This Year’s Parade Honorees

By Katie McFadden

‘Tis a grand lineup of honorees at the 2026 Rockaway St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Parade day is Saturday, March 7, and among the lineup will be a group of fine lads and lasses that make up this year’s honorees.

The parade kicks off at 1 p.m. from Beach 130th and Newport Ave., turns up Beach 116th Street and then on to Rockaway Beach Blvd. to Beach 102nd Street, just after the judging stand.

This year’s grand marshal is Michele Cusack, Chief Financial Officer for Northwell Health. The daughter of Irish immigrants from Limerick and Mohill, County Leitrim, Cusack is proud to honor her Irish roots. She entered the healthcare finance world with a part-time accounting job in a hospital while pursuing a degree at Hofstra. While in school, she met Jim Cusack, a bar owner, and the pair got married in 1999. They live with their four children in Nassau County. She’s been with Northwell Health for more than 20 years, working her way up the ranks to CFO in 2017.

The honorary grand marshal this year is John Norbury, secretary-treasurer of Laborers Local 79. The Howard Beach resident started as a laborer in 1985 with Local 46, which later became Local 79, for which he was a past president.

Gael of the Year is Dennis Shock of the DSNY and President of the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, Local 831. Shock’s grandparents hail from Kilkenny, and he remains deeply connected to his Irish roots, as an active member of the DSNY Emerald Society for 39 years. He has served as its Vice President and currently sits on the Board of Directors. He’s also played bagpipes with the band for 35 years and is a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 7. Shock began his career with DSNY in 1987. In 2010, Shock was elected Vice President of Local 831, and now serves as president.

This year’s Deputy Grand Marshals are Christopher Scharbach, Fr. Brendan Fitzgerald, Dr. Judy McLaughlin, Peter McMahon, Casey Anne Brouder, Anne Forde, David Stimus, Patrick Donlin, Joseph Ronda, Mary Beth Bertolini, John Schilling, Jay Burke, Owen Loof, Alice Edwards and Dr. Jameela Yussuf.

Dr. Scharbach serves as the Principal of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy. His Irish roots trace back to Clonmel, County Tipperary. Dr. Scharbach earned his Doctorate in Education in Educational Leadership from St. John’s University, where he was recently honored as a “Johnnie of the 21st Century” for his exemplary leadership and service in Catholic education.

Fr. Brendan Fitzgerald was born and raised in Rockaway with Irish roots in County Kerry. He attended high school and seminary school in Ireland. After graduating in 1995, he spent a pastoral year working with Mother Theresa before continuing his academic formation. Fr. Fitzgerald was ordained in September 2000, spending his first year of priesthood in Meelick, County Clare. Most recently, he’s served as pastor at Saint Barnabas in the Bronx. He’s become the chaplain for the FDNY Emerald Society, FDNY Holy Name Society and many other organizations.

Judy McLaughlin is a registered nurse who has served as Chief Nursing Officer at Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health and Chief Nursing Executive at the Brooklyn Hospital Center.

Peter McMahon, owner of Harbor Waterproofing and a Drum Major for County Cork Pipes and Drums, has roots in County Cork and County Clare. A former Rockaway resident now living in Howard Beach, McMahon is also a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus and has played for the Knights of Columbus Pipe and Drum Band and the Carpenters Local 608 Pipe Band.

Casey-Anne Brouder is an art teacher at local school PS256Q for students with disabilities. No stranger to parades, Brouder is the founder and organizer of the annual Poseidon’s Parade on the boardwalk each summer.

Local resident Anne Forde is a longtime educator and coach who now teaches Math at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Academy. She also served as the PAR (Parish Athletic Representative) for St. Virgilius and St Camillus. Her father was a longtime member of the Rockaway St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee until he passed in 2010 and Forde is a member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 25.

David Stimus, of Ozone Park, traces his roots to County Cork. He worked more than 30 years in the insurance industry before retiring in 2018. He’s an active member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians Rockaway Division 21 for the past 10 years and now serves as Vice President.

Joseph Ronda, First Sergeant of the 88th Company of the New York National Guard, is a resident of the Bronx. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and has served with the NY Guard since 2010. Sgt. Ronda also serves as a commandant of the Star of the Sea CYO Cadets Corps.

Mary Beth Bertolini, a lifelong resident of Rockaway, worked as a social worker at St. John’s Episcopal and Peninsula Hospitals. In 2014, she accepted a position at New York City Children’s Center. In 2023, she formed Resilient Coordination to connect those with dementia and traumatic brain injury with all aspects of service coordination. Bertolini is a member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 25, Financial Secretary for the local chapter of the Columbiettes, and a member of the Killoran-Clancy-Whelan Branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann.

Patrick Donlin, a Rockaway native, is an associate court clerk in Queens Criminal Court. Donlin has played with NYS Courts Pipes and Drums since he started working for the courts in 2008 and hasn’t missed a Rockaway or New York City parade. He was recently named Pipe Sergeant. Donlin is also the proud father of Maggie.

John J. Schilling is the Community Editor for The Wave newspaper. The lifelong Rockaway resident is a graduate of the last class at St. Camillus School. His interest in journalism began at Cathedral Preparatory School & Seminary and continued at Brooklyn College, where he was managing editor of The Brooklyn College Vanguard. Schilling began interning with The Wave in 2021 and became community editor in January 2024 after obtaining a master’s from CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.

John “Jay” Burke lives in Breezy Point with his wife, Alice, and traces his roots to County Galway. The U.S. Navy veteran is an active volunteer for St. Camillus Special Olympics program, which his son Terence attends, since its inception in 1996. He also spent 35 years working in the New York Public School system and as a coach, continuing to coach football at Xavier High School, where he also taught English. Burke is also an active member of the American Legion and the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division 4 in Breezy Point.

Owen Loof, known to many as the Best Dressed Man in Rockaway, is the Grand Knight for the Knights of Columbus in Rockaway. He’s also a U.S. Army veteran who served during Vietnam. Born and raised in Rockaway, Loof has spent most of his life living on the peninsula. After retiring from the Transit Authority, Loof moved to Hawaii with his wife, Peggy, and taught history at Saint Damien School in Honolulu. He returned to Rockaway to be with his family after his wife died in 2016.

Rockaway resident Alice Edwards is a member of the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Division 25. She is also a payroll secretary for the NYC Department of Education, and is married to past honoree, Mark Edwards, president of AOH Division 21.

Dr. Jameela Yusuff is Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Episcopal Health Services She brings more than 20 years of healthcare leadership and clinical experience, including service as Chief Medical Officer at University Hospital of Brooklyn at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and as Medical Director of the STAR Program.

Congratulations to all of the honorees! See you on the parade route!