Gray, Schoon named parade grand marshals

     Back in February, the Monticello Fourth of July Parade Committee announced they were seeking the public's help in nominating someone (an individual, more than one person, a group of people) to serve as grand marshal(s) of the Fourth of July Parade.

   Nominations were sought through mid-March.

   The committee has now announced that Dennis Gray and Penny Schoon were named grand marshals.

   The theme for this year's parade is "Celebrating Old Glory." The committee wanted to honor someone/people who fit the theme.

   "The theme was our guiding decision," said Quinn Phelan, co-leader of the Parade Committee. "The committee felt very strongly that Denny and Penny exemplified that."

   Committee member Mareda Pierce shared that the term "Old Glory" was coined by Captain William Driver in the 1820s. The flag, with just 24 stars on it, was sewn for Driver by his mother and other women of his hometown of Salem, Mass. Legend has it, as Driver raised the flag on the main mast of his ship, the Charles Doggett, he exclaimed, "My ship. My country. My flag. Old Glory."

   Fifty years later, that same flag was passed down to Driver's daughter, Mary Jane Roland.

   Today, the flag is on display in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

   Gray and Schoon, both of Monticello, are veterans and continue to serve their fellow veterans in various ways.

   Gray graduated from high school in 1968 and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in January 1969. Over a period of a year and a half, he went through basic training and technical school.

   He would be placed at McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, Calif., where he worked on Lockheed EC-121 aircraft.

   A year later, Gray spent a year touring Thailand.

   When he returned to California, he spent the remainder of his enlistment doing two tours of duty in Iceland.

   "Our mission was early morning reconnaissance," he said.

   Gray was discharged in January 1973, and he came back to Iowa to settle down.

   He joined the Monticello Drill Team and was elected commander, an office he still holds to this day.

   Gray is also involved in the AMVETS, Monticello VFW Post #1683, and American Legion Post #209. He serves as a commissioner of the Jones County Veterans Affairs.

   "I am very involved in making sure patriotism is alive and well in Monticello, Iowa," Gray said.

   Schoon attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated in 1970 with a bachelor of science degree in nursing.

   She would later return to school in 1996 at Oklahoma State University, earning a master's in applied science.

   Schoon joined the Air Force Reserves and served from 1981-87. She was a clinic nurse and earned the rank of captain.

   From 1987-2002, she joined the Air Force National Guard in Oklahoma. She worked as a flight nurse examiner with the 137^th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.

   In the early '90s, Schoon deployed to Saudi Arabia as a flight nurse as part of Desert Shield, as well as to England as part of Desert Storm.

   In 2003, Schoon moved to Monticello and married Dave Schoon two years later.

   She worked in the operating room at St. Luke's Hospital from 2003-08.

   Schoon's service includes being a commissioner of the Jones County Veterans Affairs since 2013 and an active member of VFW Post #1683. She's been quartermaster since 2020.

   Schoon has also been a volunteer on the Monticello Heritage and Cultural Center board since 2007.

   The Parade Committee received 13 nominations for grand marshal. Those submitting nominations were asked to share a little biography of the person(s) they were nominating.

   In the past, it was the committee, made up of all volunteers, who choose the grand marshal(s) for the parade every year.

   "We wanted to get more people, the community, involved in that decision," Phelan said.

   "We wanted to make sure we weren't overlooking anyone," added co-leader of the Parade Committee, Tom Osborne.

   The process worked out quite well, and the committee plans to seek grand marshal nominations again next year.

   "We want to see people matched with the theme each year," said Phelan.