NEW ROCHELLE, NY (November 10, 2024) — The 2024 Grand Marshal of the New Rochelle Thanksgiving Parade will be Ray Rice, the New Rochelle Chamber of
Commerce announced this weekend.
Rice will lead the 60th Annual Thanksgiving Parade as its Grand Marshal on Saturday, November 23, 2024 when the Parade kicks off at 10am.
Ray Rice is being recognized for his prowess on the field, and more importantly, his
commitment to serve those in need – especially young people – in both his hometown of New Rochelle and his new home in Baltimore. As Grand Marshal, Rice will ride down the Parade route along North Avenue in style with his family on a float to greet friends and neighbors.
Ray Rice played football for the New Rochelle High School Huguenots and is considered a football legend for the school. Ray was the Huguenots’ primary running back and led the team to a state championship in 2003. He also set a New York state record for rushing yards in a game with 462 yards in 2004. NRHS lost only one game in each of Rice’s three seasons of varsity football. Rice was a two-time Journal News Player of the Year.
Rice attended Rutgers University from 2005-2007. Rice is the all-time leading rusher in Rutgers history, amassing 4,926 yards — more than double the total of all but five
running backs in the 154-year history of the program. Rice led the Scarlet Knights to
their first bowl game victory in 2006. He finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting in 2006 and was twice named a second-team All-American by multiple outlets. Rice holds at least a dozen Rutgers University school records.
Rice entered the 2008 NFL Draft and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the
second round. He played for the Ravens from 2008 to 2013. He had 1,430 carries for
6,180 yards, 369 catches for 3,034 yards and scored 43 touchdowns. Ray won the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award five times. After successfully executing a
conversion on a checkdown play nicknamed “Hey Diddle Diddle, Ray Rice Up the
Middle”, Ray was awarded the GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Week Award.
Rice’s career awards and highlights: Superbowl Champion (XLVII); three-time Pro Bowl selection (2009, 2011, 2012): two-time second-team All-Pro selection (2009, 2011); AFC rushing touchdown leader (2011); and NFL scrimmage yards leader (2011). Rice is known for his community service both in New Rochelle and Baltimore. Rice was awarded the Community Spirit Award from the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence in March 2010. In 2012, he was voted the city of Baltimore’s Most Charitable Person. In 2012, Rice created the Ray Rice Charitable Foundation which helps children at local hospitals, runs football camps for less privileged children, hosts annual school supply and toy drives, engages in community building and hosts food drives in both Baltimore and Westchester. Some events under the Ray Rice Charitable Foundation have been centered on initiatives such as, “A Ray of Hope: A Pro-Kindness, Anti- Bullying, Teen Suicide Prevention Outreach.” Ray’s newest non-profit, Pipeline 2 Prosperity, was established in 2022 to focus on changing the lives of young men and women struggling to avoid the Pipeline to Prison narrative placed on them. Through community events, parent engagement opportunities and enrichment programs, P2P works in both New Rochelle and Baltimore to create successful pathways for a new generation of youth. In New Rochelle, P2P sponsors the Youth Tackle League’sHuguenot Elite program.
Rice’s post-football work also includes working with organizations such as A Call to Men, the Childhood Domestic Violence Association, Make-A-Wish Foundation as well as speaking to professional, college and high school athletes about domestic violence as a component of player development.
In 2012, Rice’s number 5 New Rochelle High School Huguenots jersey was retired. Rice was inducted into the New Rochelle Walk of Fame in 2017. He was inducted intoWestchester County Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. On December 31, 2023, Rice washonored by the Baltimore Ravens as a “Legend of the Game.”
Most recently Rice was inducted into the New Rochelle Sports Hall of Fame in October 2024.
“I am honored to be the Grand Marshal for the Thanksgiving Day parade,” said Ray
Rice. “Thank you, New Rochelle, for not giving up on me and my family!! I hope to serve as a beacon of hope to the youth of New Rochelle.”
“Ray Rice’s decades long commitment to New Rochelle – and later Baltimore – is an
amazing legacy of community service and outreach that continues to this day”, said Catherine White, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director.
“We are glad to recognize Ray as Grand Marshal and help bring awareness and support for his outreach organizations as they impact the young people of both cities.”
“The New Rochelle Thanksgiving Parade is a Chamber and City tradition. It’s
evolved from a small night-time Thanksgiving Eve event to become the 2nd largest
Thanksgiving Parade in the state. The Chamber is proud to be celebrating the 60th
anniversary of the Parade and we congratulate Ray Rice as Grand Marshal,” said Rob Hayes, President of the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce and owner of The Beechmont Tavern.
Presented by the Nee Rochelle Chamber of Commerce and the City of New Rochelle, the 60th annual New Rochelle Thanksgiving Parade kicks off at 10am on November 23rd. The Parade route will be along North Avenue – beginning at Eastchester Road and ending at Bonnefoy Place. There are excellent viewing spots along North Avenue with a performance spot at the grandstand near Anderson Street Plaza where the Parade will be recorded for broadcasts on NRTV during Thanksgiving Weekend.
The parade will feature floats and giant parade balloons including New Rochelle’s own iconic Mighty Mouse, Tom the Turkey, Peppa Pig and others. There will be marching bands, vintage cars and firetrucks, dancers, singers, bands and marchers from Iona University and Monroe University, local schools, businesses and community organizations. Santa Claus will bring up the rear of the parade.