New Rochelle Thanksgiving Parade to be led by WVOX president

The president of two New Rochelle-based radio stations will be the grand marshal of the city”™s Thanksgiving Parade, which steps off at 10 a.m. Saturday in front of New Rochelle High School.

David O”™Shaughnessy is president of Whitney Media, the company that owns talk radio WVOX 1460 AM and Caribbean music station WVIP 93.5 FM. The company was founded by O”™Shaughnessy”™s father and Whitney chairman William O”™Shaughnessy.

This year”™s parade, the 51st for the city, is sponsored by the Valenti family and the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce. In a statement announcing the grand marshal, the chamber called WVOX “the nation”™s best known community radio station” and said it has “provided a beacon of free speech to New Rochelle and surrounding communities that hardly exists anyplace else.”

“David proudly carries on the family tradition, and we are proud that he has agreed to serve as grand marshall,” the statement, from chamber Executive Director Bob Marrone, said.

The parade will move south down North Avenue from the high school, turning right on Main Street and ending at the intersection of Maple Avenue.