Four people have been selected to serve as aides to the grand marshals of the 2018 Carbon County St. Patrick’s Day Parade which will be held at 1 p.m. March 11 on upper Broadway in Jim Thorpe.

Named as aides are Pat Crowley and Joseph Kennedy, both of Jim Thorpe; Marcia Evans of Lake Hauto; and Kathy Crampsie of Summit Hill.

Noel and Bernadette Behan will serve as co-grand marshals of the event that is expected to attract more than 10,000 visitors to Jim Thorpe in celebration of Irish heritage.

The 21st annual parade is being organized by the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee of Carbon County/Jim Thorpe, a spinoff of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Alec Campbell Division 1, Carbon County, and the Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, Mollie Maguire Division 1, Carbon County.

The aides are:

Pat Crowley

Involved with the Alec Campbell Mauch Chunk Division 1 of the AOH since its inception in 1996, Pat was elected its first marshal and, since that time, has been actively involved in the organization and formation of the parade divisions.

A lifelong resident of Jim Thorpe, he is married to the former Carol Makara of Summit Hill. They are the parents of Tahnee and Patrick.

Pat is a two-time inductee in the Jim Thorpe Area Sports Hall of Fame for football and wrestling.

He retired in December 2016 from the Stroudsburg Area School District, where he was a maintenance technician.

In retirement, Pat has enjoyed volunteering as an assistant varsity wrestling coach in the Jim Thorpe Area School District and conducts an offseason conditioning program. He also donates his time to the Carbon County Animal Shelter.

He is a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Jim Thorpe.

Marcia Evans

Born and raised in Coaldale, Marcia attended Coaldale public schools, eventually graduating from Panther Valley High School in the early years of the jointure. She married her high school sweetheart, AOH Vice President Dan “Deacon” Evans, and they raised three children, Kerry, Coreen and Daniel, while they moved around the country, eventually settling in Lake Hauto in 1978. They have six grandchildren, Dominic, who joined the AOH last year when he marched in his first parade, Cara, Braedyn, Brooke, Addison and Daniel Patrick.

Marcia graduated from Kutztown University in 1989 and taught language arts at Marian Catholic High School until 2009. In 1991, she was recognized nationally as one of the best 100 New Teachers in the U.S. Her story, “A Pearl of Great Value,” about a teacher’s influence on her life, was published in Guidepost Magazine in 1992 and later in Readers’ Digest and Chicken Soup for the Soul.

She was named a National Endowment Humanitarian Fellow in 1993 and 1994 and attended summer study at The Folger Library, Washington, D.C., and Wesleyan University’s campus in Florence, Italy. In 2001, she received the Young Alumni Award from Kutztown University. She holds a master’s degree from Wilkes University.

Throughout her life, Marcia has enjoyed music in all forms. She was an organist for Sacred Heart Church, Lake Hauto chapel, from 1982 until it closed in 2002. She conducted a teenage folk guitar ensemble, “The Voice,” during the early 1980s and participated in the Mauch Chunk Opera House Community Theater from 1984-96.

Marcia sings in the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church choir and has been a member since 1998 of the Bach and Handel Chorale, both of Jim Thorpe.

She and aide Kathy Crampsie join voices for the annual AOH Day of the Rope Mass in June and the St. Patrick’s Day Mass in March.

She tutored at the Carbon Career & Technical Institute, Jim Thorpe, for a few years, and currently coordinates volunteers and services for the Lake Hauto Beautification Committee.

She and Dan will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this summer.

Joseph Kennedy

Joseph “Jody” Kennedy is a lifelong resident of Carbon County with deep ties to the community.

He worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

He is married to Helene (a psychologist at Behavioral Health Associates), and is the father of Erin (a veterinarian technician) and grandfather of Sadie O’Donnell.

Jody’s mother was Mary (Sweeney) Kennedy, of Nesquehoning, and his father, Joseph Kennedy, of Lansford, a proud member of the Men of Marian.

Jody has been a member of the AOH since its return and ardently supported Pat Crowley, Noel Behan and Hughie O’Donnell, along with dedicated others, in bringing back the AOH to Carbon County, having been the local chapter’s first sentinel.

Jody is also a member of musical bands, including Becky and the Beasts, and the Shell Shocked Churchills, and, in doing so, plays for charitable events supporting community initiatives and the fight against cancer.

Kathy Crampsie

A prominent face throughout the Panther Valley community, Kathy Crampsie for decades has shared her musical talents and ministries, primarily at St. Joseph Catholic Church of the Panther Valley, Summit Hill.

The wife of Carbon County Controller Robert M. Crampsie, Kathy is a noted soloist and guitarist, volunteering her time by playing and singing at many functions, including the Annual Hibernian and Mass of the Rope events.

Children have always played an important role in Kathy’s life, as she coached softball, volleyball and cheerleading, and started a children’s choir and a children’s guitar group, “Kathy’s Angels.” She mentored scores of young boys and girls and became a leading participant in St. Joseph’s Church choir and music ministry. One of her favorite highlights was when the children’s choir she directed sang the national anthem in 1990 at a Philadelphia Phillies game.

At the former Our Lady of the Angels Academy in Lansford, Kathy provided music ministry for Friday Mass, and, at Panther Valley High School, for more than 25 years she has codirected the annual Harmony Scholars program that helps to raise scholarship money and donations for the American Cancer Society.

Kathy is very proud of her Irish heritage, being a second generation born in America (her grandparents came to this country in the early 1900s).

In 2015, the Panther Valley Irish American Association honored her lifetime of service by presenting to her its annual Shamrock Award.

She is currently a volunteer instructor for the PREP program at St. Joseph’s Church, a member of the Summit Hill Lions Club and vice president of the Panther Valley Library Board. She was elected in November to serve as the Summit Hill tax collector.

She and her husband have four children, Colleen, wife of Gino Giantesano; Kara, wife of David Nocek; Michael, and his wife, Melissa; and Meghan, wife of Daniel Blazosky. They are the grandparents of Taylor, Cole, Lina, Gino, Carlin, Danika, Jack, Quinn and Marida.