ALLENTOWN — The Allentown Lions Club’s 2022 Memorial Day parade and memorial service will be held on May 30 beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Parade lineup starts at 9:45 a.m. at North Main Street and Allen Drive. Main Street and High Street will be closed starting at 10:15 a.m. for the duration of the parade.
Upper Freehold Regional School District Superintendent of Schools Mark Guterl will be the grand marshal. Immediately following the parade, there will be a memorial service in the parking lot of the Newell Elementary School.
Parade Chairman Robert Schmitt Jr. said, “It is our pleasure to name Mark Guterl as this year’s parade grand marshal. His steadfast leadership and service to our schools and our children during the last two years and counting of an unprecedented world-wide pandemic has been exemplary.”
Speaking on behalf of the Lions Memorial Day Parade Committee, Schmitt noted that Guterl, his administrative team, the outstanding teachers and staff of UFRSD met and overcame the many COVID-19 challenges faced by the community and so many others throughout New Jersey and around the country.
“Even as Mark piloted the district and the greater school communities of Allentown, Upper Freehold Township and Millstone Township through uncharted waters created by COVID-19, he and our faculty and staff were completely focused on continuing to provide our children with the best education possible under the most impossible conditions,” Schmitt said. “The
committee recognizes that Mark Guterl worked tirelessly to keep everyone safe and healthy and served our extended community well.”
“It is such an incredible honor to be named parade grand marshal,” said Guterl, 48, of Millstone Township. “It is both humbling and a great thrill. I thank the Allentown Lions Club Parade Committee and the Lions membership for thinking of me. It feels great to be recognized.”
Guterl has spent 18 of his 28 years in education in the Allentown-Upper Freehold school system.
“We, as educators, must completely invest in our students and the community will invest in us,” he said. “To that end, we work hard to also instill a sense of school and community pride in our students. It is important that they understand that service is part of who we are at UFRSD.”
Originally from Somerville, Guterl lives in Millstone Township with his wife Jessica, and their three daughters, Grayson, Kenley and Kaylen.
“Our Motto is ‘We Serve,’ ” Lions Club President Steve Stein said. ““Superintendent Guterl found himself in the midst of a two-year long perfect storm. At every turn, he, time and again, put the health and safety of his students first. Mark Guterl represents the perseverance and personal integrity required to be of service to others.”
The parade will travel down Main Street, turn up High Street past the VIP viewing
stand at the Allentown Presbyterian Church, and finish at the Newell Elementary School parking lot. A memorial service will take place immediately following the parade.
Parade-goers are advised to arrive early to find a viewing spot along the parade route as the Allentown Police Department will have the road closed by approximately 10 a.m., according to a press release from the Lions Club.