Dear editor,

I would like to apologize to the motorists that I may have gotten a little testy with prior to the Easley Christmas parade.

My job was to man the intersection of East 2nd Avenue and Bradley Street in front of the First Baptist Church. I had to ascertain which way the participants needed to go to the staging lots and keep them off the closed Bradley street.

Many did not know their flat number which ranged from one to 70 and after a while I may not have been as cordial as I should have been in a hectic situation.

As part of a cast of volunteers from The American Legion, The Sentinel-Progress, The Greater Easley Chamber of Commerce and spouses as well as children of those aforementioned, we did what I thought was a valiant effort to put on a good show.

The five hours that it took to make endeavor work Saturday was just a minute part of what it took to put it together.

Cindy Hopkins, Christina Lesley and Mary Kay have been working on this since last year’s parade. They have been working with sponsors such as Hendrick Honda and all the honchos from the city to get everything in order.

The logistics to make this all happen and to be able to have amenities available such as Port-A-Potties and hot chocolate, coffee and goodies from Sam’s wholesale which was delivered via a borrowed generator to heat the water.

It is mind boggling to think of what I saw that went on to make it all come to fruition.

The Police and Fire Departments gave all that we needed as well as being represented in the parade. Without them we could not have done what we did.

If you have any points as to how we can improve — just give us an idea.

By the way, the County school board would not let the buses run to bring in the local bands due to the weather. Weather is something we cannot control.

Sam Gillespie

American Legion Post 52

Easley, S.C.