March 13, 2024
FROM HORNELL CITY HALL: Vetter Named Grand Marshall of 2024 St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Irish-American Heritage Month Proclaimed in the City
Mayor John Buckley is excited to announce Larry Vetter as the Grand Marshall for the 2024 St. Patrick’s Day parade. “One of the greatest things about our Hornell community are the wonderful people who live here. Larry is one of several dedicated people who contribute to and help define our community.”
It is fitting for Larry to lead the parade, as it seems like in many of the endeavors he undertakes, he ends up in a leadership position, carving the path of hope, growth, and community spirit.
Larry and his wife, Anne, moved to our Hornell in 1978, raising six children together, and would tell you, “The best decision I ever made for my family was to move them to Hornell.”
Larry has engaged in many areas of community service, serving on several local, county, and state boards, volunteering his time and shaping our community in profound ways. He has served on the Board of Education, the YMCA Board of Directors, Hornell Youth Football, St. James Mercy Hospital Board of Directors, United Way of the Southern Tier, and even our Chapter of Ancient Order of Hibernians, in all of which he assumed a leadership role as president, chairman, or administrator.
In addition to those many roles, Larry has also been devoted to the Hornell Chamber of Commerce, Sisters of Mercy Development Board, Steuben County Workforce Development, and the St. Ann’s Church Parish Council.
Larry is also known for coaching youth basketball at the YMCA, which he completed for over four decades. When providing his biography, his daughter Laura, remarked, “He was instrumental in teaching Hornell’s youth not only the game of basketball, but also about character, leadership, respect for self and others, work ethic, and sportsmanship.”
Perhaps his largest impact, was as the Executive Director of the Hornell Housing Authority, a position he was named in 1978 and held until his retirement in 2010. This job created a large impact by assisting those who needed support or assistance with our most basic of needs: housing. In 2018, he took an Executive Director role with the New York State Public Housing Authority Director’s Association, of which he was a founding member over 30 years ago, recently retiring in January of this year.