COEUR d'ALENE - Just when Vern Newby thought he was out, they pulled him back in.

Newby, who officially retires from the Coeur d'Alene school board Wednesday, has one more obligation to fill from his Zone 2 trustee position.

He has to lead the parade.

"I thought I was done forever," said Newby, who was selected as grand marshal of the Fourth of July Parade.

Not quite.

He'll ride atop a fresh Mustang at the head of the annual cruise down Sherman Avenue next week, an opportunity he called an honor.

"It was an honor I was even remotely considered," he said. "I thought I was just doing my stuff day to day. I didn't realize that many people were paying that close attention."

Newby was chosen from a field of roughly 30 nominations - not for calling it quits this year, but for all the work he put on the board when he was there, said Brenda Young, Coeur d'Alene Chamber of Commerce events manager.

"He's just a really great guy," Young said about Newby, who is putting his retirement on semi-hold to lead the procession.

One thing that especially stuck out was how Newby had a two-decade tradition of delivering an apple to each school staff and volunteer member over the first two days of each new school year, around 1,200 apples a turn.

"You get to know the character of each person really well," he said of the personal contacts.

The parade will cruise down Sherman Avenue before ending at Government Way near City Park on July 4.