The Grand Marshal of the 2022 Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade scheduled for Sunday, March 20, 2022, is  Glen Cove businessman, Gerard “Gerry” Herbert, a native of County Galway, Ireland.  A member of St. Patrick’s Parish and of the Glen Cove Ancient Order of Hibernians, he is one of the Parade’s long-time organizers.

Gerry was born in Ballyconneely Parish, the youngest of five children born to John and Bridget Herbert.  His four siblings were born in England, where his parents had emigrated before returning home to Ireland.  Gerry attended St. Brigid National School in Ballyconneely and went to secondary school at Clifden Community School.  His education continued thereafter at the National Fishing Training Centre in County Donegal.  He went on to work on fishing trawlers sailing from Roundstone, back home in Connemara.

Gerry met a beautiful Galway girl,  Susan, from Ballinfad, Galway, in 1986.  They emigrated to the U.S. in 1988, first to San Francisco, where Gerry worked in the construction and moving businesses, before coming to the east coast to join Gerry’s sister, who lived in Sea Cliff.  Gerry worked at Glengarriff Rehab and Healthcare Center in Glen Cove.  There, he became interested in HVAC systems and trained for that field at BOCES.  After working for air conditioning companies Gerry and a partner started their own business in 2000 and, in 2003 he established Twelve Pins Mechanical, Ltd.,  the full service heating and air conditioning company he continues to operate in Glen Cove.

Gerry and Susan Herbert have three children, Stephanie, an event planner, Keith, employed at a supply house in Hicksville, and Noeleen, a student at Finlay Middle School.  Gerry’s other great passion, in addition to his family and business, is golf.  An avid player, he has been a member of the Glen Cove Men’s Golf Club since 2005 and may be found at the Glen Cove Golf Course every Sunday.

Members and friends of the local Irish community look forward to marching proudly behind Gerry as he leads the 32nd Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade, scheduled for Sunday, March 20, 2022.  For more information, please visit www.glencoveparade.com, or call/text 516-782-7494.

Carolyn Masterson McGillicuddy is the second child born to Richard and Alicia Masterson, both of whom are originally from Brooklyn relocated to New Hyde Park in 1968.  They later moved to Garden City, where Carolyn and her sister, Christine, were raised.    Attending St. Anne’s School, Garden City Junior High, and Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Carolyn played sports and was involved in Sports Night, Student Council.  Carolyn graduated from Adelphi University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications in 1991, and after graduation accepted employment with the U.S. Information Agency in Washington, D.C.  Although the work was interesting, Carolyn felt the calling to pursue a career in teaching, and subsequently moved to Arizona to attend Graduate school for Elementary Education.  She lived in the Phoenix area for six years, marrying in 1995 and welcoming her daughter Tara in 1998. After teaching for three years in Arizona, Carolyn returned to Long Island with Tara to be close to her family, and in 2000 was offered a position with the Baldwin Union Free School District. 

In 2003 Carolyn met Tom McGillicuddy, and it felt like they had been friends for a lifetime. Tom was raising his son Patrick alone, and Carolyn was raising Tara alone.  Both children were the same age and in the same grade in school, and the families fit together seamlessly.  Tommy and Carolyn were married in 2005 and have raised two exceptional children together.  Tara received her BA from Boston University and is currently an EMT for Northwell.  Patrick is proudly serving as a Senior Airman in the U.S. Air Force.  Tom has been a volunteer fireman for 35 years and has served as Chief and Trustee of the Glenwood Fire Company.  After retiring from the NYPD, he re-joined his Teamsters Union Local 282 and also started riding Harley Davidsons. Carolyn’s favorite family vacation was when they drove across Ireland and in particular visiting the small village of  Fethard in Tipperary County where her grandmother was born.  The McGillicuddys have been parishioners of St. Patrick’s for over 19 years.  Carolyn volunteers her time with organizations that have included the St. Patrick’s Food Pantry, the Nassau County FEIS, the St. Christopher’s Toy Run, The Knights of Columbus Thanksgiving Dinner, and at The Feast of St. Rocco. 

Carolyn is a dedicated educator who has taught all elementary grades in her 22-year tenure with the Baldwin School District.  In addition to being a union representative for the building, Carolyn is an active member of the mentoring program in the district, enabling her to work closely with at- risk children who benefit from positive role models in their lives.  Carolyn is a lifelong learner. She has earned two Master’s Degrees, one in Curriculum and Instruction and one in Teaching Literacy, and holds an Advanced Masters Certificate in Children’s Literature.

Carolyn joined the LAOH, Division 8 in 2014 and was soon encouraged to take an officer position. She served as President in 2018 and 2019.  Five new members joined the division while Carolyn served as President. She is currently serving as Treasurer, and as the appointed Freedom for All Ireland Officer for Nassau County.

In her first Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Carolyn and her kids were excited to help carry the giant shamrock balloon while Tom marched with the Fire Department.  This year she is honored to march in 2022 as an Aide to the Grand Marshal, Gerry Herbert along with Aide to the Grand Marshal Eric Hill.

Eric Hill was born and raised in Glen Cove and graduated from Glen Cove High School

He was inspired to pursue a career in the automotive industry.  With that goal in mind, Eric was obtained a Bachelor’s and two Associates degrees from the New England Institute of Technology and thereafter received a full time position as an automotive technician with Honda.  This was only a first stepping stone as he went on to Ferrari/Maserati of Long Island, for 9 years.  In June of 2021, he has taken the opportunity to work for a local Mercedes Benz dealer and is looking forward to what that brand and factory training has to offer

In 2021 Eric married to his gorgeous and amazing wife Karla Villacorta.  They met in Glen Cove in October of 2016 and have been inseparable ever since.  Eric’s wife has played a major role working tirelessly day and night as a registered nurse throughout the pandemic. She continues her role as a now nurse manger and leading her team to provide the utmost care for her patients. 

Eric was fortunate enough to have as his parents Fred and Linda Hill, who provided him with a deep appreciation of the outdoors.  Through hard work, they were able to provide the means for him and his brother Dustin Hill to learn the joys of camping, traveling and water sports.

Because of Fred and Linda’s hard work, Dustin and Eric were able to ski frequently and, beginning at age ten, to learn the skill of riding dirt bikes.  He is an avid rider to this day and even takes overnight trips.  Eric, his family and friends have ridden their motorcycles in the Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade in memory of Dustin Hill every year since his passing in 2002.    

At the age of 13, Eric flew to Ireland alone and stayed with cousins for two weeks.  They showed him the vast array of wonders Ireland has to offer.  This trip inspired him to join the Mike Moran Division 8 of the Ancient Order of Hibernians at the age of 18.  Eric’s leadership skills led to his selection in 2018 as Division President of Division 8.   Eric is also currently the Vice President of the Glen Cove Parade Committee and is Sentinel on the AOH Nassau County Board. 

Eric is proud to have been selected as one of the Aides to the Grand Marshall of the 23rd Glen Cove St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  He embodies the core Irish values of love, loyalty and friendship and says:   “May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past”.