It is with great pride and pleasure that I announce that our Gilda has been chosen as this year’s Grand Marshal of the Ocean County Columbus Day Parade. The largest New Jersey parade celebrating Columbus! I will send the specifics for the Columbus dinner inaugurating Gilda Rorro as the Grand Marshal, along with the parade details. The dinner will occur in August and the parade is in October.

The Ocean County celebration is a declaration of our culture and history that has occurred for over three decades. It is a statement that we, along with Gilda, will continue our efforts in remedying the wrong of removing statues that has taken place in Trenton and elsewhere.

Please find here below the nomination letter given to the Ocean County Parade GM selection committee. I want to thank Dr. Eileen Poiani for raising the discussion that brought us to nominating the most exceptional person for this honor.

---------

Dear Committee:

As a past Grand Marshal, I know how difficult it is to select a Grand Marshal. I was humbled during this experience knowing the vast number of deserving Italian Americans in our community who were in the running. This is an honor I cherish and is the pinnacle moment in my career as an Italian American activist, striving to enhance the legacy of our culture and history.

I now place in nomination for the 2022 Grand Marshal, Gilda Rorro Baldassari. I could write a book on everything I have witnessed and experienced with her over decades. She is the consummate example on how to educate the public and to sway our collective differences across all cultures into a cohesive resolute drive for critical thinking, using fact-based research and reasoning to inspire a desire in our students, our next generation, to continue in these efforts. She is the Chair of the NJIHC Education Committee that developed the “Universality of Italian Heritage” and is continually merging current topics into the curriculum.

The Ocean County Columbus Day Parade is quite familiar with the New Jersey Italian Heritage Commission that has been an ardent supporter in the on-going annual festivities so successfully orchestrated by your committee. We remain a proud member of your community and committee. As such, Gilda Rorro Baldassari and the NJIHC Chair have demonstrated our dedication to promoting Italian culture and heritage. I attach an impressive, encapsulated biography for your consideration as recently penned by Gilda’s publisher.