On Sunday, February 23^rd the members of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee met at the Benedictine Gymnasium and selected Michael W. Roush, Sr. to serve as Grand Marshal of Savannah’s 196^th St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  Mike has been a member of the Parade Committee since 1974 and has served on the Adjutant’s Staff for 45 years.  He served as the Parade Adjutant in 2008 and 2009.

Mike was born in 1944 in Mariemont, Ohio, and moved to Savannah in 1957.  He attended Sacred Heart School and graduated from Benedictine Military School in 1962.  He then went on to earn degrees from the University of Cincinnati and Armstrong State College.

Mike was married to Carole Ferraro for nearly 45 years, before Carole unfortunately passed away in 2011.  Together, they were blessed with three children, Michael Jr., Elena and Laura, and four grandchildren.  Several years after Carole’s passing, Mike discovered a new love in his life, Helen Rena Dubberly Gruneisen.  Mike and Helen recently celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary.

Mike founded Roush’s Delivery Service, Inc. in 1973 and has grown the business into a region-leading, professional and reliable transportation and logistics enterprise.  He is proud that his son, Michael, Jr., will succeed him in leading the family business.

In addition to his decades of service to the Parade Committee, Mike has also been active in the Knights of Columbus Council 5588 and Immaculate Conception Assembly 173 as a Fourth-Degree Knight for over 40 years.  Mike is also an associate member of the Catholic War Veterans and is an avid supporter of the Wounded Warrior Project, serving as an original sponsor the Take a Soldier Fishing tournament.  He has been a parishioner of St. James Catholic Church since 1972.

Mike traces his Irish ancestry to his third great-grandmother, Elizabeth Irwin, who emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1789.  Elizabeth’s family came from counties Donegal and Tyrone, while the Irwin clan is found throughout the Ulster Provence of Ireland.  Mike also includes the surnames McCarthy, Fitzgerald and Butler in his Irish lineage.

Mike will be formally installed as the Grand Marshal at the Public Investiture ceremony on Sunday, March 1^st at 2:45 PM.  The event will take place at the Armstrong Center and is free and open to the public.  Savannah’s 196^th St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on Tuesday, March 17^th, stepping off at 10:15 AM.