Generally Speaking: Scholarship queen to lead the Ragamuffin Parade

Perhaps best known for her leadership as the administrator of the Kassenbrock Brothers Memorial Scholarship Fund, Mary Ann Walsh has been chosen as this year’s grand marshal of the 49th annual Children’s Ragamuffin Parade. The volunteer fund that she has been shepherding for decades has been providing over $40,000 dollars each year to deserving high school students, to help with their college tuition.

In addition, she has served as first vice president and executive secretary, and a member of the board of directors of the Bay Ridge Community Council. She has also served many years as a member and officer of Community Board 10.

On Sunday, September 27, she will be honored along with 2015 Ragamuffin Man of the Year Steven Oliver, at the annual Ragamuffin Luncheon at the Bay Ridge Manor, 476 76th Street at 12:30 p.m. The event is a major fundraiser for this year’s parade which takes place on October 3, along Third Avenue.

Oliver, a popular businessman, is well known for his charitable support of many community-based organizations and also serves as the basketball coach for the all-girls Fontbonne Hall Academy on Shore Road.

Over three generations of children have marched in the annual Children’s Ragamuffin Parade in Bay Ridge.  It has also spawned similar Ragamuffin marches or kids’ Halloween-type parades in other New York neighborhoods, and in towns and cities across the country. It all started back in 1967.

We encourage anyone who marched in the parade as a youth, or has had his or her child or grandchild in prior parades, to help by buying a ticket to the luncheon or sending a contribution to the parade committee. Luncheon reservations are $65 each and  can be made by calling 718-833-4928, or mailing a check made payable to Ragamuffin, Inc., 9728 Third Avenue, Suite #504, Brooklyn, NY 11209.

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Now that the respective political parties have selected their candidates to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of former 46th A.D. Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny, thus far three groups have indicated plans to hold debates between the two candidates, Republican/Conservative Lucretia Regina-Potter and Democrat Pam Harris. They are the Bay Ridge Inter-agency Council on Aging, the Dyker Heights Civic Association and the Bay Ridge Community Council.

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Attorney Joanne Seminara, past chair of Community Board 10, was the guest speaker at the September monthly meeting of the Bay Ridge AARP where she spoke about elder law and estate planning.

Also stopping by to address the AARPers was Fran Vella-Marrone, Brooklyn manager for Congressmember Daniel Donovan, and City Council Deputy Leader Vinnie Gentile.