West Peoria’s 39th annual Fourth of July Parade, followed by the Flag-Raising Ceremony, was once again a huge success with over eighty participants including a variety of organizations, churches, clubs, political groups, businesses, fire departments, and military/veteran groups.
This year’s Grand Marshal was Jeff Reagan, known to West Peorians as the friendly, dependable Waste Management driver who has worked hard for the last eleven years to keep our city clean and is always willing to “go the extra mile” for his clients. Already considered part of our community, Jeff officially became a West Peoria resident this year when he purchased a home on Kenwood.
This year’s trophy winners were as follows:
- Best of Show: The Cross Baptist Church’s large Noah's Ark float (trophy donated by South Side Bank).
- Most Patriotic: The Red Hot Flutterbye's/Red Hat Society with several elaborately decorated red, white, and blue cars and trucks (trophy donated by the West Peoria Lion’s Club).
- Best Youth Group: Kuk Sool Won of Peoria, a great youth group that performs martial arts tricks. This group featured a large decorated Hummer (trophy donated by the West Peoria Residents’ Association).
- Best Service Organization: The POW/MIA float, a very impressive float that honors those who have served in all the wars in United States’ history. This float, designed by Dennis Pickles, is especially fitting for the flag-raising ceremony (trophy donated by West Peoria Fire Department Women’s Auxiliary).
A special thank you goes to Parade Chairman Mark Wrhel, who himself wishes to thank the following individuals who helped make the parade a success:
- Kim, Cindy, Linda, and Erika, who served as block captains
- Terry who operated the sound system at the church
- Carol, who gave the invocation· Henry, who provided the parking signs and barricades
- The Peoria County Police Department who provided crowd control
- Ann, Pat, and Bobby who served as parade judges
- Troop and Pack 11 and the Eagle Scouts for the color guard and flag raising ceremony.
- Gary and Matt from Jim McComb Chevrolet
- The West Peoria Fire Department
- Mayor Jim Dillon
- All others who helped and may have been missed in this list.
The Red Hot Flutterbye's/Red Hat Society, this year’s winner of the Most Patriotic trophy, first participated in West Peoria’s Fourth of July parade four years ago. The Red Hot Flutterbye’s won “Best of Show trophy in the West Peoria Parade in 2005 and 2007 and won the Most Patriotic trophy in 2006 and 2008. Joanne Smith, a West Peoria resident since 1986, rides in the car.
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