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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-04-24-TCC-minMinutes Town Celebrations Committee April 24, 2013 Training Room, Public Service Building, 201 Bedford Street Members present Suzie Barry, Chair; Dick Crogan, Co -Vice Chair; Bob Tracey, co -Vice Chair; Linda Dixon, Mary Gillespie, Sondra Lucente, Barbara Manfredi, Julie Miller, Wayne Miller, Bill Mix,Henry Murphy, .Charlie Price. Members not present Jo -Anne Granger, Paul Jenkins, Sandy Podgorski, Dave Taylor. Business • The chair declared that a quorum was present. • Approval of prior minutes was deferred until the next meeting. • Rosalyn Tighe, a Lexington resident, attended as a guest. • Suzie Barry showed photo slide shows of the afternoon /300 anniversary parade • On April 22, Town Meeting passed a supplemental appropriation of $20,000 for parade expenses Patriots Day 2013 • Summary of Award Winners White Tricorne Hat: Robert Sacco Minuteman Cane: Eleanor Smith Outstanding Youth: Abby Grant and Sarah Lehman Dan Fenn Award: Cecil Harris Award: Float Awards in the Afternoon Parade, judged by Laura Hopkins, Bill Hubner, and Joe Rancatore Civic, First Place: Lexington Field and Garden Club Civic, Second Place: Civic, Third Place Youth, First Place Youth, Second Place Youth, Third Place Commercial, First Place Commercial, Second Place Spirit of '76, We Are Lexington Lexington Community Farm Coalition Lexington 300 Commission Estabrook School PTA LexFun Wagon Wheel Nursery Farmstead Mahoney's • After - Action Feedback and Comment: • Suzie has received a great deal of positive feedback • There were many positive comments about holding the parade on Sunday. • Security will become a larger consideration. • Stakes were hammered in too hard, making them difficult to remove. • Two of five bus drivers were unfamiliar with Lexington streets and bus routes, confirming the need for more driver training and /or one committee member per bus. • Two unauthorized vehicles somehow joined the parade. We need to develop a policy for handling such cases. • Three units, the Suburbanettes, the Menotomy Minutemen and Norm Aubert's 1953 fire truck, did not appear in the parade or contact the committee. • Parade Ambassadors showed up on time and did a great job. Two volunteers were sick but replacements were found. Teams were assembled and deployed by 1:40. • All units were checked in by 1:30. For the most part, they maintained a tight formation and finished on schedule. • Londonderry High School, Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Mummers parked at the Hayden lot. This was a tremendous help. • Some Parade Ambassadors missed not getting Rancatore ice cream certificates this year. • At Monday's reenactment, the reserved seating was filled by 4:45, mostly by non ticket holders. Committee members had to ask them to vacate their seats. • There was a miscommunication as to whether small children were allowed inside the roped area at the reenactment. As the crowd became significant, Committee members had to put a stop to it. • Hanscom brought 14 guests instead of 2, accounting for the crowded reviewing stand. • The new podium for the ceremony on the Green looked great. • DPW removed the reviewing stand and audio system mid - morning and had to reinstall them to accommodate the afternoon band concert. Memorial Day 2013 Ceremony at Munroe Cemetery:Suzie, Sam Doran and Mike Daru have prepared a plan for the revised ceremony at Munroe Cemetery. The VA has installed headstones at all five of the newly identified Civil War veterans' graves. Upon entering the grounds, the parade will now turn right and move to the Gazebo for that portion of the program. The group will then follow a wide curve, stopping first at the grave of Pvt. Samuel Davis, then continuing to the grave of Landsman Cyrus S. Capelle, then to the two graves of Pvt. George E. Pratt and Corp. Charles M. Parker (great - grandson of Minuteman Captain John Parker). The parade will make its last stop to honor Pvt. Moses E. Colby and Medal of Honor recipient Thomas Cosgrove, and then march directly out the exit road. At each gravesite, the High School Band will play Taps and Echo, the Minuteman will fire a volley and a wreath will be laid. Sam and Mike will recruit the wreath layers. The band will move on the inner road while the public will march on the outer road. Photographs of the individuals (or their ship in one case) will be resting on easels near the entrance. • We expect that the current moratorium on permits for activities on the Green will be lifted soon and that the morning ceremony will be held on the Green as planned. • Bob Tracey will order 15 wreaths. Chief Marshal: The Committee voted to invite John Wilson, Lexington's new Fire Chief, to serve as the Chief Marshal for the Memorial Day Parade. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Linda Dixon, Co- Secretary