Gallery of Grand Marshals
2007
Grand Marshal
Stonington
Chief of Police David P. Erskine
From
1999 to the present, David P. Erskine
has served as Police Chief for the Town of Stonington.
His tenure with the Stonington Police Department stretches
back 42 years, from his appointment as a patrol officer
on November 1, 1965. Chief Erskine was promoted to Captain
in 1983, a position he held until 1989 when he was appointed
as Deputy Chief of Police. He served as acting Chief from
January 1998 until his official appointment as Chief in
March of 1999. Chief Erskine is a lifelong resident of
Stonington. He and his wife Marcia have one daughter, Lora,
and two grandchildren. In 2007, Chief Erskine won the Distinguished
Chief's Award by the Police Commissioner's Association
of Connecticut.
2006
Grand Marshal Colonel Steven Paré
Superintendant
of the RI State Police
2005 Grand Marshal
RI Senator Dennis Algiere
Dennis Algiere has represented Westerly in the Rhode
Island state Senate since 1992. He holds a J.D. from
the Southern New England School of Law, an M.S. from
Northeastern University, and a B.S. from Providence College.
Senator Algiere works as a Senior Vice-President for
the Washington Trust Company.
2004 Grand Marshal
Chef Frank Terranova
Frank
Terranova is an associate instructor at Johnson & Wales
University's prestigious College of Culinary Arts. He
is the host of Cooking with Class, a daily television
cooking segment on Channel 10, the NBC affiliate in Providence,
RI.
2003 Grand Marshal
Major General Reginald Centracchio
Major General Reginald A. Centracchio assumed duties
as The Adjutant General of Rhode Island, and Commanding
General of the Rhode Island National Guard, on 1 August
1995. As The Adjutant General, he directs the establishment,
organization an maintenance of the military forces of
the State, comprised of units of the Army and Air National
Guard, which are reserve components of the United States
Army and Air Force, and the State Militia.
2002 Grand Marshals
Nick, Ron and Pete Cardi, Ni-Ro-Pe!
What is Ni-Ro-Pe? Where did it come from? Here is the
story - When we were kids, our parents bought us a 10'
row boat. This was a subtle way to let us know we would
have to work to get anywhere in life. Our great-aunt
Grace then told us we needed to name the boat. She took
the first 2 letters of each of our first names and called
it Ni-Ro-Pe, as in rope to tie the boat. Later we used
Ni-Ro-Pe to help describe, in a single word, our personal
assurance that when shopping at any one of our stores,
you will experience the largest selection, the best service,
and enjoy the absolute lowest prices - Everyday! Cardi's
Furniture has been in business since 1928. We are proud
to carry on the tradition of legendary customer service
to all of our customers.
2001 Grand Marshal
Channel 10's Frank Coletta
Frank
Coletta anchors News Channel 10 Sunrise and Noon. Frank
joined News Channel 10 in 1978 as an assignment
editor. He became a general assignment reporter in 1981
and began anchoring the "Today" show local
cut-ins in 1982. He began anchoring the Saturday newscasts
in 1983 and was named Sunrise anchor in 1985. Frank has
received numerous reporting awards from the Associated
Press and United Press International, and an Emmy nomination
for investigative reporting in 1986. He has been named
Best Morning Anchor by readers of Rhode Island Monthly
magazine for 12 years in a row.
2000 Grand Marshal
Dr. Robert Ballard
Best known for his 1985 discovery of the Titanic, Robert
D. Ballard has succeeded in tracking down numerous
other significant shipwrecks, including the German
battleship Bismarck, the lost fleet of Guadalcanal,
the U.S. aircraft carrier Yorktown (sunk in the World
War II Battle of Midway), and most recently John F.
Kennedy's boat, PT-109. In addition to being a National
Geographic Society explorer-in-residence, Ballard is
president of the Institute for Exploration in Mystic,
Connecticut.
Ballard
has 13 honorary degrees and 6 military awards; he is
a commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He received
the National Geographic Society's prestigious Hubbard
Medal in 1996 for "extraordinary accomplishments
in coaxing secrets from the world's oceans and engaging
students in the wonder of science." He has published
18 books, numerous scientific papers and a dozen articles
in National Geographic magazine. Ballard also has been
featured in several National Geographic television programs,
including the record-breaking Secrets of the Titanic.
1999 Grand Marshals
State
Senators Frank & Jane Gencarelli
After forty years in the building materials and construction
industries, Frank founded Nycon in 1991. Under his
leadership, Nycon grew from a local Indiana distributorship
to a global enterprise. Prior to Nycon, Frank introduced
Dryvit, an innovative German exterior wall facade system,
in the United States. He co-founded Dryvit, Inc., a
firm that eventually became a $45-million enterprise.
Earlier on, with the P.L. Monroe Brick Co. in Providence,
he was the district sales manager for the Northeast.
Frank has a B.A. from the University of Rhode Island
and served as the state senator from Rhode Island for
eight years. He is a member of the Florida Independent
Concrete & Aggregates Producers, Inc. (FICAP),
the Florida Concrete and Products Association, Inc.
(FCPA), and the Concrete Specifiers Institute.
1998
Grand Marshal
Eva
Franchi
1997
Grand Marshal
Mayor
Vincent A. Cianci
1996
Grand Marshal
Catherine
Coleman
1995
Grand Marshal
Joseph
Potter
1994
Grand Marshal
Judge
Trumpetto
1993
Grand Marshal
Salty
Brine
1992
Grand Marshal
George
Grande
1991
Grand Marshal
Henry
Nardone |
