Grand Marshals helped get celebration started
By Ken Powers Contributing Writer

(l to r) Grand Marshals for this year's Spirit of Shrewsbury Fall Festival will be Sue Falzoi, Sue DiLeo and Joyce Perreault. PHOTO/SUBMITTED

Shrewsbury - In choosing its Grand Marshals for this year's celebration, the Spirit of Shrewsbury Fall Festival has gone back to where it all began.

Joyce Bartlett Perreault, Sue Donahue Falzoi and Sue Sanders DiLeo, the cornerstones of the formation of the Spirit of Shrewsbury, have all been selected to serve as Grand Marshals for this year's festival and all three are happy they're getting to share the honor with each other.

"I think we're all very surprised and very honored that the Grand Marshal Nominating Committee selected us," Falzoi said. "And I think what makes us all the happiest is we're all getting honored together. When we began putting together the pieces of what eventually became the Spirit of Shrewsbury, it was truly a joint effort amongst the three of us. I think we're all happy that the committee noticed all the eff orts and didn't leave anyone out."

The idea for what became the Spirit of Shrewsbury began 11 years ago at a Shrewsbury High Alumni Association when Perreault, then president of the Alumni Association, was looking for ideas to create a Homecoming Weekend.

To gauge interest, she sent out letters to school officials as well as community leaders announcing a meeting to discuss the idea and see if there was enough interest in town.

Falzoi and DiLeo attended the meeting and after a spirited brainstorming session the trio realized a celebration even more elaborate than a Homecoming Weekend was possible.

DiLeo and Perreault were cochairs of the inaugural Spirit of Shrewsbury and Falzoi served as publicity director.

"It's funny how things work out," DiLeo said. "I can remember, years ago, walking around Applefest in Northborough wondering why Shrewsbury didn't have something like this. About a year later Joyce suggested the meeting, I went, liked what I heard, got on board and it's been a great ride ever since."

All three women are lifelong Shrewsbury residents and all three graduated from Shrewsbury High.

Perreault received a bachelor's degree from Fitchburg State College and a master's degree from Worcester State College. She is currently a special education teacher at Grafton Elementary School, is married to Jack Perreault - the Shrewsbury town engineer - and has two sons, Jason and Jonathan.

Falzoi received a bachelor's degree from Worcester State and is currently an elementary substitute teacher in Northborough. She is married to Thomas Falzoi, a retired engineer, and has three children, Laurie, Debra and Curtis, and two grandchildren.

DiLeo received a bachelor's degree at UMass-Amherst, a master's degree in counseling at Worcester State and a master's degree in special education at Fitchburg State. She is currently a guidance/ adjustment counselor at Oak Middle School in Shrewsbury and is married to Andy DiLeo, an account manager at Kimberly Clark. The DiLeos have two children, Joe and Nikki.

All three women have received numerous awards for their massive amount of community service work.

"It was great to be a part of the Spirit of Shrewsbury when it started," Perreault said. "It was great to help get it off the ground, and it will be great to be a part of it this year, too."