Blue skies and a crisp fall afternoon welcomed area residents out to the annual Christmas parade in downtown Milledgeville Sunday.

About 85 groups and organizations from Milledgeville and surrounding communities joined together to make this annual Christmas-time event a success.

Parade organizer Roc Patel said he was grateful to all the community members who came together to create a special holiday memory to be shared by the entire community.

“I really appreciate all the Exchangites and businesses that volunteered to help [put on the parade],” he said about the Exchange Club of Milledgeville who puts on the parade and all the businesses who populate it with floats and performers. “This is not just Exchange Club, it is really a community effort.”

This year, the Christmas Parade paid special tribute to U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Alex French IV, a member of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Brigade who was killed in action in September, by asking his family to lead the parade as Grand Marshals.

“There has been a lot of excitement by community people about the French family [leading the parade],” Patel said. “A lot of people have said that it is a great honor to be bestowed upon him and his family.”

Family played a big part in this annual community event as fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers and other relatives came out — some from outside Milledgeville — to see the day’s events.

Gerald Walker came from McIntyre to see his grandson, 11-year-old Quarteze Tennyson, participate with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office’s CHAMPS program float.

“This is the first time I’ve been to the [Milledgeville Christmas] parade; I got a phone call about it [from family] when I was at Walmart and I decided to come out,” he said. “I like it, and I would probably come out to another one.”

Just up Hancock Street from where Walker was standing, in front of the Baldwin County Courthouse, Milledgeville resident Debra Lewis was waiting to see her granddaughter Dajia Lewis, who was riding on the Oak Grove Baptist Church No. 1 float.

“I feel good about everything, and I’m looking forward to [all the floats] really,” she said before the parade made its way west down Hancock Street.

Though many parade goers were there to enjoy the parade in its totality, some had their favorite floats and organizations developed over parades past.

“I always look forward to seeing the bands and drill teams,” Milledgeville Mayor and past parade organizer Richard Bentley said. “I’m always entertained by the elementary school drill teams, but of course I, like everyone else, anticipate seeing Santa.”

But more than anything else, the Exchange Club’s annual Christmas Parade put the community spirit of a medium-sized city during the Holiday Season on a float and paraded it through downtown Milledgeville.

“I think [events like the Christmas Parade] are needed to make sure that everyone understands it’s the Christmas season and to unite us all for a common cause,” Baldwin County Commission Chair James “Bubba” Williams said. “I just think it’s a wonderful ceremony that gets everyone in the Christmas spirit.”

Parade organizers awarded best of show recognition to Central State Hospital’s Candy Land Express float for best overall float, Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office’s CHAMPS program for best homemade float and Vought Aircraft Industries’ Santa float for best commercial float.

For anyone who missed the parade Sunday, Georgia College & State University recorded the parade in its entirety and will broadcast an edited version of the event twice a day through Christmas on their Channel 4 cable access channel.

Georgia College Television Services Manager Bill Wendt told The Union-Recorder that the parade was recorded with three television cameras, and Georgia College broadcast students were out interviewing parade goers and public officials throughout the festivities.

Broadcasts of the parade will begin Dec. 15 and run twice a day through Dec. 25, and possibly a few days afterward. If you would like to own a copy of this year’s holiday celebration, DVDs can be purchased for $10 from Georgia College’s University Communications department, which can be reached at (478) 445-2952.