2026 Parade Grand Marshal: Craig E. Burgess
Craig E. Burgess in full patriotic regalia, as seen in the Audubon 4th of July parade, 2011
Audubon’s 2026 Grand Marshal, Craig Burgess, has 8 decades of involvement in and support for “The Green Wave.” He graduated Valedictorian of the AHS Class of 1963, and was one of the first Alumni inducted into the AHS “Ring of Honor.”
A poem composed by Burgess in 1994 about the patriotic efforts of students in the AHS Project Memorial Foundation led to his serving as a liaison to the U.S. Navy from Audubon from 1994 until 2017. In this position, Burgess:
Established a pen-pal program between students at MAS and HAS and the USS Benfold (DDG-65) in 1996,
Won 1st Place for his speech “Audubon, N.J.: The Most Patriotic Small Town in America” at the International Platform Speakers’ Convention in 1998,
Took students to New Orleans for the christening of the USNS Brittin (T-AKR 305) in 2000,
Took students to San Diego to participate in a Dependents’ Day Cruise on board the USS Benfold in 2001,
Was invited by the National Medal of Honor Society to participate in the rededication of the gravesite of the WWI MOH Recipient Samuel M. Sampler in Fort Myers, Florida in 2008,
Presented a Baltimore Ravens football, autographed by 2013 Superbowl MVP Joe Flacco (a 2003 graduate of AHS), to the officers and crew of the USS Benfold on the ship’s 17th anniversary of her Commissioning in March 2013.
Cover of “The Green Wave and the Navy: The History of the USS Benfold (DDG-65)” co-written by Petty Officer First Class (SW) Danny K. Edgar, USN and 2026 parade Grand Marshal, Craig E. Burgess
As Audubon Historian, Burgess published a patriotic book, The Green Wave and the Navy, in 2000. The book, containing chapters on the history of Audubon and on the patriotic efforts of students in the AHS Project Memorial Foundation, was made into a patriotic documentary film in 2004. Burgess was then invited to attend an annual reunion of Medal of Honor recipients in Brason, Missouri and present copies of the book to the recipients in attendance.
Burgess has been a member of the Audubon Historical Society for 36 years, a member of the Audubon Young at Heart Senior Citizens Club for 31 years and a member of the Audubon Lions Club for 12 years. In addition, he served as facilitator for a writers group, The Audubon Poets, for 10 years, and worked as chair of the Historical Society Centennial Committee that put together a pictorial history of Audubon for the 2005 celebration.
