Steve and Judy Meyer to lead Coeur d’Alene Fourth of July parade

Steve and Judy Meyer will lead Coeur d’Alene’s Fourth of July parade as grand marshals, a role the longtime couple first hesitated to accept because they prefer to stay out of the spotlight. They accepted because the honor could help the community, and this year’s parade is expected to draw more than 25,000 people along Sherman Avenue.

The Meyers have been married 61 years, met in 1962 at Many Glacier Lodge in Montana and moved to Coeur d’Alene in 1969. Judy Meyer became a steady force in local education and civic life, helping push for kindergartens, supporting library expansion and serving on the North Idaho College Board of Trustees for 22 years. She was also appointed to the Idaho State Board of Education by Gov. Andrus, helped found Idaho Business for Education and served as a founder and board member of Hospice of North Idaho.

Judy Meyer also served on the Community Library Network board and helped oversee a system that grew from one branch and one small bookmobile to seven branches and multiple bookmobiles serving most of Kootenai County.

Steve Meyer’s mark on Coeur d’Alene is tied closely to business and philanthropy. In 1975, he and Judy Meyer co-founded Parkwood Business Properties, which developed office, medical, retail, industrial and hospitality projects and later built a regional commercial real-estate portfolio spanning health care, office, retail, light industrial and self-storage properties. Its regional holdings were about 1.7 million square feet. The Meyers also donated $1 million to North Idaho College in 2005, a gift that helped establish the Meyer Technology Fund; the college’s Health and Science building bears their name.

The couple was inducted into the Idaho Hall of Fame in 2016 for entrepreneurship and philanthropy. Their selection as parade grand marshals follows a 2025 honor for Parkwood partner Charlie Nipp.

The city’s Independence Day observance is North Idaho’s largest annual celebration and typically draws between 75,000 and 100,000 visitors for the parade, family festivities and fireworks over Lake Coeur d’Alene, per the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber. Idaho Central Credit Union is the presenting sponsor, and the event relies on partners including the City of Coeur d’Alene, police, fire, Hagadone Marine Group, Koep Concerts, Rotary Club of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Panhandle Kiwanis, Scouting America and others.