PADDOCK LAKE — Mike Rayniak had a zest for life, an outsized personality that made people feel welcome and a calling to help his community thrive while retaining its hometown charm.
Rayniak, 47, who grew up in Paddock Lake and later bought his grandparents home overlooking the water, had just won a second term on the Village Board when he died suddenly on April 9, just days after the election.
On Wednesday, his family, friends and the community gathered at the lake for the annual holiday parade of boats. This year it was celebrated in his honor as the 2024 Mike Rayniak Memorial Boat Parade as voted on by the Paddock-Hooker Lake Association board.
The parade had 18 entries this year, according to his wife Mary Wallace, who has chaired the event for the association the past two years.
The theme of this year’s maritime procession was evident as the …