Earlier this year, Newtown’s beloved Municipal Animal Control Officer, Carolee Mason, announced her retirement on Facebook. While the comment section flooded with pictures of pets she helped get adopted, the Labor Day Parade Committee was behind the scenes brainstorming who the next Grand Marshal would be.

Nicole Kullgren, the new president of the Labor Day Parade Committee, said she and the committee thought long and hard about who they would choose.

“It’s not an easy choice,” Kullgren said. “There’s definitely a lot of people that we toss around…Carolee popped into all of our brains because she is just such a part of our community, and we love our animals.”

Kullgren said that the committee chose Mason because of her community involvement, selflessness, advocacy, and kindness.

“You can’t even imagine…she’s touched so many lives through herself, as a person, but also from what she’s done through her…love of animals. She is amazing,” Kullgren said.

Mason said that she didn’t do her job for “the pat on the back,” she did it because she loves animals. She added that Kullgren, herself, is an animal lover, and Newtown “loves their animals.”

Mason said that she is “beyond words” and is “so excited” to be named the Grand Marshal this year. Her excitement for the ceremonial position has not faded since the announcement a few weeks ago.

“I can’t tell you how honored and beyond thrilled I am…never in my wildest dreams would I expect this,” Mason told The Newtown Bee. She recounted the moment Kullgren and the committee surprised her at My Place, “I almost fell off my chair.”

Mason noted that her grandchildren may be even more excited about this opportunity than she is, and that they talk about it every day. She said that some of her friends who live out of state want to come and celebrate this momentous occasion with her.

“I’ve enjoyed the parade for many years, taking my kids. It’s a wonderful thing that Newtown does,” Mason said. “It’s just such a part of Newtown.”

After the committee chose their Marshal, the next step was to choose the theme.

The theme this year is “Pets on Parade,” which Kullgren noted that people are already “having a lot of fun” with.

“We wanted to honor [Mason] in that respect,” Kullgren said.

Mason is “ecstatic” for the theme and is looking forward to the experience the most. She is excited to have her own seat on the stage this year and not have to worry about bringing her own chair. She said that the parade is a tradition for her family, a sentiment many Newtowners share.

Kullgren’s daughter emphasized this point for the Kullgren family, too, describing her mother waking the house up early with the promise of Dunkin Donuts munchkins for breakfast.

Kullgren’s love for the parade inspired her to join the committee. She said, “I joined the committee last year as a committee member, and it just further solidified that, ‘I love this…I want to make this event happen every year. I want to make it as best as possible.’”

Mason said, “The people of Newtown are just awesome,” and she is incredibly grateful for all the support she has received over the years. She said it made her job easier to do with the community behind her.

The Labor Day Parade Committee also has two new members Kullgren wants to introduce. Adriane Garvin is the new vice president and Cara Lemieux is the new secretary.

The parade this year is scheduled for Monday, September 1, 9:55 am. For more information about the parade and its sponsors, go to facebook.com/NewtownLaborDayParade.

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Reporter Sam Cross can be reached at sam@thebee.com.