Winners of First Annual July 4th Boat Parade

In spite of the damp weather, the first annual July 4th Boat Parade was a good time and great entertainment. A dozen boats decorated in the “Red, White and Blue” theme paraded from Diamond Pointe to the Fall Creek Bridge where an estimated 4,000 onlookers were gathered to watch the “Blast from the Bridge” fireworks show.

“I was very surprised at how many entries we had in our first year,” said Kim Irish, boat parade chairperson and organizer.

Irish, an Admirals Sound resident, was recruited by the Geist Lake Coalition President and neighbor Brian Hall a few months prior. Both Irish and Hall had been mulching their yards and were sharing a cold “driveway drink” when the conversation turned to this year’s fireworks show.

“I had visited Lake Wawasee several times with friends and always looked forward to their boat parade. I thought it would make for a great tradition here at Geist so I volunteered to help.”

Winners of the parade with a perfect “10” score from all the judges was the Schuller family from Admirals Sound. With Uncle Sam at the helm, their pontoon sported a red and blue roof with white stars, two large flags, and several patriotic ribbons around the boat.

“It was raining hard and we were all wet, but with our good friends and crazy Uncle Sam, we didn’t even notice,” said Joe Schuller.

They received a large traveling trophy and a free dock slip from the Geist Marina for 2010. Second place and the Ski Nautique rocking chair donated by N3 Boats went to the Dangler family. Winners of the Indianapolis Yacht Club dinner for two and third place was the Williams family. Coincidentally, all the winners were from Admirals Sound.

“It was a great family project,” Irish added. “Seeing all the people come out of their houses and cheer us on as we passed by was something I know I won’t ever forget. I can’t wait to do it again next year.”

If you have photos from the first annual boat parade, post them on atGeist.net and share them! Photos courtesy of Joe Schuller.

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