'Reluctant' Grand Marshal Heads Novato July 4 Parade

To say Chip Young's initial response to Novato's July 4 parade organizers  who asked him to serve as the event's Grand Marshal was a bit tepid would be an understatement.

"I declined," Young said. "I told them 'it's just not me.'

"Basically, when you volunteer it's not for accolades; it's just for the community."

Young's response sums up why he was picked in the first place.

The longtime Novato merchant who's made community involvement a big part of his life fit this year's "unsung heroes" theme to the hilt.   

Young, who owns Pini Hardware, eventually capitulated.

"I told them I don't deserve it, but they threatened to camp out in front of my office," Young said.

Parade chairwoman Kathy Nickel "wouldn't take no for an answer."

Young has headed Novato's Christmas tree-lighting event for several years and serves on many community-oriented committees. Parade organizers say he makes his storefront available to youth groups holding hot dog sales and just about any worthy fundraising effort. 

"We've got a wonderful community and I would like to make it even better, that's what I try to do with the volunteering," Young said.

Young said supporting activities that improve the lives of children in the community are most important to him.

"If you can remember something that you did as a kid that really gave you a special memory, that's what I want the kids in Novato to have as they're growing up," Young said.

"I want them to have great memories of growing up in a great town, that's what really pushes me."

Whether he likes it or not, his community-oriented peers have taken notice.

"He's a big-hearted man who does what he can for Novato in a quiet but valuable manner," Nickel said.

Young will head a July 4 parade expected to attract up to 10,000 visitors. Organizers say it's the North Bay's biggest July 4 event.

This year's parade is the 21st annual, but the event has been held in different forms, going back more than 100 years and possibly spanning three centuries, Novato historians say.

Notable parade guests will include Novato's 2012 Citizen of the Year Patty Bennett and astronaut Yvonne Cagle. Novato police and fire department  employees of the year will also be on hand. 

The Novato July 4 parade is in some ways a throwback, with commercialism conspicuously absent from the event.

"It's a parade of regular people," Young said. "It's just a real hometown parade that doesn't put up any pretense of being anything but that."

"It wouldn't be so popular if people weren't looking for a sense of community and belonging."