Crowds of five to six deep saw Grand Marshal Maureen Basdavanos and her Aides Sioban Rack and John J. Hanley lead the largest parade St. Patrick’s Day Parade ever in Glen Cove.

“It was the largest crowd and the remarkable aspect was the community involvement,” said parade chairman Robert Lynch. “All aspects of the Glen Cove community got involved.”

Almost all the community organizations were represented, while members of various youth groups also marched.

After the parade, Glen Cove Mayor Ralph Suozzi awarded citations to the Grand Marshal and Aides.

About the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee: Founded in 1989 by the Mike Moran Division 8 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the parade is in its 24^th year, celebrating Irish culture on the North Shore. Over the years, the parade has had politicians, celebrities and Irish dignitaries serve as Grand Marshal. The committee comprises of members of the Mike Moran Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the St. Dymphna Division of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians.

About the Mike Moran Division 8 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians: Now in its seventh decade, the Mike Moran Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians serves to promote Irish culture, history, music, traditions and charitable giving. Membership is open at all men age 16 and over, who are of Irish birth or heritage, and are practicing Catholics. For more information, please visit their website at www.glencoveirish.org or contact Division President Joe McDonald at 516-522-0741 or by email at joe@hiberniandigest.com.

About the St. Dymphna Division of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians: Founded in 2002, the St. Dymphna Division of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians serves to promote Irish culture, history, music, traditions and charitable giving. Membership is open to women age 16 and over, who are of Irish birth or heritage, and are practicing Catholics. For more information please contact them online at www.glencoveirish.org or contact Division President Lisa Forgione by email at lisaf22@optonline.net.

Please note, some groups such as # 12, 17, 18, 19 & 20  may have one vehicle also, so ask them to park by Finley on Forest Ave and pull into parade once they see their marching unit.

Also try to ensure that #s 51, 52 & 53 go after Gold Coast Cruisers so as to provide a buffer for the pipe band.

• The Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade forms behind the Finley Middle School, Forest Avenue.
• The Parade moves from the designated formation areas around the Finley Middle School and into Forest Avenue south of Dosoris Lane.
• It then follows Brewster Street  to School Street.
• From there it moves into Glen Street
• It then  follows Glen Street to the end of Parade Route at St. Patrick’s Church, which is located at the corner of Glen Street and Pearsall Avenue.

Parade Directions and Parking

Parking For Parade Participants

There is no parking available at the staging grounds. The school parking areas there are used solely for lining up the marching units and inflating the balloons and, thus, are closed to all vehicles.  There are no exceptions. Convenient parking is available at the Glen Cove Parking Garages on Brewster Street;  free shuttle buses are available from there to the beginning of the parade.  A free shuttle bus is available for marchers from St. Patrick’s Church parking lot at the end of the parade to the staging area.

For Spectators
There are large multilevel parking garages behind the School Street and Glen Street viewing areas of the parade.  The garages on the north of School Street may be entered from Brewster Street and the garages on the south side can be entered from Glen Street or from Highland Road.  Both parking areas give easy access to the School Street and Glen Street viewing areas.  All parking is free.

Directions from Long Island Expressway:

1. Exit at Exit 39, Glen Cove Road.

2. Take Glen Cove Road North.

3. Glen Cove Road crosses the intersection of Rte 25A (Northern Blvd. – Wheatley Plaza,  Pathmark is on the right) and then the intersection of Glen Head Road (the Brookville Diner is on the right).

4. After passing through the intersection with Glen Head Road, Route 107 merges with Glen Cove Road.  Stay to the left.  You will see St. Hyacinth’s Church on the right.  Stay in the left lane and soon after the church you will come to a fork in the road.  Stay to the left and take the left hand fork, which is a bypass into Glen Cove.

5. Route 107 ends opposite the Glen Cove Fire Department.  Turn right, onto Brewster Street and follow Brewster Street to the corner of Doris Lane and Forest Avenue, where the grounds of the Finley Middle School begin, on the left.

The Parade has taken place annually since 1989.  It has grown to be the largest annual parade in Glen Cove and a civic celebration that is eagerly awaited each spring by all residents of the North Shore and the entire Irish community of Long Island.

Past and Present Grand Marshalls

It is our custom each year to honor a person as “Grand Marshal” of the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade, and one or more additional individuals as “Aides to the Grand Marshal:

1989 	 John F. Sweeney               Postmaster, City of Glen Cove
1990 	 P.O. Stephen McDonald         Hero Police Officer
1991 	 Hon. Denis Dillon             District Attorney, Nassau Co.
1992 	 Sr. Janet A. Fitzgerald       President, Molloy College
1993 	 Joseph V. Buckley             Restaurateur
1994 	 Rep. Peter King               Congressman
1995 	 Jack Ryan                     President, SEIU Local 74
1996 	 William V. Whelan             President, Emerald Society, FDNY
1997 	 Brian Fitzpatrick             Councilman, City of Glen Cove
1998 	 Michael McCormick             National Historian, AOH
1999 	 Jack Irwin                    Governor’s Assistant for Irish Affairs
2000 	 Hon. Thomas R. Suozzi         Mayor, City of Glen Cove; Nassau County Executive
2001 	 Patrick J. Lynch              President, NYC Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association
2002 	 Mary Gilroy-Doohan, M.D.      Director, Emergency Services NSUH Glen Cove
2003 	 Tony Jackson                  Irish radio personality WRHU-FM Radio, Hofstra Univesity
2004 	 Mary Ann Holzkamp             Mayor, City of Glen Cove
2005 	 James McCabe                  Hibernian Activist
2006 	 The "Fighting 69th"
2007 	 Jack McDougal                 Police Sergeant
2008     John W.C. Canning             Attorney and Public Servant
2009     Robert P. Lynch               Attorney and Teacher
2010     Thomas J. Lilly               Attorney and Pro-Life Activist
2011     Andrew Stafford               Former Parade Chairman
2012     Maureen Basdavanos            Glen Cove Deputy Mayor

Glen Cove, NY (January 25, 2012)

The Parade will take place on Sunday March 18, 2012 using the same route, starting at the Finley Middle School on Forrest Avenue and weaving through the streets of the city, ending at St. Patrick’s Church.

Basdavanos is a member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians and also the daughter of AOH Division 8’s namesake Mike Moran.

“It is such an honor to be asked to lead this year’s parade as the Grand Marshall,” Basdavanos said. “There is no better St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Long Island thanks to the AOH Mike Moran Division 8.  I only wish my dad were here to march beside me.”

Basdavanos (nee Moran) is the Deputy Mayor of Glen Cove, appointed in 2008 by Mayor Ralph Suozzi. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Glen Cove C.A.R.E.S. and a Board member for the Glen Cove Business Improvement District (BID), the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Sounds Committee, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission and is a long-time supporter of the Glen Cove Animal Lover’s League.  Basdavanos was an active member of the Glen Cove High School Booster Club volunteering with her husband Bill to photograph and report weekly on all JV and Varsity sports.  She was also a long-time volunteer Cheerleading Coach for Glen Cove Jr. Football and Cheerleading and a Cub Scout leader. She is married to former Glen Cove fire chief Bill Basdavanos and has two grown children.

Sioban Rack (nee Lane) is Associate Director of Special Events of SCO Family or Services and the immediate past president of St. Dymphna Division 8 of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians. With corporate contacts, volunteers and donors she has provided Christmas for hundreds of children and adolescents every year, arranged trips and special outings, and recently, working with the Garden of Dreams foundation, she has even enabled some of our children to perform at Radio City Music Hall. She is married to Jim Rack and has a 16 year-old son James.

An active attorney in the community, John Hanley ran for Glen Cove City Council a number of time, most recently last year. He is also the immediate past president of Mike Moran Division 8 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, and also served as Vice President and Marshal. He currently serves on the Glen Cove High School Community Scholarship Committee and is Past President of the Catholic Accountant’s Guild of Rockville Centre. He is married to the former Teresa Esposito and has three daughters.

About the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee: Founded in 1989 by the Mike Moran Division 8 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the parade is in its 24^th year, celebrating Irish culture on the North Shore. Over the years, the parade has had politicians, celebrities and Irish dignitaries serve as Grand Marshal. The committee comprises of members of the Mike Moran Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the St. Dymphna Division of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians.

About the Mike Moran Division 8 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians: Now in its seventh decade, the Mike Moran Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians serves to promote Irish culture, history, music, traditions and charitable giving. Membership is open at all men age 16 and over, who are of Irish birth or heritage, and are practicing Catholics. For more information, please visit their website at www.glencoveirish.org or contact Division President Joe McDonald at 516-522-0741 or by email at joe@hiberniandigest.com.

About the St. Dymphna Division of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians: Founded in 2002, the St. Dymphna Division of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians serves to promote Irish culture, history, music, traditions and charitable giving. Membership is open to women age 16 and over, who are of Irish birth or heritage, and are practicing Catholics. For more information please contact them online at www.glencoveirish.org or contact Division President Lisa Forgione at 516-759-9481 or by email at lisaf22@optonline.net.

Maureen was born and raised in Sea Cliff, NY.  She received her education at St. Boniface Martyr School, North Shore High School and The Katherine Gibbs School.  She became a member of the Ladies AOH in 2010.  It seemed like a natural progression since the AOH has been a major part of her life since she was a child.  She is a member of St. Patrick’s Parish, but also keeps her childhood parish of St. Boniface Martyr close at heart.

Maureen is a member of the Board of Directors for Glen Cove C.A.R.E.S. and a Board member for the Glen Cove Business Improvement District (BID), the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Sounds Committee, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission and is a long-time supporter of the Glen Cove Animal Lover’s League.  She was an active member of the Glen Cove High School Booster Club volunteering with her husband Bill to photograph and report weekly on all JV and Varsity sports.  She was also a long-time volunteer Cheerleading Coach for Glen Cove Jr. Football and Cheerleading and a Cub Scout leader.

Maureen is married to Bill Basdavanos, Ex-Chief of the Glen Cove Volunteer Fire Dept.  They have two children – Sean Michael who lives in Long Beach and owns a dessert café in Rockville Center and Kelly Anne who is a senior at Our Lady of Mercy Academy and is looking forward to college next year.

In all her roles over the last 33 years, one thing has remained constant; year after year Sioban has brought happiness to thousands of children across the agency.  With corporate contacts, volunteers and donors she has provided Christmas for hundreds of children and adolescents every year, arranged trips and special outings, and recently, working with the Garden of Dreams foundation, she has even enabled some of our children to perform at Radio City Music Hall.

In addition to all of this Sioban has worked with volunteers, putting together highly successful events that have raised funds to support programs across the agency.  Her success in this area is a direct result of the passion she has for the children and families she services.

She has been a member of the LAOH since 2006 serving as Vice President and President.  She has been involved with the St. Patrick’s Day dance, Garage Sales and all LAOH fund raising activities.  She is also a member of the St. Boniface Martyr Ministries.

Sioban is married to the love of her life Jim Rack and they are enjoying raising their son – James Rack who is 16 years old and a junior at North Shore High School.

He graduated St. John’s in 1987 and began an accounting career which landed him as an Internal Auditor for MetLife and received his designation as a Certified Public Accountant in 1993.

In 1991, at a High School friend’s wedding, he met Teresa Esposito. John and Teresa were married in 1993. They moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn where Teresa was completing her internship as a physician. When Teresa accepted an invitation to complete her residency at Glen Cove Hospital, they moved to an apartment in Glen Head, New York where they remained until the 1998 birth of their first daughter, Isabella. They then moved north to Glen Cove. Lara, their second daughter, was born in 2000 followed by their third, Victoria, in 2004.

While working for MetLife in New Jersey, Mr. Hanley attended Touro Law School at night. He graduated law school in 1997 and was admitted to the bar in the Spring of 1998.

In 2005, John was invited to join the team seeking election to the City Council of Glen Cove. While unsuccessful, his Irish stubroness led him to attempt two more times, the latest being in 2011.

Since becoming a member of Division 8 of the A.O.H. in 2005, Mr. Hanley has served as the President, Vice-President and Marshall, the latter being his current position with The Division. He currently serves on the Glen Cove High School Community Scholarship Committee and is Past President of the Catholic Accountant’s Guild of Rockville Centre.

John would like to thank the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee for inviting him to be an Aide to the Grand Marshall in the 2012 Glen Cove Parade and for the honor of marching next to fellow Aide to the Grand Marshall, Sioban Rack and Grand Marshall Maureen Basdavanos. John would also like to express the deepest love and gratitude to Teresa, Isabella, Lara and Victoria for their constant support, encouragement and sacrifice which allow him to fulfill his duties with the A.O.H.