St. Patrick’s Committee Names James M. Lavelle as 2025 Grand Marshal

At its August 13th, 2024 general membership meeting, the St. Patrick’s Committee of Holyoke announced that its 72nd Grand Marshal is James M. Lavelle.

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.

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 Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade and their proud Irish ancestry runs deep with the Lavelle family. James’ father, Bernard “Bernie” M. Lavelle, Jr. was a very active member of the St. Patrick’s Committee having led the Parade as Grand Marshal in 1988 and James’ daughter, Grace, was a member of the Grand Colleen Court in 2016.

James is General Manager of Holyoke Gas and Electric (HG&E) which provides gas, electric and telecommunications services to its customers. Through Jim’s leadership, HG&E has implemented innovative projects, such as acquisition of the Holyoke Dam and Canal system and the development of solar and energy storage, that not only benefit customers and the environment, but have also been recognized through several achievements, including the 2021 & 2023 Utility Transformation Leaderboard by the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA).

He 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. Jim 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.

James also enjoys giving back to his community having served as a Trustee for Holyoke Community 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.

“I am excited that we are honoring Holyoke native, James Lavelle, as Grand Marshal,” said John Beaulieu, Parade President. “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.”

“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 James. “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 Lavelle will be honored at the Grand Marshal's Reception on Friday, January 17, 2025, at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. For more details or to purchase tickets to the reception, please contact Stephanie Joyce (stef0816@comcast.net).