Several weeks before Sarah left for Salt Lake City, the community decided to give Sarah a parade in honor of her outstanding achievement of making the United States Olympic team. Following her world-renowned, stunning gold medal performance in the long program, we quickly realized that Sarah's homecoming parade would become an international media event. When John Hughes called from Salt Lake City and stated that Sarah had a very busy schedule but would be available Sunday, March 3, we realized that a parade that the world would be watching would have to be planned, organized and executed in just five days. How could our community achieve this almost impossible task - especially considering Great Neck is a community with nine incorporated villages, unincorporated Town of North Hempstead, five police departments, three fire departments, multiple business districts and hundreds of community organizations? The answer to the world was ... only Great Neck could accomplish this outstanding achievement.

A small, dedicated committee was formed that would allow for quick decision-making, and leadership control with direct oversight. The committee had the support of hundreds of individuals, government officials, the school district, and numerous community and business organizations. The sheer volume of work and details that needed to be accomplished in a very short time, made every hour of work contributed of major importance. However, there were some individuals and organizations that put forth hundreds of hours of work to achieve the goal set by the committee. The goal being to honor Sarah Hughes and present the beauty, spirit and pride of Great Neck, a wonderful community and special place we all call "home."

Since Middle Neck Road is a county road, the Nassau County Police Department is charged with the orderly and safe movement of pedestrians and vehicles down the parade route. Inspector George Morrish and Lieutenant Kevin Canavan of the Nassau County Police attended every meeting and stood by our side on every decision concerning the parade. They marshaled the motorcycle, mounted and over 70 auxiliary police, and worked closely with the Special Investigations Squad, State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation, State and Nassau County Offices of Emergency Management and our four local police departments. Police Detective Matt Bradley, Sergeant Gregory Quinn and Detective Anita Chinn did a super job dealing with the crush of spectators wanting to congratulate Sarah. Police officers often have to say, "No, you cannot do that." However, their participation in the parade was characterized with, "If you need that done, we can do it."

Our three volunteer fire departments contributed equipment, manpower and expertise to make the parade both exciting and safe. Their display of flags from ladder trucks added a beautiful festive touch. They set up a command post at the North High School to immediately respond to any emergency that may have required their assistance. (Fortunately, there were none!) The firemen also manned many areas along the parade route to ensure the safety of those attending the parade.

Our sponsors who each made a generous contribution toward the parade, and special gifts donated to Sarah and the community, proved to be exceptional in both their cooperation and presentations. Jewels by Viggi & Cartier, Cablevision/News 12 Long Island, NY Rangers, and Fleet Bank should be recognized for their support, generosity, and the manner in which they made their presentations to Sarah. Newsday donated the printing expense of 5,000 programs for March 3 and then without hesitation, donated an additional 5,000 programs for March 10, when it was realized that there were changes in the program participants which necessitated a reprinting.

Sarah's day would not have been the major success that it proved to be, without the support of the business community. Beiner Nissan Audi on Northern Boulevard provided 15 Audi TT convertible sports cars for the dignitaries in the parade, while B.C. Benjamin Auto Sales Inc. on Great Neck Road provided four Rolls Royce convertibles for Sarah and her family. Video Visions and Video Walltronics provided the jumbo screen LED display panel so that everyone had a front row seat. Celebrity Florist decorated the stage with beautiful flowers and provided a gorgeous bouquet for Sarah at the end of the ceremony. The Great Neck Chamber of Commerce and the Great Neck Plaza BID encouraged our business community to decorate store windows and storefronts all along Middle Neck Road. The theme of "lining the parade route in gold" was evident from every vantage point, even a gold stripe was painted on the road a day before the event to demarcate the special route.

A special mention of thanks to Zimmerman/Edelson, Inc., a public relations and marketing firm located in Great Neck, which agreed to handle the press pro bono. Robert Zimmerman, Ron Edelson and their staff did an admirable job of handling the media and the international attention and coverage that a parade/ceremony for Sarah Hughes generates.

The committee not only had to plan a parade, but a reception for Sarah that began at 9:30 a.m. and a ceremony at North High School that was held at 1 p.m. These activities could not have been possible without the dedicated employees of the Great Neck Park District and the Village of Great Neck Plaza. Park District employees were responsible for the sound at the ceremony; Peter Renick and Jeff Friedman professionally handled these audio requirements. Lisa Spielman ably handled the duties of stage manager. Admissions and crowd control, and presentations by Sean Perera and Ed McCann, and parade logistics were handled by Bobby Wanczowski. The Parkwood snack bar provided a delicious buffet for the parade reception and Fred Ondris made sure the ice rink would be prepared to receive Sarah and her family and friends. Park attendants put up barriers, directed parade participants and provided crowd control at the ceremony.

Great Neck Plaza Commissioner of Public Services, Michael Sweeney, and Building Inspector Joseph Diaz, worked on the many details of organizing all aspects of the parade, including areas at the start of the parade, along the route and at the high school. Mr. Sweeney dealt with many of the parade participants and provided all the logistics to bring the Macy's float to the parade. Other Plaza employees under the direction of DPW Commissioner Robert Shore provided assistance to all aspects of the parade. Roy Quallotine and his staff of code enforcement officers assisting in directing participants to designated parking areas, creating restricted parking areas along the route, relocating the LI Bus services temporarily during the parade in the Plaza; as well as many additional details to maintain an orderly flow and assembly of viewers in the downtown Plaza areas.

The offices of both the Park District and the Village of Great Neck Plaza answered hundreds of phone calls about the parade. They provided invaluable assistance to the committee; writing, typing, answering questions, proofreading, and participating in every detail. Special recognition must go to JoAnne Rosenfeld, Carol Teplin, Trish Giodano, Fern Weiss and Arlene Shapiro, for their tireless efforts on behalf of the parade committee. Carol Rosenfeld designed and did the layout for the program. Carol Teplin handled all of the arrangements and notifications of logistics, etc. to the dignitaries, sponsors and supporters. Town Supervisor May Newburger, provided the assistance of her director of public affairs, Lauren Corcoran who attended daily meetings and assisted in all parade related activities. Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi also provided us with Great Neck resident, Rafael Lieber, from his staff, to be sure that county assistance was readily available.

When it was decided that the parade would end at North High School, a telephone call to Dr. William Shine was required to determine if the school district would be receptive to this suggestion. Dr. Shine immediately placed the support of the public schools behind the parade committee and offered the assistance of school personnel. The point person from the public school to the committee was Patty Hugo. She attended meetings and was extremely cooperative in working with the many details that the ceremony at the school required. In addition to the musical entertainment throughout the program at the ceremony, a special recognition goes to the Great Neck North High School band, which provided beautiful interlude music played from within the school's front entranceway and corridor, out of sight from the public's viewing, and contributed greatly to the wonderful tribute to their classmate, Sarah.

We would like to offer a special "Thank You" to our elected officials. They participated, attended, and kept their comments within the one-minute time limit that was allocated by the committee. This provided both importance and interest to a ceremony that lasted one hour and seven minutes.

The outstanding people mentioned above assisted the parade committee to plan a parade in just five days. However, the weather did not cooperate. The prediction of heavy rain and high winds caused concern for the safety of the thousands who would be attending as spectators of an outdoor parade and ceremony. After a three-hour meeting and discussions with the National Weather Service, the Nassau County Police and Emergency Management Office, the Great Neck Fire Departments and other emergency officials, and input from the Hughes family, it was decided to postpone the parade until the following Sunday. The parade committee now had to print new programs, make new arrangements with those attending, continue to deal with the press, and answer the many inquiries being made about the postponed parade.

The parade finally took place on a beautiful, sunny day. We would like to thank all those individuals who made the parade not only extremely successful but also the largest attended event on the Great Neck Peninsula. We would also like to thank the many individuals who called and wrote cards and letters about how much they enjoyed the day's activities.

We, and the Great Neck community, all had a great time and especially felt the efforts were well worth it when we saw Sarah's exuberant smile in the parade and heard her lovely and touching remarks at the high school ceremony. This day will be remembered for years to come and you, Sarah, are forever Great Neck's Golden Girl.

Richard A. Arenella and Jean A. Celender

Event Coordinators