2016 Harvest of Harmony Grand Marshals Announced
NTV's own Kent Boughton is one of the grand marshals for this year's Harvest of Harmony Parade.
The Grand Island Chamber of Commerce announced Monday that Boughton and Joe Wicks will serve as the parade's grand marshals. This year the parade celebrates its 75th anniversary, and the committee says they selected these two because of their dedication to the parade's success.
Boughton has been in broadcasting for 44 years, currently serving as chief meteorologist of NTV’s First Alert Weather Team. He and his wife Lori live on a farm near Grand Island, and they enjoy spending time with their children, grandchildren and pets.
Boughton is an advocate for the outdoors, serving as board president of the National Wild Turkey Federation, volunteering for several hunting and fishing organizations, and receiving several prestigious awards for his work with education and conservation.
This year marks Boughton's 26th anniversary as the announcer for the Harvest of Harmony Field Competition.
Joe Wicks is a Grand Island native. He currently works at Charter Communications. He also is a member of the Knights of Columbus, provides music ministry at St. Leo’s Parish, and has been a musician for Grand Island Little Theatre. He and his wife Carolyn also volunteer at the Grand Theater and have hosted eight foreign exchange students over the last 23 years. They have one daughter, Amy.
Wicks has been involved with Harvest of Harmony as Stadium Chairman since 1993, a position he has only recently stepped down from. In his 22 years of service on the Harvest of Harmony Committee, he has seen many parades, including the 1996 Guinness Book of Records year, where 130 bands from across Nebraska converged on Grand Island to help the parade break a World Record. Wicks served as Parade Chairman that year.
“With the support of the community and the dedication of our volunteers, we’ve been able to put on an amazing parade year after year. Our 75th anniversary is something special, and we are very proud to be honoring a couple individuals who have given many great years of service to this parade,” said Jim Ward, Harvest of Harmony Chairman.
The theme for this year's parade is “Our Diamond Jubilee: An Illustrious Past and a Bright Future.”
The Harvest of Harmony Parade, sponsored by Tom Dinsdale Automotive, will take place Saturday, October 1, kicking off at 8:15 a.m. on Third Street in downtown Grand Island.
