St. Bernard Irish Italian Islenos Community Parade will hit the streets of Chalmette

The 17th annual St. Bernard Irish Italian Islenos Community Parade will hit the streets of Chalmette, LA on Saturday, April 14, 2018. The marchers will begin at 11:00 AM followed by nearly 50 floats, 40+ marching groups, and units including dance groups, horse groups, motorcycle units, bands, and much more. The floats will be tossing nearly 500,000 pounds of produce including cabbage, potatoes, onions, carrots, bananas, oranges, lemons, pineapples and more. The parade theme for 2018 will “Celebrate the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s” and thousands of t-shirts, cups, and frisbees will be tossed with the parade themed logo.

The parade will start at the St. Bernard Civic Center / Government Complex grounds, will travel West to Dr. Meraux Blvd, make a u-turn and proceed East to Ventura Drive (Today’s Ketch Seafood and Gerald’s Donuts Chalmette) where it will u-turn one final time and proceed back West to the starting point at the St. Bernard Civic Center / Government Complex grounds. The route is approximately 5.5 miles long.

Parade President Chad O’Neil loves to welcome all to one of the largest events annually in St. Bernard Parish. “We like to think of this event as the St. Bernard version of Endymion in New Orleans. We pack the parade route, we barbeque and boil seafood on neutral grounds and families enjoy the festivities. Our spectators love to catch the parade on both sides of Judge Perez Drive so they get to see 50 floats pass twice, as well as heading home with a week or more of groceries. We also believe this is a day to celebrate anyone who has ever called St. Bernard home and residents from many different States report visiting Chalmette on parade day.”

Look for the St. Bernard Irish Italian Islenos Parade royalty to be featured on float # 1. The 2018 royalty will feature our KING, Patrick “PJ” Turner, and QUEEN, Jaylynn Bergeron Turner who will reign over the parade.

Patrick Turner is this year’s King of the 17th annual St. Bernard Irish Italian Islenos Community Parade. Patrick grew up in Chalmette as the son of Patrick and Rusty Turner and is a graduate of Promised Land Academy. He has been married since 1994 to Jaylynn Bergeron Turner, and they are the proud parents of a son and daughter.

Patrick has been a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #130 for over 25 years and has been previously employed by Lucent Technologies, Tyco Electronics, and General Electric. Being a longtime fan of hunting and fishing, he left his dream job to work in his ultimate dream job – the proprietor of Hopedale Marina, the local commercial and recreational fishing hotspot in lower St. Bernard.

As running a marina involves much hard work and long hours, when not “down the road”, Patrick enjoys spending time with his family, friends, and neighbors at parish events and block parties, and of course, fishing!

Jaylynn Bergeron Turner is this year’s Queen of the 17th annual St. Bernard Irish Italian­ Islenos Community Parade. Mrs. Turner is a Certified Louisiana Assessor, currently serving her second term as Assessor of St. Bernard Parish. She has previously served the public as a former Deputy Assessor as well as Deputy Clerk of Court. Additionally, she has worked as a licensed Louisiana realtor and appraisal assistant.

Jaylynn is a lifelong resident of St. Bernard and was raised in lower St. Bernard by her parents Roland (“Jady”) and Linda Bergeron, and is a graduate of Lynn Oaks School in St. Bernard. She has been married to Patrick J. Turner for over 24 years and they are the parents of two children, Hailey and Patrick, Jr.

She is a proud member of the Los Islenos Heritage and Cultural Society and was most recently seen there at their annual Fiesta flipping burgers and serving hot dogs to the hungry attendees. Jaylynn is also a longtime member of the St. Bernard Parish Business and Professional Women’s Club, Suburban Women’s Club and more recently, a new member of the Rotary Club of St. Bernard. When not serving the public, she enjoys her truly amateur status as an artist/painter and spending time with her family and their new labrador retriever puppy, Jack.

On Float # 2 look for the Parade Princesses, young ladies ranging from 10 to 18 years old who represent their Irish, Italian and Islenos heritages. Here is the list of Princesses in alphabetical order… Mary Avenel, Madeleine DeFraites, Alexandria Dotson, Destiny Greely, Helena Hansen, Jazmin Jeansonne, Erica Lambert, Megan Lasha, Tiffany Lasha, Isabella Meyer, Kayla Olson, Isabella Pezold, Avah Sampere, and Riley Turnage.

The 2018 Grand Marshal will be the recently retired “VOICE OF THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS” Jim Henderson. Mr. Henderson will ride with his family on float # 3.

James “Jim” Harmon Henderson (born July 29, 1946) is a legendary American sportscaster based in New Orleans and known as the “VOICE OF THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS”. He was the radio voice announcer of the New Orleans Saints for 31 years and also worked as a football analyst for WVUE-DT from 2012 to 2018. Before that, he worked for WWL-TV from May 8, 1978, to January 31, 2012.

A former English teacher, Henderson began reporting on Little League baseball games in his native Rochester, New York. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in English from the State University of New York at Cortland, Henderson went on to achieve a Masters in Radio and Television at Syracuse University.

Henderson began his sports reporting career with the sports director position at a Panama City station, then became a sports reporter in Atlanta. Henderson joined WWL-TV on May 1, 1978, when he was offered a job as a sportscaster, succeeding the retiring Lloyd “Hap” Glaudi. Henderson and news anchors Garland Robinette and Angela Hill and with Meteorologist Nash Roberts helped channel 4 become the dominant station in New Orleans.

Henderson is a 13-time winner of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association’s Sportscaster of the Year Award, an award conferred by sports journalists from all over Louisiana. Henderson regularly traveled to the Super Bowl, The Masters, and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game because of his work as a reporter for CBS Newspath.

Henderson was the play-by-play announcer on Saints radio broadcasts from 1986 through 2017, formerly teaming with former Saints quarterback Archie Manning. Henderson and Manning broadcast Saints games to listeners (and preseason TV viewers) from 1986 to 1997, with the exception of the 1990 season (when Henderson called regional NFL telecasts on CBS). Henderson went on to team with former Saints running back Hokie Gajan on the radio. Gajan died in 2016 and Deuce McAllister took over as the color analyst. Henderson was at the microphone for both of the Saints’ NFC Championship Game appearances, in 2006 and 2009, as well as their appearance in Super Bowl XLIV.

In August 2012, six months after retiring from WWL, Henderson joined rival station WVUE-DT, owned by Saints owner Tom Benson, as an analyst and commentator for the Saints.

Henderson occasionally works with Spencer Tillman on some College Football when Tim Brando is away. On Feb. 1, 2018, Henderson announced that he is fully retiring from broadcasting.

Henderson has residences in both Poplarville, Mississippi, and Mandeville, Louisiana. He is married and has two grown children.

The nearly 50 Blaine Kern floats will feature approximately 1,500 riders and carrying produce mostly provided by B & G Fresh Market, 501 W. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, LA. Other than produce, shirts, cups, and frisbees the riders will toss other food items, beads and specialty produce such as mini watermelons, kiwi, sweet potatoes, red cabbage, cantaloupes and much more.