Not impressed by parade

To the editor,

The 2009 version of the Anna-Jonesboro Community High School Homecoming parade was pathetic. It was the worst I have seen in 25 years of attending. The parades seem to get more lackluster every year.

If the school board, administration and faculty can’t spend a few extra dollars to raise the standard of excellence for class floats, and club entries, and motivate the students to do their very best in activities as well as academics and sports, they ought to shut the parade down for a year or two and start again.

“Bury the Bulldogs” doesn’t leave a lot of room for imagination or a variety of colors to work with. “Bury the Bulldogs in Emerald City” might have engendered some great creative work and color schemes. Possibly “Bury the Bulldogs in Outer Space.” Creative possibilities seem endless.

Has chicken wire stuffed with napkins disappeared from float construction entirely? What other materials are currently being used in quality parades? Is anyone from the school going to parades to see what is being done?

Are local businesses not invited to submit floats and encouraged or even begged to do so? Is the chamber of commerce not involved? Community High School is the name of our school.

The few participating bands were at least working hard and showing some good marching skills and musicianship. Perhaps their choices of songs were a bit weak. As a parade watcher I want to leave a parade feeling “pumped,” not “dumped.” The music does this. Also, on the positive side; thanks to the local sports teams for truck loads of students.

The parade was also very poorly spaced. Is there no parade marshal at the staging area? There were huge gaps between entries in some places.

A possible suggestion to improve the quality of the floats would be to pair each of the classes with a business partner who would provide some funding and some extra help.

What a great recruiting possibility would it be for Shawnee College to partner with the senior class to do a super float. Other businesses, Wal-Mart, Kroger, Transcraft, Crain Funeral Home, Walgreens, etc, etc. could get involved with various classes and clubs to provide funding and construction help.

It would not hurt the life long learning of our students to miss a couple of mornings and afternoons of class during Spirit Week to work on floats with their business partners. What school spirit could be built to see everyone on the parking lot working on floats some afternoon.

Where were city officials? I don’t remember seeing them riding in cars? Anna and Jonesboro had fire trucks there, but no city council members as I remember. Have they no obligation to support their high school?

Those of us senior citizen float watchers, grandparents of participants, graduates of A-J, and general parade lovers, deserve a high quality of parade. Our children deserve better parades to build some really positive memories of their high school homecomings. We have had better in the past. I came home, hung up my two strands of electric blue beads, and sighed with disappointment. Fix the parade next year or shut it down.

Sincerely, Lynn F. Steveson, Anna