Sheriff Berdnik Chosen 2014 Grand Marshal
- PostEagle
- February 19, 2014
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The sashing of the 2014 Pulaski Day Parade Grand Marshal was held on January 30th at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland. The Honorable Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik – Sheriff of Passaic County, NJ received the honor as this year’s Grand Marshal.
“I don’t think my parents ever dreamt that their son would be the Grand Marshal of the Pulaski Day Parade,” said Sheriff Berdnik. A law enforcement professional with a distinctive twenty-eight year career in the Police Department, Berdnik’s father came from Poland’s former Polesie region, was a soldier, and participated in the Battle of Monte Cassino; his mother, who was present at the ceremony, was born in Lwów – once a prominent city when it was in Poland.
In photo on right: Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik, Grand Marshal of the 2014 Pulaski Parade, with Michał Kulawik, Grand Marshal of the 2013 Pulaski Parade.
Consul General of the Republic of Poland in New York Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka welcomed the guests in attendance. Junczyk-Ziomecka stressed the importance of the Pulaski Parade, as it is the largest Polonia parade in the United States. She highlighted the fact that this year, Poland will celebrate important anniversaries: 25th anniversary of the 1989 elections – which marked the end of communism; the 15th anniversary of Poland’s membership in NATO; and the 10th anniversary of Poland’s accession to the European Union. “We should all work towards including these anniversaries in the planning of the 77th Pulaski Parade on 5 October 2014,” said the Consul General.
Richard D. Zawisny – President of the Parade Committee served as the Master of Ceremonies. “Annually we celebrate the Pulaski Day Parade on the 1st Sunday of October when more than 2,000,000 Americans of Polish descent from the Tri-State area and beyond show their loyalty and patriotism for the United States while exhibiting pride in their Polish Heritage,” said Zawisny. He said that Pulaski Day and Polish Heritage Month should serve as a reminder “to all Americans of the close bond, the ‘brotherhood-in-arms’, shared by America and Poland. It has been so ever since Kazimierz Pulaski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko served our fledgling nation, and it shall be so for many years to come.”
Following the Invocation by Rev. Raphael Zwolenkiewic, Dorothy Kostecka-Wieczerzak, Secretary of Sons of Poland and Halina Kalitka presented the National Anthems of Poland and the United States; award presentations were made to the 2013 Corporate Sponsors.
In photo on right: Sheriff Richard H. Berdnik and family.
The 2013 Grand Marshal – The Honorable Michal Kulawik presented Sheriff Berdnik as this year’s Grand Marshal.
Eric Piwowarczyk from Polska Szkola-Clifton, NJ performed “Polskie Kwiaty” accompanied by Alexis Link from Polska Szkola Adam Mickiewicz in Passaic, NJ on the flute. The Benediction was given by Rev. Andrzej Salwowski and Kostecka-Wieczerzak and Kalitka performed “Boze Cos Polska” and “God Bless America.” The program concluded with a dance performance by the highlander group – Górale Kolo Jana Sabaly of Clifton, NJ.
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Upcoming Dates:
September 27 – Parade Banquet; October 5 – Parade Mass, Breakfast and Parade
For more information
Website: www.pulaskiparade.org; E-mail: info@pulaskiparade.org; Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/PulaskiDayParade;
Twitter: PulaskiParadeNY.
