Parade Committee
The Organizers of The Mayor’s Christmas Parade
The Mayor’s Christmas Parade is organized by a committee of dedicated volunteers from the community. These individuals work together to plan, coordinate, and manage the various aspects of the parade, ensuring its success each year. Their efforts are crucial in bringing this festive event to life, celebrating the spirit of the community and holiday season in Baltimore.
The Mayor’s Christmas Parade Committee:
Tom and Sharen Kerr
Parade Founders
Tom and Sharen have been instrumental in the Hampden community, organizing the Mayor’s Christmas Parade since 1973. Their long-standing dedication to this event has played a significant role in shaping it into a cherished local tradition, bringing joy and festivity to the neighborhood each year.
David Stysley
Parade Chairperson
David has been a Hampden resident for over ten years, previously serving as the long-term treasurer of the Hampden Community Council. As the chairperson of the parade committee, David continues to demonstrate his unwavering dedication to the community’s growth and well-being.
Mandy Howerter
Parade Coordinator
Mandy Howerter is excited to serve as this year’s Volunteer Coordinator for the Mayor’s Christmas Parade. She loves helping bring Hampden’s festive tradition to life and has enjoyed getting to know the parade committee and other community members. Though she’s spent several years living outside of Maryland, Baltimore’s always called her home!
Shaquayah McKenzie
Parade Coordinator
Shaquayah is a social impact strategist and adopted Baltimorean – originally from CT and NY. She’s a proud mom, Morgan State and Johns Hopkins Grad, loves building community and is excited to bring cheer, fundraising and events expertise to the Mayor’s Parade Christmas this year!
Laura Myers
Parade Coordinator
Laura is a longtime volunteer elf in the Mayor’s Christmas Parade and a familiar face in the Hampden community from her years at Rocket to Venus. She loves being part of the parade, calling it “a rewarding community experience.”
Allen Robinson
Parade Coordinator
Allen is a senior web developer at Foxtrot Media in Owings Mills. He has been a resident of Hampden and Medfield for over a decade and is known for his active role in the community as the organizer of the Hampden Neighborhood Social Group.
Elizabeth Stafford
Parade Coordinator
Elizabeth has been a resident of the Hampden area for over 15 years, hailing originally from southwestern Virginia. She grew up with small-town parades and loves the small-town feel that the Mayor’s Christmas Parade brings to Baltimore. She has a background in event planning and volunteer management and is a licensed clinical social worker in the Baltimore area. She also serves as the Director of Community Engagement at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, located in Hampden. Basically, she loves everything Baltimore and Hampden and often says, “Why Be Less when you can Bmore?”
Yong Taing
Parade Coordinator
Yong Taing is a native New Yorker turned Baltimorean now working as a Technologist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Wyman Park and Rotunda. He volunteers in the community and helps bring locals together for sports & leisure activities, like board games and softball. He is widely known for his fondness of flamingos, his pink car, and his signature pink attire.