Bud Petrick Is Parade Marshal

Bud Petrick, a leader in Pacific Palisades business and civic affairs for decades, has been named parade marshal for this year’s Fourth of July parade, as selected by board members of the Palisades Americanism Parade Association (PAPA). Petrick, who is usually out along the parade route as one of the six street-level announcers, will instead ride in a convertible, close behind Grand Marshal Katie Stam, the reigning Miss America. ‘Bud Petrick has been an inspiration to me and everyone who has volunteered with him in any of his many endeavors,’ said PAPA President Rob Weber, who joined the committee in 2003 and is serving his second year as president. ‘He has been a parade volunteer and leader for over 30 years (including three stints as PAPA president) and is a role model for anyone who wants to know how to be a great citizen of this community. This makes him a perfect choice to serve as parade marshal.’ Petrick has been a real estate professional in town for 48 years, starting out in 1961 with the fabled Lelah Pierson agency, and then setting up his own shop in 1985. Today he is affiliated with Perennial Escrow in Pacific Palisades. He has been in the parade since he handed out balloons from a truck for the Pierson office. He was also known for piloting some spectacular floats, many of them homemade, when his children, John and Kimi, were growing up. These included a Volkswagon covered with papier mache to make a ‘Seal of Approval’ and a ‘Whale’ (as in ‘Pacific Palisades’A Whale of a Place to Live’). Another year, he rode in an airplane that circumnavigated a huge globe.   Kimi Petrick, who in recent years had joined her father as a parade announcer, is attending medical school at St. George University in Grenada and cannot attend this year. John Petrick is following in dad’s footsteps as a PAPA and Chamber of Commerce board member. Bud Petrick rode as a parade marshal with his wife, Lori, in 1993. She died of bacterial pneumonia in 2002 and is remembered today by the annual Lori Petrick Excellence in Education Awards, given out by the Palisades Charter Schools Foundation.   ’It is such an honor to know my father will be riding as parade marshal,’ said his son. ‘He has been part of PAPA for over 40 years and it’s truly inspiring to see the love and the respect he receives from the community in return. My parents always had a passion to make this small town a better place. Their commitment has inspired me to carry on their legacy by giving back to the community that has helped mold me into the person I have become today.’