Fourth of July Parade Returns to Loganville

After anr, the Loganville Fourth of July Parade is set to return in 2012.

Members of the have got together with the city and plans are already well under way for Golden Productions to arrange a parade for July 4, 2012.

“Members of the American Legion will be at the and we will be presenting the city with what we have so far," said Jerry Golden of Golden Productions. "As soon as we get the go ahead, we will be sending out sponsor letters to get the necessary funding together.”

The last Fourth of July Parade was held in 2010, just a few weeks after the death of Patrick Fenneran who, with his wife, Sharon, had headed up the parade committee since its inception in 2006. Patrick Fenneran, himself a Marine, had been tasked with setting up a parade in 2005 and, with the experience of his wife as a Disney Parade coordinator, the two and a group of volunteers ran a very successful parade for five years - that is until Patrick was diagnosed with Leukemia just days after the 2009 parade. He didn't survive long enough to attend the parade the following year.

Despite losing their chairman just a month shy of the event, Sharon Fenneran and the rest of the committee worked the parade in 2010. However, they did not have the heart to begin the feverish preparations necessary immediately afterward for a parade the following year. Also, in the economic climate at the time, the city wasn’t prepared to pick up any shortfall because of a lack of sponsorship.

Residents, however, were disappointed when the patriotic parade went away and there has been a move afoot since the summer to ensure its return in 2012. Golden said he feels sure there will be enough sponsorship to bring back a parade by next year. When it was announced that there would not be a parade in 2011, Sharon Fenneran said she hoped it would return at some time.

 “Who knows, maybe it can be picked up again next year– but only if people want a parade,” she said at the time. “That was why we did it in the first place. The parade is an amazing opportunity to support the many men and women, past and present, who give their lives to ensure our freedoms. It was an honor to be able to do that for five years.”