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The individual must be a resident of Morton (now or in the past) and been of service to the community or brought distinguished credit to Morton. The individual need not be a business person or a Chamber member. We will begin accepting nominations for the 2023 Morton Pumpkin Festival Parade Marshal in May 2023.
Born and raised in Normal, Illinois, Gary Watson started his career in Morton in 1981 as the Morton Park District Director and continued in this role for 34 years until his retirement in 2015. Throughout his time as the Director of the Park District, Gary oversaw the construction and development of various aspects of the Morton community that we love today such as the Morton Pool, Idlewood Park Pavilion, McClallen Park, and the Morton Bike Trail. He and his wife Robin raised 3 children in Morton and now have 3 grandchildren as well. He was the “Voice of Morton Potters Soccer” for 18 years, as well as a 28-year volunteer for the Morton Football program. Gary loves history and is the author of “Morton in the Civil War”, which is a book that takes a look at Morton residents who served in the Civil War. He also served for 27-years as a Board of Trustees Member for the Heart of Illinois Special Recreation Association and volunteered for 14 years at the Prairie Air Shows in Bloomington and Peoria as a member of the flight line “Ramp Rats” crew. In his free time, Gary enjoys being outdoors and exploring local, state, and national parks as well as collecting stamps and presidential campaign buttons. We are so grateful for all that Gary has done for the Morton community and are proud to have him as our 2022 Morton Pumpkin Festival Parade Marshal.
Each year, the Morton Chamber of Commerce selects an individual to honor as our Pumpkin Festival Parade Marshal. Morton citizens are encouraged to nominate individuals for this honor in the based on the following criteria:
1967 – None
1968 – None
1969 – None
1970 – Phil Hauter, Oscar Mathis, Arch Bartelmay
1971 – Robby Roecker
1972 – Morton Volunteer Fire Department
1973 – Eliza Ackerman
1974 – Jr. High School State Basketball Champs
1975 – Roy McClelland
1976 – Marilyn Richmond
1977 – George Rein
1978 – Joe Witzig
1979 – Jerry Moreland
1980 – Burdell Hall
1981 – Alfred Carius
1982 – Harold Bower
1983 – Jim Davis
1984 – Dr. L.S. Patton
1985 – Don Roth
1986 – Clarence Belsley
1987 – Virden Rinkenberger
1988 – Gerry Carius
1989 – Ben Hauter
1990 – Wilfred Wierman
1991 – Rudy Jungst
1992 – Lloyd Domnick
1993 – Doris Morton
1994 – Les Freidinger
1995 – Linda Yoder
1996 – George Annasenz
1997 – Harold & Gene Witzig
1998 – Richard “Chick” Evans
1999 – Merlin Birky
2000 – Sheila Harvey
2001 – Ken Aupperle
2002 – Dianne Simmons
2003 – Gerald Duffelmeier
2004 – Gwen Phillips
2005 – Jim Carius
2006 – Wayne Sutter
2007 – Bob Schnarr
2008 – Cliff Hasselbacher
2009 – Janice Sherman
2010 – Ray Mason
2011 – Henry Rapp
2012 – Dale Ritthaler
2013 – Norm Durflinger
2014 – Lloyd “Bud” Zobrist
2015 – MHS Lady Potters and MHS Golf Team
2016 – All Past Marshals
2017 – Phil Kuhl
2018 – MHS Baseball
2019 – Susan Pyles
2020 – Doug Shull
2021 – Wayne Menold
2022 – Gary Watson
