Pavlik to lead St. Patrick’s Day Parade

March 9, 2008 at 12:15a.m.

The 30th annual parade begins at 1 p.m. next Sunday.

BOARDMAN — The Valley’s fighting champion is leading the St. Patrick’s Day parade with the theme “Valley of the Fighting Irish.”

Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik of Youngstown, middleweight boxing champion, is grand marshal of the 30th annual Mahoning Valley St. Patrick’s Day Parade set for 1 p.m. Sunday. The parade route runs along Market Street from McClurg Road to Southwoods Avenue.

Co-sponsors of the parade are The Vindicator, WFMJ Channel 21 and Mahoning Valley Irish Organizations..

“Kelly has been in the parade ever since he started boxing,” said Joyce Kale-Pesta, parade committee president. “He’s always come back to the engineers’ hall and signed autographs for the kids. My grandson still has his autograph on his mirror.”

It’s unknown if Pavlik’s schedule will permit him to attend the parade after-party this year at the Operating Engineers Local 66 Hall, McClurg Road.

The boxing champ has allowed the parade committee to sell 1,000 T-shirts at $10 each, bearing both the parade logo and Pavlik’s name. All of the proceeds will go to the parade committee.

“We are so grateful to him,” Kale-Pesta said. “He is really a great guy.”

After-party regulars the Shaeffer Brothers of Akron will perform again this year at the hall along with performers from the Burke School of Irish Dance. Awards including those for Best Irish Theme will be presented there, too.

Last year’s parade drew 108 units and about 13,000 spectators and organizers hope for a similar or better showing this year.

“A lot depends on the weather,” the committee president said. “We have our regular 5,000 to 6,000 people who come no matter whether it’s rain, snow, sleet or hail.”

The parade committee bought a 10-foot helium balloon to commemorate the 30th anniversary and it will lead Sunday’s parade as well as parades in future years.

Former Mahoning County Commissioner Ed Reese and his wife, Diane, of Canfield, both longtime parade committee members, will serve as Lord Mayors of Kilkenny. Joe Calinger of Liberty, another long-serving committee member, is this year’s recipient of the Ockerman Award for his contributions to the parade.

Kilkenny is the name of an old Irish settlement, formerly in the Poland Avenue-Gibson Street-Franklin Avenue area of Youngstown.

The parade began in the city 30 years ago but has been in the township for the last several. The township’s financial problems may change that.

The township had wanted the parade committee to foot the bill for employee overtime this year, but the committee can’t afford it.

The township last month laid off 30 full-time and 12 part-time employees because of a budget deficit.

Jason Loree, township administrator, said that last year’s parade cost about $4,500 because of employee overtime. That amount this year has been knocked down to $500 at most, he said, and possibly no overtime.

Police Capt. Jack Nichols conducted a meeting with members of the department’s special operations division which he oversees, and those officers agreed to switch their regular work week from Monday through Friday to Sunday through Thursday so as not to incur overtime for the parade. Sunday will be a regular shift.

Because of the township’s financial problems, both the township and the committee will have to decide whether to keep the parade in Boardman after this year, Kale-Pesta said.