Pictured Above: A combined 40 Union Members and their families from IBEW Local 106 participated in Jamestown’s Annual Christmas Parade, some riding in a float decorated with multi-colored lights, large cardboard cut-outs of Gingerbread Men and the IBEW Logo.  More than 200 floats and marchers took part in the Wild World of Christmas celebration that was held on Friday in the Southern Tier City, which also featured fireworks and a free concert by Jamestown’s own 10,000 Maniacs.  (Photo Courtesy of IBEW Local 106)

(JAMESTOWN) – For the third consecutive year, Union Members and Apprentices from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 106 took park in the annual Christmas Parade that was held in Downtown Jamestown, including some members and their families who rode the route in a float that was decorated with multi-colored lights, large Gingerbread Men cutouts and the IBEW Logo mounted on its sides.

The Local 106 float was one of 200 floats and groups of marchers that participated in the “Wild World of Christmas” Celebration, which also featured fireworks, a free concert by the Jamestown-based 10,000 Maniacs, a tree lighting ceremony and the “official” arrival of Santa Claus at the end of the parade.  IBEW Local 106 was believed to be the only Local Union that participated in the parade.

“We did alright,” IBEW Local 106 Membership Development Director David Painter told WNYLaborToday.com this afternoon.  “One of our contractors, Ahlstrom Schaeffer Electric Company, donated the flatbed truck and a generator that we used, and about a dozen of our Apprentices went ahead and decorated it.  They built a canopy and wrapped Christmas lights around it and our office staff made the large Gingerbread Men cut-outs that the Apprentices put on the truck.  They had a great time doing it and I was pleasantly surprised by what they did.”

The two-hour-long parade is a “big deal” in Jamestown, Painter added.  According to published reports and the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation, Jamestown’s Christmas Parade had 107 separate entries with more than 200 individual units or groups that participated in the parade.  Estimated attendance was in the thousands.  Santa Claus led the parade inside a helicopter that flew above the floats and marchers who wound through the streets of Jamestown’s Downtown area, it was also reported. 

“The parade is about the kids and the kids (of our members) were excited to take part in the parade and ride on our float.  It was IBEW Local 106’s third year in the parade and I believe we were the only local Union that participated with a float.  Afterward, we had everyone back to our Union Hall for pizza and chicken wings and hot chocolate and cookies,” Painter said. 

Chartered in 1899 and having celebrated its 100th birthday in 1999, IBEW Local 106 represents 190 wiremen and 12 local wastewater plant workers in Jamestown/Chautauqua County.  IBEW Local 106 has around 40 local signatory contractors and is affiliated with the Western New York/Pennsylvania Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA).  At last check, the Union’s membership was hard at work on several area projects, including the on-going $20 million Jamestown Community College’s Science Building and the nearby $20 million Seneca Nation Sports Complex.