Holyoke St. Patrick’s Committee Names James M. Lavelle as its 72nd Grand Marshal for 2025

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The St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke has announced James M. Lavelle as its 72nd Grand Marshal for the 2025 Holyoke St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 23, 2025.   Lavelle will be honored at the Grand Marshal's Reception on Friday, January 17, 2025, at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. 

The Grand Marshal is the highest local honor given to a person who has distinguished themselves as a loyal person to their career, their family, and to their Irish ancestry, according to parade officials.

“I am excited that we are honoring Holyoke native, James Lavelle, as Grand Marshal,” said Parade President John Beaulieu. “His dedication to his family, his career and his community are well known and I’m grateful to the Grand Marshal’s Selection Committee for choosing him with this most esteemed honor. I look forward to having James Lavelle and his family lead the 72nd Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade on March 23, 2025.”

Lavelle's family has deep and abiding connections to the parade. His father, Bernard “Bernie” M. Lavelle, Jr. was an active member of the St. Patrick’s Committee and was Grand Marshal in 1988. And his daughter Grace was a member of the Grand Colleen Court in 2016.

“I am very grateful to be recognized by the Parade Committee and truly honored to be asked to
lead the 72nd Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade,” said Lavelle. “The Parade Committee does such a wonderful job producing the Parade and related events that have such a positive impact on Holyoke and the region and I am thrilled to be asked to be part of it. I look forward to following in my father’s footsteps and marching in the Parade with my family.”

James and his wife, Elizabeth “Liza”, are the proud parents to four grown children: Hugh, Grace, Owen, and John. Son of the late Bernard and Mary Lavelle, James is a Holyoke native where he and his 8 siblings grew up in the Oakdale neighborhood.

The General Manager of Holyoke Gas and Electric (HG&E), James is a graduate of Holyoke High School and the University of Massachusetts, where he received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration. He serves on the boards of several professional associations including as Director of the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company, Municipal Electric Association of Massachusetts, Northeast Public Power Association, PeoplesBank, Holyoke Chamber of Commerce and as Director and President of the Holyoke Solar Cooperative and Massachusetts Clean Energy Cooperative.

On the community front, Lavelle has served as a Trustee for HolyokeCommunity College, on the Finance Committee of St. Jerome Parish, the Board for the Greater Holyoke YMCA, and as coach for Holyoke Youth Football and Holyoke YMCA Basketball.

For more details or to purchase tickets to the January 17th reception, please contact Stephanie Joyce (stef0816@comcast.net).

Learn more about the Holyoke Parade, one of the largest and most popular Irish events across New England. 

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