The Sentinel-Record - HER - Hot Springs
Takin' it To The Street
Biggest Little Parade in the South
On March 17, downtown Hot Springs will turn a lovely shade of green as crowds gather for the festivities of the First Ever 11th Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade. This is one day out of the year when everyone in Hot Springs is at least a little bit Irish.
As the event marches its way into the next decade of First Ever World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parades, it’s only fitting to have one of the city’s most well-known couples — who have been involved with the parade since the beginning — as the Shamrock King and Queen.
Tom and Mary Daniel are lifetime residents of Hot Springs and have been involved in the community for years, taking pride in showing outsiders just how wonderful their hometown is.
“It’s really been a dream to live in a place like this, and we’re extremely proud of this place,” Tom said. “Since I was a little boy at Oaklawn School, I’ve been proud of Hot Springs and its rich history.”
Having been happily married for 22 years, the couple has four children, seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter, and are active members of Central Baptist Church.
Mary retired in May of 2013 from Summit Bank after more than 45 years in the banking business. Through both of their careers, she and Tom have been active in many organizations and events around town.
While Mary has in years past been involved with the Hot Springs Housing Authority Board, Tom has been active with the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion Commission, past president of the Downtown Association of Hot Springs and of Oaklawn Rotary Club, and served eight years as District 6 city director.
The highlight of all of their involvement has always been celebrating their community, and doing so together is the only way they would want it, adding that “if it’s for Hot Springs, it’s dear to us.”
“Being in the fireworks business, we’ve been blessed to be a part of every major celebration in Hot Springs,” Tom said. “Life has so many wonderful things to offer, and when you have fond memories like these, what more could you ask for?”
The parade, which for Mary is “a great kick-off to spring,” is an event the Daniels look forward to every year, and their positive perspective on the contributions Visit Hot Springs CEO Steve Arrison has made on the city brings a sense of community to anyone able to converse with them.
“Being positive about Hot Springs is
something we care a lot about and we were very fortunate when Steve came on board,” Tom said. “He was a phenomenal hire and the rest of the accomplishments the city has seen in promoting ourselves is history. It’s a dream to live in a place as lively as this.”
The day of the parade is sure to be full of memory-making as the two mingle with celebrity grand marshal, actor Jim Belushi, parade starter “Duck Dynasty’s” Mountain Man and four of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders who are returning for a second year, and will judge the kissing of the Blarney Stone.
Belushi, best known for his work in TV, film and on stage, is a proud Chicagoan very familiar with the holiday, as Chicago boasts one of the more over-the-top St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the U.S.
Always up for a good time, Belushi said he is ready to see what the day in Hot Springs holds for him, much like the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
The cheerleaders — Lauren Williams, Nicole Bulcher, Jacie Scott and Kinzie Rusco — enjoyed rallying the crowds at last year’s parade so much that it was no question of whether they would return when the committee invited them back.
And the festivities wouldn’t be complete without additions to the list of traditions, including Mountain Man as the first-ever official parade starter — though his slow Southern drawl is sure to make his parade introduction longer than the parade itself.
But even in the midst of celebrities, the Daniels are planning to include a few special guests of their own in the festivities.
“We’re turning this into a family event because we want our grandchildren to ride in the parade with us,” Mary said. “We feel very fortunate to have been chosen and want to share this experience with them.”
Because despite the big event the parade has become, it’s the simple aspects of seeing old friends and enjoying an event that is “purely for fun” that makes it so appealing. “In the past we’ve always been excited to go to the day’s events, but this year we’re actually a part of it all,” Mary said. “We’re just so excited to get out and welcome everyone to Hot Springs and welcome the spring season.”
It is a sentiment that Tom agrees with, adding that the economic and novelty aspects are a boost that the city “could have never purchased.”
“You think of this being in the Guinness Book of World Records and what great advertising that is for Hot Springs,” Tom said. “People get excited to come here and be a part of it, and getting to be the king and queen of this event is the emerald icing on the green cake — with green candles and shamrock sprinkles, of course.”
“... getting to be the king and queen of this event is the emerald icing on the green cake.”