St. Baldrick's Dedicated to Chief Bob Howard

The was a big one. His larger-than-life size, with his equally large smile, was as much a part of Northport as the trolley tracks are.

Chief (as I never called him anything else) worked tirelessly during St. Baldrick's Events alongside his wife Maureen, who coordinates barbers for the events and oversees the stage areas for the duration of the events.

If you didn't catch Chief on stage, maybe you had the pleasure of witnessing him lead the pipe band into Napper Tandy's during a St. Baldrick's Event (or down Main Street on Cow Harbor Day, or up Fifth Avenue during the New York City St. Patrick's Day parade).

And so, Northport's 10th Anniversary with St. Baldrick's Foundation is dedicated to Sir Robert "Chief" Howard of the SBF Round Table.

"Chief Howard has been on board with our Northport event staff since year one. He's been the man 'larger than life' on stage, keeping our participants moving along and helping his lovely wife of 43 years Lady Maureen Howard of the SBF Round Table. Sir Robert passed away and will always be remembered as one who rallied and fought with us all to conquer kids cancers. Rest in Peace Chief. Together we'll continue the fight until we find the cures." 

John McKenna, St. Baldrick's Foundation - Northport Events

In honor of his father, Pete Howard is having his head shaved along with several members of the . You can visit the Team's webpage (Northport PBA in Honor of Chief Howard) to view who is on the team, and donate to their campaign.

I have the pleasure of knowing Pete, his wife Erin, and their three adorable children, from our various connections around the village. When I asked Pete to tell me a little bit about his dad, and the family's involvement this year with St. Baldrick's, here's what he had to share...

My dad was a great father - a man who helped when asked. He loved the bagpipes which he played at many St. Baldrick's over the last 10 years.  He loved the Village of Northport and anything that involved community such as St. Baldrick's. He shaved his hair in what I think was the first year Northport held the event. The crowd peer-pressured him to do it and it raised about a thousand dollars. I wish I had a photo of him from that year. 
 
As for the police department...since this year St. Baldrick's is recognizing my dad, the Northport PBA decided to try and get a number of guys to shave their heads to help out with the cause. The PBA was able to recruit myself, Pete Hayes, Bill Ricca, and Tom Schramm to shave and a few other members volunteered to help raise money for this great cause. The Northport PBA has donated a thousand dollars and when everything is said and done we hope to raise $10,000. A number of the officer's sons will also be shaving their heads. 

I plan on playing the bagpipes in honor of my father and marching the team into Napper Tandys around 6:30pm on Saturday night for the shaving. My mother will shave my head. My mother Maureen has been involved in shaving the heads for the past 10 years. She has also done most of the recruiting of the stylists over the years.

What a wonderful tribute to a Northport legend. Thank you to the Howard family for their dedication to our beautiful Village and St. Baldrick's events! You can learn more about the Northport PBA Team Shaving in Honor of Chief Howard at http://www.stbaldricks.org/teams/mypage/76157/2012.

Here's the information from their page:

Northport PBA and members of the Northport Police Department would like to join in supporting St. Baldricks Day. The Northport Police Department is very thankful and want to support the organizers of this event for dedicating this event to our former Northport Police Chief "Robert A Howard" who just passed away recently. Chief Howard was a big supporter of this event, playing the bagpipes, getting his own head shaved, and anything else the organizers of this great event asked. At this time the Northport PBA hopes to raise ten thousand dollars in the name of Northport Police Chief Robert A Howard. Thank you!

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