Drum Major John Coleman, the Ohio firefighter who quit his marching band after he was suspended from the group for nodding and waving to President Barack Obama during the inauguration parade, is coming to Milwaukee for the St. Patrick's Day Parade on March 14.
The former member of the Cleveland Firefighter's Memorial Pipes & Drums will add a bit of celebrity for the annual march through Downtown.
The parade is organized by the Westown Association and the Shamrock Club of Wisconsin. Mike O'Leary from the Shamrock Club helped coordinate Coleman's invite.
Officials from Coleman's Cleveland band said that he violated the proper decorum required in a military parade by nodding at the president. Coleman says Obama smiled and waved, and that he was merely acknowledging the gesture.
Whatever the story, it's all over the Web and cable news so Coleman is sure to be a big draw for the Westown Association, organizers of the parade.
The annual parade will feature more than 160 units. OnMilwaukee.com is a parade sponsor.
Watch the official nod:
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
