Each year the HerrinFesta committee chooses the HerrinFesta Grand Parade Marshal, a Lifetime Achievement Awardee and a Corporate Honoree, and they are special guests at the Mayor’s Honoree Banquet. But this year is a little different. This year’s honorees are serving as two-year honorees due to the pandemic's cancellation of the 2020 festival, Cheryl Ranchino Trench, a member of the HerrinFesta Italiana committee, said.

“For the first time ever, our honorees have served for two years. HerrinFesta 2020 was cancelled, so finally we can celebrate these honorees,” she said. The Grand Parade Marshals of HerrinFesta Italiana 2020-2021 are Tom DeChristina and Marilyn Matthews Ruppel, a longtime Herrin couple. They share their lives and their dedication to the city.