He’s watched the St. Patrick’s Day Parade march past his business on Main Street in Center Moriches for 21 years. And now Mark Danowski gets to lead the annual event as Grand Marshal.
“It’s an honor to be following in the footsteps of Clayton Huey, Art Gerhauser, Gerry Sapanaro, and all of the many great leaders of our community who led the parade,” said the local Allstate insurance office owner. The father of five has deep roots in the area, having worked at Heinz Deli as a teen and selling insurance out of the Sears store in Riverhead right after graduating from SUNY New Paltz.
The lifelong Manorville resident graduated from Eastport High School and attended Suffolk Community College before earning his SUNY Business Degree. He credits his entrance into the insurance field in 1988 to Don Striplan, a broker he had worked with at the Long Island Game Farm when he was 14. “Don taught me the insurance business, and it’s the only job I’ve ever had,” Danowski noted.
According to Sapanaro, treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce of the Moriches, which sponsors the parade, the Grand Marshal is a very active member, playing an outsized role in keeping Main Street looking good. “He makes sure the plants get watered,” Sapanaro said of the hanging baskets that brighten the downtown where Mark is an officer with the Beautification Organization. His office also serves as a hub for the chamber, which meets there and takes advantage of its basement storage.
“Mark was a hard worker; I always knew he would go on to great things and become a pillar of the community,” said Bryan Heller, the former Heinz Deli owner.
The leader of the parade is a 17-year member of the Manorville Fire Department and a former member of the Eastport-South Manor Sports Association, where he served on the board for 10 years and directed youth basketball. He’s also coached Little League baseball and softball, boys and girls volleyball, and girls lacrosse. His coaching prowess is evident in the success of his kids: His son, Jake, was on the 2016 state champion volleyball team at ESM, and his daughter, Sara, was on the 2019 state champion girls lacrosse team.
Main Street means a lot to the Marshal, having met his wife, Missy, a few doors down from his business when her parents, the Knerrs, owned Sunrise Restaurant, and she worked at the nearby North Fork Bank. Missy’s now a teacher at the Little Flower School. They have three other children—Emma and twins Alex and Noah—and all of them will be watching the parade except for Alex, who is in Germany serving with the Air Force.
A popular event that paints the town green every March, the parade will go down Main Street on the 21st starting at two. The chamber will host a fundraising dinner at the Rock Hill Country Club on the 14th. For more info, visit their website at MorichesChamber.org.