Perry looks for local veterans to participate in Veterans Day Parade

PERRY—The City of Perry is looking for a veteran to participate with Mayor Randall Walker at the Cherry Blossom Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 10.

For the first time, the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival committee invited Walker to join area mayors in the parade. The committee encouraged participating mayors to invite a veteran to ride alongside them.

Communications Director Tabitha Clark said this led the administration to come up with ideas for who to pick, a difficult decision due to the number of veterans in the community who deserve recognition. 

“We came up with the idea of having people nominate a veteran that they believe is deserving to be in the parade with Mayor Walker. We’re looking for all kinds of veterans, young or old. It doesn’t matter what conflict they were in,” she said. 

Clark shared the only criteria are the nominee has to be a United States veteran and the city would like them to be from the Perry area.

Applicants will be updated on their status by Oct. 1. Clark said the application will ask basic questions: their name, branch of service and what qualities or achievements the nominee has to make them an exceptional choice to accompany Walker in the parade. 

Clark said the city has received eight applications so far, and there is plenty of time to submit nominees. Even if a nominee is not selected, they will still be honored for their service.

“We just thought this would be a great way. Even if they are not selected, we still want to honor the nominees in a special way. We can recognize them on Facebook and have Mayor Walker reach out to them as well and thank them for their service,” she said.

Once the city receives all applications, Walker will decide the best candidate. 

According to Clark, this is the first time the parade committee has contacted the city. The committee wants to regionalize the parade and has invited other mayors and representatives to participate this year. 

“We’re super excited and honored that they would like us to be in there,” she said.

Clark said the city values and thanks all veterans for their service. Local participating mayors are also allowing their veterans to participate in the parade, so Perry wanted a special place for a Perry resident, current or former.

“We just want to make sure that the veterans in Perry know that we appreciate them and support them and have a special place in our heart because they are from our community,” she said. 

Clark said they welcome all veterans and encourage everyone to nominate that special veteran in their life. 

To nominate a veteran, click here. 

The link is also available on the city’s Facebook page or on its website under the government tab under communications.