2021 Grand Marshal - James Winters

2021 Parade Grand Marshal

James "Jimmy" Irvin Winters

The Parade Committee is proud to announce their selection of James"Jimmy" Irvin Winters as the 65^th Annual Grand Marshasl of the Newport Saint Patrick’s Day Parade.

Jimmy came to settle in Newport from Baltimore Maryland. He and his wife Barbara have been married for over 41 years! They have five children but raised eight. They are congregants of the Community Baptist Church.

Early on, Jimmy attended Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore Maryland, the Rhode Island Conservatory of Music, The University of Massachusetts, and Brown University. He received a Bachelor’s degree in social services in 1965 from Morgan State College, Baltimore Maryland.

Jimmy has worked for the Newport police, first as a communications and safety dispatcher for eight years before becoming a police officer in 1990, at the young age of forty-nine. He served as a police officer for twenty-six years before retiring from the department. Many of his years with the department were served as a community-oriented police officer - so chosen for this position due to his wealth of knowledge in the social services and his ability to provide people with the help they needed and working with a multitude of other agencies that he had developed relationships with. He received NCIC FBI sponsored training. In 2011 he was awarded Police officer of the Year by his colleagues for all his outstanding work. He earned the nickname Forty-seven after his badge number. Currently, he still works two jobs; one at the Tiverton Casino Hotel and one doing private landscaping.

In his spare time, he helps run the Newport Housing Hotline, which he founded with his wife Barbara in 1978. The “Hotline” helps to assure emergency housing is available for those in need. He and his wife have been involved in many community initiatives and groups to help those in need, with housing issues being their primary forte. Since the hotlines founding they have received over 100,000 calls for assistance.

Jimmy is currently the president of the Newport County NAACP. He has used this position to promote social justice issues and for the betterment and advancement of African Americans.

He also uses his talents as an accomplished singer to help people in need. He has sung at numerous charity events including the Newport Saint Patrick’s Day Family Day non-alcohol event, which is held after the Parade for all youths. His voice has even been featured on CDs, he has acted, produced radio shows, and even helped make and produce a film.

Honor, integrity, ethical, community spirited and minded, generous, these are all words that make up the core of Jimmy Winters’ being. He has certainly made his mark on the social fabric of Newport County to its betterment.

James has received numerous awards over the years - a testament to all his good works. Amongst the awards are; A regional award from HUD, an award from the Newport County NAACP for his work in housing, the Jefferson Award from WJAR for outstanding community service, numerous awards from the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, the American Red Cross for his ten years’ service as a Board member and Transportation Director. The Newport Irish Heritage Association awarded him their annual Civitas awards. He has also been awarded the Citizen of the Year by the Newport Elks Lodge. In 1986 the Mayor of Newport honored him by proclaiming a day as “Jimmy Winters Day”.

Music and entertaining are also big passions of his. He has performed and won various awards for his voice. Among them is the most promising gospel singer – New York.

The Newport Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Committee is proud to have James “Jimmy” Irvin Winters lead our 65^th Annual Parade.

About This Year’s Button:

Our yearly button designs try to incorporate the vocation or interests of our Grand Marshal. This year, because of all the activities the Grand Marshal has been involved in, we had a plethora of imagery to choose from. The police hat denotes his vocation – Newport police officer. The 47 was his badge number while on the force. The microphone reflects his life-long interest in music and the arts. All surrounded by the thin blue line, which represents the police brotherhood and the thin black line representing his work with the local NAACP, including his current position of president of the local chapter.

The Parade Committee, an all-volunteer group of people, work tirelessly year-round to perform the countless tasks required to produce the many events that take place, culminating in the Parade. One of most enjoyable tasks is designing the Official Parade logo honoring our Grand Marshal. Working with a designer, we go though many prototypes. From original ideas, to sketches, to concepts.

So why do we choose one design over another? Some of it is subjective – we might like one design more than another. Some of it is technical – number of colors, complexity, printing, et cetera. But in the end, the best design honoring our Grand Marshal is chosen. Thanks for all the hard work by the designer, Mike Marshal, and the Committee!