Barry and Roxie Bedford named 4thFest parade grand marshals

CORALVILLE - A couple with a long history in the city of Coralville is being honored as this year's grand marshals in the annual 4thFest parade.

Barry and Roxie Bedford will lead this year's parade, which steps off at 10 a.m. Tuesday from the intersection of Ninth Street and 22nd Avenue.

'I am definitely honored. I think there are lots of people in the community that they could have chosen but we are certainly very honored to have been asked,” said Barry Bedford. 'We are very grateful.”

Barry Bedford spent 44 years with the Coralville Police Department, including nearly 30 years as chief. He retired in February.

'My co-chair and I knew that as soon as Barry officially announced his retirement that he was going to be our grand marshal,” said Paula Bakey, chairwoman of the 4thFest Committee. 'It was a hands down, unanimous decision by the rest of the committee.”

Roxie Bedford said she, too, is very honored by the role and proud to see her husband recognized for his service to Coralville.

'It's a very special honor. He has done a lot of service for the community but he always put our family first,” she said. 'But he was gone a lot and I gave him the opportunity to do what he felt he needed to do and, consequently, I think us being Grand Marshals is like them saying, ‘OK, you loaned him to us so now we are going to honor both of you.' ”

Bakey said the decision was easy when it came to naming the Bedfords as this year's Grand Marshals.

'He has just done so much for the community. It is well deserved,” Bakey said. 'He is very humbled by it and his wife is very excited by it. She is a wonderful woman.”

The Bedfords have been active 4thFest participants for many years.

'It is a great opportunity for Coralville to still have some of that small-town feel yet still being a metro area,” Barry Bedford said.

Barry Bedford serves on the 4thFest Committee and also has volunteered with the Johnson County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Hawkeye Area Youth for Christ/Youth Guidance, and the advisory board for the Iowa City/Coralville Salvation Army.

This year's parade is going to be different from the past, Barry Bedford noted.

'I've been in lots of parades before, usually driving cars, but I rarely ride in it, so it will be a different experience,” he said.

'It should be a lot of fun.”

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