June 9, 2026 By Carol Britton Meyer
When Jim Murphy stepped down from the Fourth of July Parade Committee in 2025 after 18 years, he looked forward to being a spectator at this year’s event.
That all changed when he heard the good news that he had been named grand marshal of the 2026 parade — a fitting tribute to his many years of service to the town in a number of capacities.
In this role, Murphy will lead the parade, with the theme “Happy 250 USA!” in honor of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“Even though I’ve helped select the grand marshal for nearly 20 years, the feeling of being chosen for this role is totally different, and I wasn’t prepared for that,” he told the Hingham Anchor. “It is truly humbling and quite an honor.”
When Murphy announced his retirement well in advance, he had decided “it was time for new leadership.”
In 2024, he began a search for new parade committee members to start a two-year leadership transition. In 2025, he served as co-chair alongside Pat Kirk to facilitate a “passing of the torch” to ensure the committee’s continued success following his departure.
‘Extraordinary steward of this parade’
“Jim has been an extraordinary steward of this parade and the role it plays in bringing our community together,” Chair Pat Kirk told the Hingham Anchor. “He brought a unique combination of professional experience, civic service, and steady leadership to the committee, and I was always struck by how no challenge ever seemed too big for him. Jim always found a way to move things forward. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work alongside him and for the friendship we’ve built. In fact, I still find myself calling Jim for advice in my new role more often than he probably expected.”
Murphy – who served as chairman for 15 years — noted that currently, a majority of committee members are “homegrown” – that is, were raised in Hingham and grew up attending the parade and “loving it” – which adds to the fun.
When he joined the parade committee in 2008, one of the biggest challenges was helping to educate the community that the town pays for the parade despite various attempts to get the word out.
“We nearly had to have a one-on-one conversation with every citizen for them to understand that we raised our own money for the parade to pay for the bands, clowns, and other entertainers,” he said. The 50 Flags Campaign, the sale of parade buttons, and corporate sponsorships are key fundraisers.
As one of seven children growing up in Brockton, Murphy’s oldest sister created a small neighborhood 4th of July parade that included dozens of neighborhood children in the 1960s.
Many of his siblings traveled to attend his final parade as chair last year. Three of them were float judges before the parade, “where they were able to see first-hand the required level of coordination for the pre-parade ‘organized chaos,’” quipped Murphy.
Nearly two decades of parade committee leadership
Murphy leaves behind nearly two decades of parade committee leadership and a legacy of civic pride.
Among other accomplishments, he played a major role in developing the parade logo, the 50 Flags fundraising campaign along with committee member Tom Hoffman and others, increasing parade safety, adding the Veteran of the Year as a parade honoree working with then-Veterans Service Officer Keith Jermyn, and arranging for patriotic red, white, and blue lines to be painted along the parade route. “We got the idea from Bristol, Rhode Island,” which also has this tradition, Murphy said.
The excitement around town “was palpable when they were painted overnight in 2010,” he recalls. “Everyone was surprised and thrilled!”
Two of the biggest challenges he faced as chair were the cancellation of the 2020 parade due to the pandemic, and during the following year amidst a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the banning of large-scale outdoor events due to COVID.
“We worked with town officials and proceeded as if there was going to be a parade, and three weeks before July 4, Governor Baker announced that outdoor events were now allowed – which came as great news!” Murphy recalls.
Besides his parade committee work, Murphy has served the community in a number of different roles. These include as vice chair of the conservation commission “during a period of incredibly transformative projects for the town in the 21st century,” coaching youth sports, organizing the annual Crow Point North Beach summer party with his wife, Carrie, for nearly 30 years, and expanding the neighborhood pumpkin carving party into an event for more than 100 participants.
Noteworthy projects during his time on the conservation commission included restoration of the Greenbush MBTA line and West Hingham Station, Bare Cove projects (athletic fields, DPW) concerning Back River limit determinations, Derby Street Shoppes, Boston Golf, the Hingham Shipyard redevelopment, Baker Hill, Black Rock Residential and Golf Course, and Linden Ponds. He is also a Community Emergency Response Team member.
Member of Crow Point Marching Kazoo Band
The Murphys were part of the popular Crow Point Marching Kazoo Band, “which performed in the 4th of July parade for more than 20 years to the delight of all the spectators,” he recalls. The members wore Groucho Marx glasses and played classic tin kazoos. The band last performed in 2013 during his tenure as parade committee chair.
Murphy also volunteered as vice chair for the Hingham Business Council from 2004 to 2022 and served on the Climate Change Study Committee as well as volunteering regularly for the Boston Food Pantry and local pantries and Mass Fallen Heroes.
‘Deep connection to the community’
“I believe all of these parade committee and other experiences have provided me with a deep connection to our community and contributed significantly to my selection as grand marshal this year,” Murphy said.
Besides his 38-year career in environmental consulting, much of his spare time is occupied by photography, documenting family and other events. “I really enjoy taking a great photo of someone who claims ‘they never take a good picture!’”
Murphy’s interest in photography goes back to when he got his first camera in elementary school by sending cereal box tops away to the manufacturer – and he was hooked! “Before digital, I would spend hundreds of dollars at Noble’s getting doubles made after the holidays,” he recalls. “Those photos were sent as postcards or added to holiday cards sent to friends and family alike. Now many end up on Facebook and shared on social media.”
For the last 15 years, Murphy took pre-parade photos as well as when the parade participants stepped onto the red, white, and blue stripes at the beginning of the parade – a tradition that he left his mark on and will continue to enjoy as a spectator in the years to come!