By Mark Roberts
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 John Haer, AFTRA |
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The AFTRA Crew. Click for larger image. |
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 John Haer, AFTRA |
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Stoney Richards, Driving the Y-108 Van. Click for larger image. |
PITTSBURGH (September 7, 2004) Fueled by breakfast at the Musicians' Union yesterday morning, a large contingent of AFTRA members was among the 70,000 who marched in Pittsburgh's Labor Day Parade, the second-largest in the United States.
Executive Director John Haer, and Local Officers David Early, Mark Roberts and Nancy Mimless, led the AFTRAns as they moved down the traditional parade route from the Mellon Arena to the bottom of the Boulevard of the Allies. Vehicles from AFTRA-represented stations KDKA, KQV, WAMO, WDVE, ESPN 1250, K-ROCK, Star 100.7 and Y-108 were escorted by Susie Barbour (KDKA); Dan Weinberg (KQV); GQ and Kee Kee (WAMO); Gerry Scott and Harriet Jackson (Sheridan Broadcasting); Eric Taylor (WDVE); and Stoney Richards (Y-108).
Suzanne Steidl, Ass't Executive Director, Freelance, led the actors and voice talent which included Dean Patterson, Jay Pochapin, Jean-Pierre Nuitini, Larry John Meyers, Dlisha Smalls, Ingrid Sonnichsen, Dan Maha, Evelyn Hawkins, Marc Fields, Paul Mooney, Rodney Regan, and Alan Boal.
Political candidates and dignitaries marched near the front of the parade, including Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Presidential Candidate John Kerry; Governor Ed Rendell; Allegheny County Labor Council President, Jack Shea; U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Swissvale; U.S. Rep. Joe Hoeffel, D-Montgomery County, the Democrats' candidate to unseat Arlen Specter in the U.S. Senate; and County Chief Executive Dan Onorato. They were preceded by the Pittsburgh Firefighters Memorial Pipe Band and Duquesne University's ROTC unit, carrying the American flag.