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Tom Hawley will see this yr’s Monroe County Fair parade from a brand new vantage level.
The lately retired Monroe News photographer was named marshal for the Sunday, Aug. 2 truthful parade.
“The (fair) board has selected Tom Hawley as the 2026 Monroe County Fair parade marshal,” mentioned Darryl Diamond, truthful supervisor. “We have been blessed with Tom’s interest in the Monroe County Fair and his incredible photography skills for years. He really is a great guy and his passion shows through his work. It just felt right to choose Tom as this year’s parade marshal.”
Hawley retired from The Monroe News in September 2025, after an roughly 50-year profession in native journalism.
“I was totally surprised when Darryl called me; shocked,” Hawley mentioned. “It brought tears to my eyes. I am so honored to be part of a great fair. I felt that I was the guy to bring the fair to readers in photos.”
Hawley, 69, of Monroe, photographed his first Monroe County Fair in 1979. He and his spouse, Linda, have gone to the truthful collectively for 35 years.
“I believe in my career I shot at 30 fairs; thousands of images. I shot everything out there at least once,” Hawley mentioned. “I couldn’t image the number of steps I took out there. Usually I was carrying two camera bodies with two to three lenses. By the end of the week, I was toast.”
In the early years, Hawley shot black-and-white film that he had to manually develop in a darkroom. Later, he switched to digital photography. Sometimes, to get photos online quickly, he’d download images right at the fair.
Hawley’s 2023 image of Kody Fitch and his steer won 2023 feature photo of the year in the Michigan Press Photographers Association contest.
Hawley said Fitch’s photo and shooting the large animal auction in 2024 are his favorite memories of the Monroe County Fair.
Hawley’s other fond memories include following Clydesdale horses and their trainer in 2017 and the annual Senior Citizens Day program, where the oldest attendees are honored.
“Always a pleasure to shoot that,” Hawley mentioned.
Hawley additionally recalled his 2021 pictures of the Sivil household. Joey Sivil competed within the truthful’s demolition derby in tribute of his dying grandfather. Joey was simply 14 and was given a particular waiver to compete within the derby towards his father.
Hawley mentioned he loved discovering alternative ways every year to seize the Monroe County Fair.
“I’d attempt to be inventive with angles on the halfway, making an attempt for an uncommon picture,” Hawley said. “The final 10 years on the truthful, I might give myself a problem to make completely different pictures. One yr it was meals or the halfway or possibly it was simply kids. I need to say I liked these barns. Those children labored so exhausting.”
The 2023 fair parade marshal was another retired Monroe News employee, reporter Dean Cousino, who covered the fair for 45 years. Last year’s parade marshal was Rollo Juckette, longtime auctioneer and fair volunteer.
The 2026 Monroe County Fair will run Aug. 2-8.
“The 79th-annual Monroe County Fair theme is ‘Stars & Stripes & Country Nights,'” Diamond said. “The Monroe County 4-H golf equipment submit truthful themes every year. This yr’s winner is Legacy 4-H Club (chief Michelle McLaughlin).”
— Contact reporter Suzanne Nolan Wisler at [email protected].
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