RSS Feed
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Christmas parade Saturday
This year will be McKinley's 31st as organizer of the Thomasville Christmas parade, and for his efforts, he was selected as the parade Grand Marshall for 2007. It wasn't long after McKinley moved here, a freshly minted lawyer, when he became a part of the town's Christmas tradition. "They just asked me to do it," he said in a matter-offact way. "At the time it was mostly pickup trucks and maybe a few horse riders, but nothing real elaborate." McKinley grew up in Mount Vernon, received his bachelor's degree from Birmingham Southern and his law degree from the University of Alabama. Like most others selected for the honor, McKinley is quick to credit others. First on his list is his wife of 24 years, Margie. "She enjoys working with the parade as well as I do," he said. "She's helped with the candy, she works the phones, and she helps in many many ways." When asked why he volunteered year after year, McKinley replied that it was for the kids. "I get the satisfaction of doing something for the community and seeing what the kids get out of it. I think it's something that helps the kids have a better Christmas." "When I first became involved in the parade, we'd buy the candy from Bedsole's - they only sold Brock candy - and they would come in these 8 oz. packages and we'd have to break them up and mix the candy," he said. "The whole (law) office would smell like candy for weeks." In the earlier days it was hard candy, but now the throws have gotten bigger and more elaborate. Some of those pickup trucks have since evolved into more and more elaborate floats. "A lot of credit should go to the people who put the floats together," McKinley said. "They get better each year. We're going to miss Gaines Smith and his efforts." The number of floats participating in the parade has also grown over the years with recent parades having as many as 90 floats. Call it a lucky streak, but McKinley says it has never rained on the Christmas parade in the 31 years he's been involved with it. Mckinley also shines a light on the Thomasville VFD and other volunteers. "The fire department has always been an outstanding source of help, and volunteers like Kevin Smoker, Ken Hamilton, Ken Knight, Charlie Anderson and the Lion's Club in particular have been a tremendous help with the parade. The Chamber should also be commended for its participation in this aspect of the community, because it brings a lot of people out and it brings a lot of people here."
When Saturday morning arrives, McKinley will find himself in an unusual place, riding near the front of the parade instead of near the back making sure everything moves along as planned, but he said he thinks he can get used to it. "You see all those kids lined up down the streets waiting to see Santa Claus; it's a big kick."
|
for larger version       Ads have a Patent Pending. Click Here for More Information |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
)
