It's said that everybody loves a parade.

Brian Barr cherishes the Strasburg Memorial Day Parade as much as anyone.

He has served as the chairperson for more than 15 years and is now seeking his successor.

"I retired, and my daughter (Andrea) lives overseas, so we want to be able to go spend time with our daughter over in Scotland," Barr said. "My wife, Mary, said to me, 'This is a good time for you to look at backing out a little bit.' Not that I'll ever fully leave. I'll always be there to help. I'll be more than happy to help set up for the service and set up the parade."

He noted that the Sertoma Club began organizing the parade in the early 2000s, and Barr eventually took over from Don Bachman.

"I took a bigger and bigger role in it and eventually ended up being the chairman of the parade," he said. "It's been a passion for me. We're trying to find somebody I can train over the next year and ... into next year, so that they can get a good feel for what we do. I am so concerned that the parade continues. That's why we're talking about the idea of doing an internship or apprenticeship for somebody to take over."

Anyone interested in learning the ropes can email Barr at capt30th@gmail.com.

"I like to say it's an old-fashioned hometown parade," said Barr. "It's not glitzy. It's not one of those big productions. It's just folks coming out and paying honor to those men that gave the last full measure."

The annual parade starts promptly at 9 a.m. on the national Memorial Day holiday, with a service at the Strasburg Cemetery beginning at 11 a.m. This year's event will be held Monday, May 25.

"We get a permit to shut down Route 741 at 9 o'clock, and then we have two hours to get the parade over and done," Barr said. "That's why it's absolutely imperative that we step off at 9 o'clock. It sounds daunting, but at this point, we have so many people who are dedicated to helping with it also. I have a crew that helps set the parade up."

Once the festivities are over, Barr immediately begins preparing for the following year. "I like to tell people I start planning the (next) parade the day after the parade," he said.

While the role is rewarding, it does have its challenges. "Finding somebody to be your keynote speaker is one of the hardest things to do," Barr said. Past keynote speakers have included Rep. Lloyd Smucker, a Gold Star mother and a local man who attended the United States Military Academy and is chief of thoracic surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The parade chairperson also arranges to have a grand marshal. "I like to find somebody who was a veteran and is important in town and has done a lot for the town but maybe (is) not recognized for it," said Barr.

Barr also reaches out to local organizations that have participated in the past. "We have to make sure we contact the color guard people that they're going to be there, making sure you contact the marching bands," he said. "You contact the church groups. There's a lot of contacting people and then taking all that and taking the skeleton we have for a lineup for the parade and filling in new people. You just keep your ears open to find people who might want to be involved who've never been involved. You just try to stay aware and respond to people when they reach out to you."

Sometimes people make a spur-of-the-moment decision to take part. "We're very, very laid back," said Barr. "It's not like you have to fill out a form and you are given a number and that's it, because a lot of stuff comes in that day. They come into the lineup area, the marshaling area, and they want to be able to be in the parade. We slip you in the parade."

Barr stated that the parade is especially meaningful to him since he had uncles who served in World War II, a father who served in Korea, and brothers in the Marines. Now he's ready to pass the torch.

"It's a lot of correlating, and then the biggest thing is being there on that Monday morning and making sure everything's ready to roll," Barr said. "You make sure your guys who are in charge of the parade lineup have them lined up, and we're ready to step out on the (Route) 741 at 9."