Countdown to NQID: Rotary names grand marshal & entering the Green Mountain Mile

June 16, 2023  |  By John Malter 

Waterbury's Not Quite Independence Day festivities are held on the last Saturday in June. File photo by Gordon Miller

Each year the Waterbury Rotary’s Not Quite Independence Day Committee honors a person, or persons, who have made a significant positive impact to our community by naming them as the Grand Marshal for the NQID parade.  

Rodney Companion will be Grand Marshal of the 2023 Not Quite Independence Day parade on June 24. Courtesy photo

This year we are honored to announce the Grand Marshal is someone who has provided vital services for many years: Rodney Companion is the 2023 Grand Marshal of the Waterbury Rotary's NQID Parade. 

He is a familiar face to many folks around the Waterbury area. As the owner of Rodney's Rubbish Transfer Station and Redemption Center on River Road, he and his staff of four along with Smokey, his German Shepard mascot, help to retrieve your trash, recyclables, food scraps, garden waste, redeemable containers and other assorted materials from your cars and trucks. 

Textiles are the latest addition to the many materials that they accept at the transfer station. 

A Waterbury native and Harwood graduate, Companion, 52, has been in the waste management business since 1990 when he worked with Dave Peterson at Fast Trash. In 1996, he started his own business first behind Crossroads Beverage Center and since 2019 at the gateway on River Road to the recreation facilities including the Ice Center, soccer fields, bike trails and pump park and the Waterbury Unleashed Dog Park.

The transfer station is adding new roll-off containers and a canopy over a portion of the site as this season progresses. 

Companion has helped many organizations in the greater Waterbury area with returnable container collections and he supports Green Up Day activities each year. In his spare time, he likes to boat on the Waterbury Reservoir and ride his ATV on trails in the Northeast Kingdom. 

The Waterbury Rotary thanks Rodney for his many efforts to help our community. Look for him in the lead car in the NQID parade on Saturday, June 24, starting at 4 p.m. 

The 2022 NQID fireworks finale lights up the sky behind the State Office Complex in downtown Waterbury. Photo by Gordon Miller

The parade route runs the length of Main Street from the State Office Complex to Dac Rowe Park. Block party with food, beverages, live music and kids entertainment follows immediately after the parage at Rusty Parker Park. Fireworks at dusk behind the State Office Complex.

Free parking around town is available at Brookside Primary School, in lots near the Waterbury Train Station, the Ice Center, and at the State Office Complex.  

For more information on NQID including details on entering the parade with a group or float, visit the NQID page on the Waterbury Rotary Club website, waterburyvtrotary.org. 

NQID starts with 14th Annual Green Mountain Mile 

Runners in the 2022 Green Mountain Mile make their way to the finish. Photo by Gordon Miller

Runners entering the 14th Annual Green Mountain Mile race are encouraged to sign up before the 1-mile run kicks off at 3:45 p.m. sharp next Saturday, immediately ahead of the parade. 

The race begins about one-quarter mile down River Road near the Ice Center and heads up Main Street, ending at the intersection with Stowe Street. All kids get a lollipop at the finish and overall winners will receive prizes. 

Race organizer and Brookside Primary School teacher Tom Thurston shared an online entry form that can be printed and mailed or dropped off at Brookside Primary School by Thursday, June 22. The main pre-registration event is this Friday, June 23, at the primary school between 5 and 7 p.m. On Saturday, registration closes at 3:30 p.m. at the Ice Center.

Entry fees are $10 for runners over age 14; $5 for runners age 14 and under. Make checks payable to Brookside Primary School and address to: Tom Thurston, Brookside Primary School, 47 Stowe Street, Waterbury, VT 05676

Direct any race-related questions to Thurston at 802-244-7195 or email to tthurston@huusd.org. 

Waterbury Rotarian John Malter is an organizer for the Not Quite Independence Day celebration. Tom Thurston contributed to this post as well.