250th parade yields $30K rainfall windfall

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on November 06, 2009

Rainfall on the morning of the 250th anniversary parade may have put some damper on the celebrations, but the wet weather is now proving to be a financial windfall for the town.

Amherst's 250th Anniversary Committee this week received a check for $30,000 from its insurance company because more than one-tenth of an inch of rain fell over a four-hour period on the morning of Sept. 27.

Pat Wagner, a member of the parade subcommittee, said Friday that purchasing rain insurance proved to be a smart initiative, and may even have been a bit of a good luck charm, as there was virtually no precipitation for the duration of the event.

"It either brought us good weather or it brought us a good parade," Wagner said.

Wagner said the idea of buying rain insurance was brought forward by committee member Nick McKenzie, who assists George Parks and the University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band. The committee, Wagner said, agreed with McKenzie that rain insurance would be wise to have because September is a month where events can be affected by remnants of hurricanes.

"A lot of expense goes into that, which we would have to recoup," Wagner said.

She contacted Blair, Cutting and Smith, which was also a sponsor of the parade, and committed to a policy that cost around $3,300 through All Weather Insurance Agency.

The committee was able to select how much rain would need to fall and the time span that it would negatively affect. Under this rain accumulation policy, the committee settled on one-tenth of one inch between 8 a.m. and noon, which would be sufficient to keep many potential spectators away. In fact, even though no rain fell during the parade, the wet weather did negatively impact turnout.

As part of the insurance, Curtis Osgood, a consulting meteorologist from Granby, was hired as an independent weather observer. Osgood set up rain measuring machines and took photos to certify that enough rain fell. Osgood determined that .15 inches of rain fell in the specified time.

Assistant Town Manager and Finance Director John Musante said buying insurance related to weather phenomena is not an uncommon thing, especially when organizers are concerned that weather might interrupt or cancel an event and cause financial losses. In the case of the parade, the risk was losing participants, such as bands and performers who might back out for fear of getting wet, and vendors could lose some potential sales. When Musante served as finance director in Northampton, the city would regularly purchase a $10,000 snow insurance policy that would pay into the city coffers when snowfall exceeded 65 inches. In the winter of 2001, Northampton collected $105,000 as a result of surpassing this threshold.

The insurance money means that the $40,000 spent on the parade has been reduced to a $10,000 outlay, Wagner, said, which is significantly less than the $65,000 organizers had anticipated spending on the various units marching in the parade, renting port-a-johns, and buying banners and lawn signs, among other costs.

The 250th events this year have relied largely on private sponsorships and fundraising, though Town Meeting last year agreed to provide $25,000 in cash reserves to cover some of the expenses.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.