The Pioneer Days Parade 2009 should be remembered as the year when a community stepped up to have a parade for themselves.

If you take a look around the crowd on Parade Day, you can be sure a lot of the people watching with you were involved in some way.

This goal of this years Parade effort was to not overburden any business or organization to make the parade happen. As a result, we have so many people to thank…

Starting at the beginning, thanks to Lang Capasso of the Sun for motivating me to go to Bill Truex of Truex Preferred Construction, Ken Kuensie of WENG, and Tom Newton of the Englewood Review. A big thank you to the owners of Garrett Park; Carol and Allen Garrett. Thanks to Bret Clark of Community Title, our legal eagle, Scenic Highway dude, Park Ranger, meeting host and our Grand Prize Doner, Jean Airey of the Lemon Bay Historical Society, drive and follow thru, FYI for anyone having an event; sign her on! Thanks to Debbie Marks of the CRA, for details galore, from permits to tables to barricades… and thanks to Larry Olliff of USA Fence for the Barricades, Debbie couldn’t get her hands on. Thanks to Kurt Peschke of Gulf Key Properties and the Scenic Highway for volunteering to pick up, drop and take back barricades. Thanks to Brian Morrow of Two-Morrows Enterprises and Shawn Milliken of Milliken Distribution for our Judges/Broadcasting trailer. I have to thank Steve Varga of St. Raphaels Church and the Church itself for allowing us to stage the parade on their property. Speaking of Staging, thanks to the Sunrise Rotary, specifically John Mead for stepping up to the plate one more year. John and the CRA are also responsible for the nifty banners crossing 776. Thanks to the Englewood Rotary for sponsoring the music and Valerie Wagner and the Englewood Youth Foundation for helping us be safe and legal. On that note, thanks to Lane Diedrick of Englewood Bank for our escrow account and guidance. Thanks to “Black Bart” Tracy of Lasbury-Tracy Real Estate for creating the registration applications and too many other things to mention. Thanks to Jack Gray of Optimum Payment Services, The Parrot and too many more places to list, for putting the musical acts together. And thanks to those acts, Jimmy McCarthy, the Saint Tones, Shawn Brown, Zoetic, Beans and Seeds, Maiden Cain and Tony Siler. Thanks to Bobbie Marquis of IBIS LLC who created our EnglewoodPioneerDays.com web site. If you need a site, she works quick! Thanks to Diana Harris for donating some historical perspective and photos to the site and Robert Shainline for the balance of photos gracing the web site. Thanks to Ron Childs and Diana Osborne of Waste Management for graciously addressing our trash needs. Amberjack sanitation helped solve our porto potty needs. A big thanks to Midge Orren and Publix for all the great contests. Thank you Elaine Schweitzer for working on and beyond the call of duty. Oooo, I almost forgot…thanks to the Englewood Chamber, specifically Jon Bednerik and Sarah Amann-Garcia for handling all the applications, press releases and promoting the parade at every function. Thank you to our donors, Englewood Peace Coalition, Don Platt and the Englewood Rotary. Thanks to Hartmans Print Center for these cool flyers. I gotta thank our Trophy Sponsors, Waltons Auto Repair, Village Gifts and Gallery, Trustco Bank, SunTrust Bank, Deborahs Interiors, For Pete’s Sake Hair Salon and Mystic Sea. Thanks to Dave Lutz of Thoroughbred Golf Carts for the use of carts. They’ll be used to handle any emergencies that may arise as well as distribute water to our volunteers and aid trash pickup. Also aiding our trash pick up are the Boy Scouts and Dizey Linquest. The Boy Scouts services were volunteered by James and Wendy Ullery. James is the Chair of our Vendors Committee and involved with the Englewood Elks, who will be hosting the Shriners before and after the parade. Some other Committee Members who did a bunch a things that add up to a lot; Diane Schmidt and Anthony Downie of The Avon Store, Mario Ponticelli of Regions Bank, Cathy Redman of Trustco Bank, and Toni Hopper and Jennifer Perry of Elise Quirk Public Library. Thanks to WENG and its stars, Ken Birdsong, Scot Holcomb, Kevin Bedrosian and Kyle Turner for promoting the parade and broadcasting it live! Watch out Macy’s! Speaking of promoting, thanks to the Englewood Suns, Steve Reilly and Steve Baumann as well as the Herald Tribunes, Terry O’Conner for writing such nice things about us. Thanks to Shelly Stout of Village Gifts and Gallery on Dearborn. We know what you did. Of course I have to thank my wife, Christi Phelps of Corin Bay Real Estate Marketing and Sales, for all she’s done. And lastly, I thank most of all my Co Chair, Tammy Birdsong of Symbiont Service, (who are providing ice and decorations) She brought her experience of the parade and passion for the community to every single email and meeting.

In the end, a single sentence can’t begin to thank all those who helped to one degree or another so if you didn’t get named… I’m sorry; it’s been a little hectic. If you wanted to volunteer and felt neglected or forgotten, I’m sorry about that as well. This was a train that wouldn’t be stopped.

Thanks all,

J. Erick Phelps      Corin Bay Real Estate Marketing and Sales

Additional Thank You's: Eric, the Floor Manager, at Home Depot donated 7 boxes of 2 foot stakes.