This year’s Pumpkin Fest dignitaries are Sycamore’s dearly departed

SYCAMORE – Sycamore Pumpkin Festival organizers this year have named its friend of the fest and Pumpkin Parade grand marshal to what they said are some of the city’s dearly departed.

Festival committee president Cole Regnery said the committee traditionally selects somebody for its friend who has given a lot of their time, effort and energy to the yearly event. And the grand marshal often is a person whom the committee believes will be a “big draw for the parade,” he said.

This year, both are men being honored posthumously. The festival has named the late Jim Dombek, a longtime Sycamore School District 427 Board president, as the Pumpkin Parade’s grand marshal. Dombek died Aug. 12 at 68. Veteran Bart Desch, who died at 58 on Nov. 6, 2023, was named this year’s friend of the fest.

“It turns out that this year, both the friend of the festival and the grand marshal are people who have given an enormous amount to the festival,” Regnery said.

Dombek, who served as school board president from 1999 to 2024, was no stranger to Sycamore’s biggest event of the year. He spent three decades as a permanent deacon for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford. Dombek also served the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival committee by acting as the group’s legal adviser for 26 years. He also announced the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival parade for years.

“Jim Dombek, as the grand marshal, is so well known that it makes sense that he would be a big draw as well,” Regnery said. “Not only did he give a ton to the Pumpkin Festival, he was a school board president for two decades and was active at the Newman [Catholic Student] Center, and he is just a prominent figure in the community.”

Dombek’s widow, Kathy Dombek, will ride in the parade in his place.

The family of Desch also will ride in the parade to honor his friend of the fest tribute.

Terri Goodman, a tenured member of the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival committee, said Desch acted as her mentor when she first joined the committee.

“I got to work with Bart firsthand, right from the get-go,” Goodman said. “He was just such a fun-loving person, real dry sense of humor, really nice guy. Always up to lift something, move something, show you something, that kind of thing. He was a go-getter, for sure, and just really loved our community a lot.”

Desch served in the Illinois National Guard from 1985 to 1990 and moved to Sycamore for a job with the Sycamore Park District in 2003, according to the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival. Desch became the Sycamore Park District’s superintendent of recreation seven years later. He also served many years on the Pumpkin Festival committee.

“[Desch was] a very community-minded person who was willing to jump in the trenches and get the job done,” Goodman said. “He was a just a really, really wonderful mentor to me in learning all the ins and outs of the parade, because there’s a lot.”

Desch volunteered his time to the committee for a dozen more years before relinquishing his efforts in 2022.

“I am extremely saddened by the loss of both Bart and Jim, but we are honored to be able to honor them with these posthumous designations,” Regnery said. “Their families will be in their parade representing the friend of the festival and the grand marshal. The committee owes a great debt to both of them.”