Arlington 4th of July Parade Guest Blogger: Mack McKee

As a Scoutmaster, it is often difficult to balance life and the Scout Troop.  Scouting takes an inordinate amount of my time, but little Troop 5 has Adult Leaders that step up so that I can do other things.  Thanks Mack!

Guest Blogger: Mack McKee

The 4^th of July parade in Arlington is a big deal.  This is the 46^th year that Arlington has put on an Independence Day parade and it has grown into one of the largest parades in the country.   This year the parade consisted of over 130 entries, 3000+ participants, and spectators lining the two mile route that estimates put at somewhere between 25 and  50 thousand.  There were a lot of people who were excited about celebrating American’s 235^th birthday!

I’ve been involved with the Arlington July 4^th Parade for over twenty years – as a spectator for many years, then as a participant during our Cub Scout years, and finally as a member of the non-profit Arlington July 4^th Parade Association board which plans and puts on the parade each year. 

This year, the Parade Association purchased a new banner to display the logos of the parade sponsors, who are companies that contribute significant cash or in-kind contributions that allow the parade to happen.  The Board President asked me if I could provide some Scouts to carry the new banner and I immediately said “yes”.  (I knew that in the worst case scenario, I could have my two sons carry the banner!)   However, when I put out the call for volunteers, four other Scouts signed up for parade duty, and on the day of the parade, two more Scouts showed up, for a total of eight Scouts from Little Troop 5 on the UTA parking lot ready to go by 8:00 a.m.  This was perfect, because it would allow us to rotate the Scouts along the parade route so that they wouldn’t have to carry the banner the entire two miles and would give them a chance to get some water and wave at the crowd, etc.

The sponsor’s banner was entry #3, so we had to move out to the street a little before 9:00 as the parade began to form up for departure.   As is often the case with a large undertaking such as this, there was some kind of logistical SNAFU and the Staging Area Coordinator came up to me and asked if I had any extra Scouts who could carry another banner.   We moved a couple of the boys to the 2^nd banner which announced the Grand Marshal.   Almost before they were in place, the Coordinator said “Do you have two more who could carry a third banner?”   I reluctantly said “yes” and sent two more Scouts over to get the “Mayor’s Award” banner.  Now we only had one “extra” Scout so most of the boys would have to carry their respective banners for the entire route.  Also, the Sponsor’s Banner was positioned right behind a group of horses!   Fortunately, Michael Hernandez was there in his Class A and he walked along to ensure they didn’t step in anything!   I was with the Scout’s carrying the Mayor’s Award banner, which was positioned between Mayor Cluck’s car and the float that won the award.  (We didn’t have to worry too much about the horses!)

The Scouts did a magnificent job and hiked the two mile route like the troopers they are.  It was fun to hear the positive cheers from the crowd for the Boy Scouts.  I think our uniform ranks right up there with soldiers, police, and firemen as far as the respect it generates from many people.   We saw a number of familiar faces in the crowd and Little Troop 5 was featured prominently in pictures and videos, due to our prominent placement in the parade.

I am proud to be associated with the Arlington July 4^th Parade, and yesterday I was equally proud to be associated with Troop 5.  Great job guys!