made my mother and my aunt shed a tear with his “too-ra-loo-ra loo-ras”. It was only upon joining the AOH that I came to fully appreciate the heritage with which I have been blest. I take great pride in my Irish Ancestry, and I am both humbled and honored to serve as Grand Marshal for this year’s Kingston St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
I take this honor very seriously, and consequently, I beg your indulgence while I acknowledge some attending tonight.
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First I want to…congratulate and recognize my fellow honorees:
Kathleen Carey-Mihm for being selected to serve as our Mayor for the Day…Congratulations Kathleen!
Reaghan Maire Riley for being selected to serve as our Irish Princess…Congratulations Reaghan! and separate congratulations on Reaghan’s honor to her parents Greg and Melissa Riley. Greg, for those who are not aware, is the director of our AOH youth division.
Mickey Hein for being selected to serve as the bearer of St. Patrick; the #1 prized position in all of our parade... Congratulations Mickey! and separate congratulations on Mickey’s honor to his parents Mike and Christine Hein.
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I want to recognize and thank all of our former Grand Marshals for participating in tonight’s festivities and for historically well- representing our organization with character and leadership qualities to be emulated. You honor us all with your presence tonight. Thank you.
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I want to thank every one here for attending. This night is the kick off event for our parade which celebrates our Patron Saint, our culture, and our faith, but our parade has also come to be viewed in the community as a calendar point for Spring’s approach…a season we all well deserve this year. Thank you all for being here and for your enthusiasm.
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I want to thank
Jim Carey, President, AOH,
Patty Jacob, President, LAOH
Bill Kearney, Vice-President, AOH
With your three votes of selection – you not only honor me but my family both living and deceased. I thank you on behalf of all the Voerg family for this Grand Marshal honor.
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Those responsible for this St. Patrick’s Day Parade grand event…
John Kelly, Larry Dunn, and Kathleen Houghtaling, I want to thank you for your exemplary leadership that causes Kingston’s St. Patrick’s celebration to continue to be the best in the Hudson Valley.
Along with you I want to thank all of the members of the parade committee; together, you have created a well oiled machine; from tonight through parade day, yours is a huge, selfless effort: all for the love of our Irish heritage. I tip my hat in thanks for all of your labor of love.
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I want to thank the members of our LAOH and others who always stand in full support of all Hibernian concerns and projects. Thank you for your support; I want to thank those who prepared and who are serving the refreshments this evening…Thank you ______
I want to recognize and thank the members of our Award Winning Father Con Colbert Wolfe Ulster County Division One AOH Pipe and Drum Band and Honor Guard. I know you march and play proudly for all of our AOH activities, but this Grand Marshal salutes you and your families for the rehearsal hours and for the week-end hours that you spend perfecting your craft so as to honor us all while you entertain, console, and bring joy to so many. Thank you.
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I want to thank Joanie Mac and our step dancers performing for us tonight; we watch with admiration of and respect for your talents. Thank you for joining us.
I want to thank Breda McMahon who inspires us all with her dedication words for this celebration, for our Hooley on the Hudson celebration, and for her writings about so many of the culturally rich highlights of our AOH and LAOH experiences. Breda continually honors us with her words; she is our poet laureate, and I thank her for blessing us with her craft.
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I want to thank Ken Brett and Bill Yosh for making this event and all of our AOH events so well publicized through their ever popular WKNY Sunday morning Irish Hour. For over twenty-five years the two of you have brought tremendous joy and comfort into households near and far. Thank you and may God bless you both for your talents.
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I want to thank Bernie Gray for serving as emcee tonight; always a pleasure brother and friend! I look forward to our bus ride together!
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I want to formally acknowledge this grand organization the AOH and particularly its president Jim Carey. From the Celtic Cross on the grounds of St. Mary’s, to our Feed the Hungry Project, to which another $10,000 has been contributed this year, to the gargantuan success that is our annual Hooley on the Hudson™, and yes, to this extraordinary parade event, the men of the AOH are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to attending to the needs of others and to spreading joy to others. At its helm, Jim Carey is the quintessential leader. Jim delegates authority and then supports the memberships’ efforts without question. Brother Carey, I salute you for the job you do with a membership ten times its number from when I started. And fellow brothers, I salute you all for the tribute you render to our Irish heritage with your daily participation in this organization. I am proud to serve with you all.
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I want to recognize and thank my family. I want to recognize my wife of soon to be forty years, Diana Francello; though 100% Italian, over the years Diana has embraced a lot of Irish thinking and behavior. As teenage sweethearts, we shared many of the same CYO and small town memories; I am a lucky and blest man to have her by my side. I love you. And…your Irish soda bread is still the best!
I want to recognize our Daughter Rachel Lauren and son-in-law Gregory Flammer of Buffalo, and our Son Ryan Bradley Voerg and soon to be daughter-in-law Tracy Kramer of Rye, NY. Rachel and Ryan embrace both their Italian and Irish/German heritages. I know they wish they could be here tonight, but they look forward to being with us for the grand parade event. They bring remarkable joy and peace to my life.
I want to recognize and thank my biological brother Don Voerg and my sister-in-law Barbara of Saugerties and their family. My brother Don is my real life, living, sorely unsung, hero. Look up “goodness” and “kindness” and “joy” in the dictionary, and you will see my brother’s picture. I love you, Don, and I thank you for all that you do for all of us in the Voerg family. I also want to recognize and thank my vacationing siblings who can’t be here- my brother Bill and sister-in-law Delores of Saugerties and their family, my sister Sugar and brother-in-law Bob Jackson of Pittsfield, Mass. and their family who despite their absence this evening I know share in the excitement of this honor. We have a unique bond, the eight of us as siblings, and it is a genuine Irish family bond centered in love, family unity, and free from turmoil.
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I want to thank my other family members and friends sharing in this moment tonight…I obviously owe a great deal of thanks to a good many people…
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I want to extend a special thank you to my AOH brother and former KHS colleague, Bill Yosh, his wife Barbara, and their daughter Pam and her husband John, and their son Bill Jr. Twenty five plus years ago, Bill sponsored me to this organization. I believe Bill best personifies our organization’s motto of Friendship/Unity/and Christian Charity. One need only look to the core ideas and ideals founding the internationally remarkable family celebration we call our “Hooley on the Hudson™” to understand the gift and gifts of this man…and I am honored to call him “friend”. My Grand Marshal honor this evening is a direct result of Bill’s practicing our organization’s motto. I thank you my friend.
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Soooooooooooo What kind of an Irish name is Voerg? It’s not…Voerg… the name–is German not Irish. Ryan and Bradley and Kerbert are my direct Irish surnames. Other family surnames connected include Hines, Jordan, Brede, Longendyke, Hughes, Hill, and the list goes on.
My father, Bill Voerg, served in the Navy during WWII, and he was a true patriot. As a result, I was raised to know that first and foremost I am an American. Irish ancestry and/or German roots were rarely focused upon or discussed at home. However, I lived feeling Irish. My parents were humble hard workers who taught us that faith and unconditional family love is all that is needed for a good life. All of our family celebrations involved the church in one way or another, and we watched our faith comfortably walk our parents and our senior relatives through their final years.
Finally, I am told you need to know something about your Grand Marshal select: Born and raised in Saugerties, I attended St. Mary’s of the Snow Church and graduated from St. Mary’s of the Snow parochial school, Saugerties High School, Ulster County Community College, Belknap College in New Hampshire, and Middlebury College in Vermont. I began my teaching career at John A. Coleman High School here in Kingston, back in 1973, and after five years I joined the faculty of Kingston High School. I retired from KHS in June of 2009 after thirty six years of teaching English.
In closing…
The community of Kingston embraced me decades ago, and today I consider myself a man rich with the memories of hundreds of sur names and cultures and beliefs and practices shared with me by students, some of whom are here with us tonight. My life has always been about family and friends, and I have been blest with the best of both. I humbly thank you all for this night and for this honor.
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