Meeting to be held Thursday to organize a new holiday parade
Published 7:00 pm Sunday, August 5, 2018
Staff report
Tammy Pinkston, former president of the Holiday Caravan board, and Rocky Cabagnot announced Sunday they will be hosts for an organizational meeting for a “community annual holiday parade.”
The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the library of the former J.C. Price High School, 1300 W. Bank St.
The announcement comes on the heels of news last week that the Holiday Caravan board had canceled the annual parade, which has been held on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving for the past 58 years.
The decision reportedly was a result of the controversy in 2017 over the Avita Pharmacy float. Parade organizers said the float had not followed parade policy when on parade day it tried to have members of PFLAG ride on it.
Pinkston served as president of of the Holiday Caravan board from 2009 until July 13, when she was voted off. She said last week she had the timeline, database, program and other information needed to run a parade.
“We are stepping up, not to take over, but to help the new group get off the ground,” a press release that came to the Post from Pinkston said.
Cabagnot added, “There needs to be a nonprofit, and I have helped hundreds of groups form nonprofits and obtain tax exemption over the course of my career as an attorney.”
Pinkston estimated the cost of putting on the holiday parade at $30,000 to $35,000.
“I have 30 years in coordinating the annual parade,” Pinkston said. “In essence, I’ve got the playbook; what’s needed now are the volunteers who are ready to make our annual holiday parade happen.”
Pinkston and Cabagnot sad they have spoken with mayors Al Heggins of Salisbury and Jim Gobbel of Spencer.
The press release said both mayors have indicated their municipalities will continue to support the annual holiday parade and have thanked Pinkston and Cabagnot for stepping up.
“The meeting is open to anyone who wants to volunteer to pull the parade together; just show up this Thursday,” the release said.
