Al DeBenedictis has been named the new Grand Marshal of the 2015 Morris County St. Patrick’s Parade, replacing John Hyland, who stepped down earlier this month for health reasons.
“We are honored to have Al DeBenedictus as our Grand Marshal of the 2015 Morris County St. Patrick’s Day Parade,” the parade committee said in a statement on Wednesday.
A former Madison resident, DeBenedictis has been active in the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Morris County since 1986, and has served the parade in many roles.
The Army veteran also has been an area coordinator for Project Children, an exchange program that has helped young children from troubled places in Northern Ireland.
Additionally, DeBenedictis and his wife Mickie–who have four daughters and 10 grandchildren–have fostered more than 70 young kids for the Newark Archdiocese Catholic Community Services.
After retiring from AT&T, DeBenedictis relocated to Lavallette. As a member of a community emergency response team at the Shore, the Essex County native manned evacuation shelters after Hurricane Irene and Super Storm Sandy.
Besides leading the annual parade in Morristown, the Grand Marshal promotes the March event with a round of appearances in the months preceding it.
Scheduled for Saturday, March 14, the parade is sponsored by corporations and individuals and receives no public funds. It has donated nearly $300,000 to charities over the decades, the committee said.
Here is the full announcement.
FROM THE ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE OF MORRIS COUNTY INC.:
The St. Patrick’s Day Parade of Morris County, Inc. is pleased to announce that Al DeBenedictis has been selected the Grand Marshal of the 2015 St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Al has been very involved in fostering Irish culture in Morris and Essex County NJ over the years. He is an active member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Morris County since 1986.
For the past 24 years he has been a key player in putting on and promoting the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade of Morris County.
He has served as Finance Chair for Parade; co-chaired the parade journal; was a trustee for parade organization; and has been, and still is, an active member of the Parade and Finance committees that make the parade the success that it is.
No public funds are used for the parade and it is fully funded by corporate and individual sponsors. Over the years the parade has donated almost $300,000 to local charities.
He has been an Area Coordinator for Project Children since 1985. Project Children brings young Irish children from the troubled areas of Northern Ireland to the United States for a summer respite away from the tensions in that area.
In 1996 the program added an Intern Program for university students to expand their studies with work experiences related to their majors. He has made frequent trips to Northern Ireland to interview and select Project Children applicants.
Born in Essex County, Al married Margaret “Mickie” McLafferty in 1965. They moved to Madison, NJ in 1978 where they raised their four daughters (Ann-Margaret Beatty, Geraldine Kilgore, Michelle Rogers and Diane DeBenedictis). Al is the proud grandfather of ten.
In addition to being such a family man, from 1978 through 2006 he and Mickie were foster parents for the Newark Archdiocese Catholic Community Services and fostered more than 70 very young children during that time.
He is also very active in his Church and Community. While living in Madison Al was also a Youth Ministry Sponsor Catechist for 23 years at St. Vincent Martyr parish there. As a member of the Knights of Columbus for 28 years he served on numerous committees and chaired activities, He is a Fourth Degree Knight and a Past Grand Knight of Council No. 8415 in Seaside Park, NJ.
Al served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1963 to 1965 stationed in Korea (1964-65). Then his career was with AT&T where he retired as Marketing Manager for Television Services. After retirement Al and Mickie relocated to Lavallette.
While continuing his activities in Morris County he became a member of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in the shore area. During Hurricane Irene and Super Storm Sandy he manned evacuation shelters in Toms River.
We are honored to have Al DeBenedictus as our Grand Marshal of the 2015 Morris County St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
