We’re counting down all week to this year’s West Seattle Grand Parade – 11 am Saturday (July 18th), rolling southbound on California SW from SW Lander to SW Edmunds – and this afternoon, parade organizers have just announced this year’s Grand Marshal: West Seattle born-and-raised King County Executive Dow Constantine.

(Constantine in another parade of sorts – with Schmitz Park students headed to Log House Museum totem-pole dedication June 2014)
He’s a graduate of West Seattle High School – the campus is steps from where he’ll ride onto the parade route Saturday as Grand Marshal – and is midway through his second term as King County Executive, which was preceded by service on the King County Council and in the State Senate and House, to which he was first elected in 1996. He and wife Shirley Carlson are raising their 1-year-old daughter Sabrina in the same neighborhood where he grew up. (added) His reaction to the Grand Parade Grand Marshal news: “The West Seattle Parade has been a highlight of our family’s summers my whole life. I’ve walked the parade as a Scout, marched in the school band, and appeared as both a candidate and as an elected official. This is the community that raised me, so being asked to serve as Grand Marshal of the parade means a lot to me personally.”

As for the parade itself, a little more background from the just-in announcement:

At this time the parade is scheduled to have more than 80 entries, including parade floats, marching bands, and the only appearance of the Vancouver Police Motorcycle Drill Team, as well as the Seattle Police Motorcycle Drill Team.

The West Seattle Parade Committee is a community service committee of the West Seattle Rotary Club Service Foundation.

We’ll be counting down to the parade all week with more information – and remember that it’s preceded by the 11 am Kiddie Parade – just be at California/Genesee and ready to roll southbound! In addition to Grand Marshal Constantine, another parade VIP has been selected, as previously mentioned here – longtime West Seattle Big Band leader and former WSHS music teacher Donn Weaver, who’ll receive the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Community Service at tomorrow night’s 7 pm Concert in the Park with the WSBB on the east lawn at Hiawatha. More pre-parade info to come!