Topaz Navarro named grand marshal of Howard County Veterans Day Parade

COLUMBIA, Md.—The Howard County Veterans Foundation with the Veterans Day Parade and Ceremony Planning Committee named Topaz Navarro grand marshal of the 2022 Howard County Veterans Day Parade. Organizers bestow the grand marshal title on an individual who represents the values and morals of the Howard County community of veterans and military families.

“For this year’s parade, the theme is ‘honor through service.’ Topaz certainly represents the theme. With his commitment to helping, veterans who struggle with PTSD and other mental health concerns have a friend in Topaz,” said Robert Gillette, president of the Howard County Veterans Foundation.

Navarro is a retired sergeant major and decorated combat veteran with over 27 years of service to the U.S. Army and special operations. Over the course of his career, Navarro served in every position from team sergeant to troop sergeant major while conducting deployments to the Middle East and North Africa.

He serves as vice president of the Howard County board of directors for the National Alliance on Mental Illness and facilitates the alliance’s Connections Veterans Peer Support Group, a free peer-to-peer support group for veterans living with mental illness. Navarro sits on additional councils and boards that raise awareness and provide support to military veterans and active duty servicemembers, including the Work Play Obsession All In Foundation, National Association of Minority Veterans and Howard County Local Health Improvement Coalition.

The Howard County Veterans Day Parade, which begins at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13, in Columbia’s Merriweather District, will honor all branches of the U.S. military, the National Guard, first responders and their families. As grand marshal, Navarro will be recognized at the parade and lakefront ceremony.

To learn more about the Howard County Veterans Day Parade, visit HowardCountyVeterans.org/parade.

Howard County Veterans Foundation honors the services and sacrifices of veterans and their families who live, work or play in Howard County. The foundation holds events dedicated to veterans’ issues and is developing the Howard County Veterans Monument.