YORK, Pa. — Kelley Gibson, president of the Cultural Alliance of York County, will serve as grand marshal of the 2024 York St. Patrick's Day Parade, the parade committee announced Wednesday.
Being awarded the title of grand marshal "is the highest local honor given to a person who has distinguished themselves as a loyal person to their career, family and community," parade organizers said in a press release.
The parade will be held on Saturday, March 16.
Gibson, the fifth of six children born to Frank Fay and Theresa Johnson in Jackson, New Jersey, grew up with fierce pride in her Irish heritage, which traces back to Galway, Longford and Cork, the counties in Ireland where all of her great-grandparents hail from.
Kelley's name means "warrior" in Gaelic.
Gibson came to York in the late 1990s, when she attended York College to pursue her Bachelor of Arts degree. She and her husband, Joel, met in college and married in 1999. They volunteered for their first St. Patrick's Day parade in 2000 and have been helping out ever since.
Today, Gibson serves as president of the Cultural Alliance of York County, an organization dedicated to supporting arts and culture organizations, as well as artists. She also serves as Board Chair of Citizens for the Arts, is a member of the Board of the Rotary Club of York, serves as a member of the Women's Giving Circle and is on the marketing committee for the Farm and Natural Lands Trust.
Gibson is a two-time recipient of the Downtown First Volunteer of the Year Award and was voted one of York College's Outstanding Alumni.
