By Carmen Rodgers

Elmore/Autauga News

The annual Tallassee Christmas Parade was held Saturday, Dec. 4. This year’s Grand Marshal was Andrus Love, who was honored with the 2021 Francis Wagnon Award. Love continues to battle cancer and his two sons rode in the parade in their father’s place. Love is the founder of S.O.A.R. Inc., a non-profit organization that aims to offer support to area children, single mothers, seniors, and anyone else who may need assistance.

The Tallassee Chamber of Commerce hosted the parade. There were nearly 60 entries in this year’s event, which is roughly 20 more than last year.

“It went really well,” Director of the Tallassee Chamber of Commerce Jerry Cunningham said. “We had great participation.”

Not only was the number of entries up, but some of them stood out.

“A Lot of people put more into the parade,” he said. “That was really encouraging. It was very nice to see people take that much pride and to be a part of it.”

Several members of the Tallassee Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors helped bring this year’s parade to fruition.

“I appreciate how many people on the board are taking initiative,” Cunningham said. “The reason I think this is so successful is because we have more people taking that initiative and want to do things. I’ve had so many people helping with this, that is key.”