The 12th Annual Veterans Day Parade on Friday, November 11, 2016 started at 11:00 a.m. at Roswell Street Baptist Church and ended at Glover Park on the Marietta Square. The ceremonies on the Square began at 12:00 noon and concluded at approximately 1:00 pm. Parade Grand Marshal and Keynote Speaker was Captain Edward G. Gallrein, III, United States Navy SEAL (Retired). The 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, United States Marine Corps, presented the Colors and the Cobb Sheriff’s Department performed TAPS and a 21-gun salute.
This year, the Atlanta Metropolitan Council had two council cars’s in the parade. One car was driven by Sea Cadet Committee member Jim Serrate and the other by council VP of Youth Services Dale Mastley. The riders included Sea Cadet Committee member Jim Serrate, CAPT Don Giles USN (Ret), council VP of Legislative Affairs, CMDR Kent Hepler, Executive Officer, Naval Operational Support Center (NOSC), and Command Master Chief Michael Petty of NOSC.
Also marching in the Marietta parade were cadets from Hillgrove High School NJROTC and Kennesaw Mountain High School NJROTC, both council sponsored units.
At exactly 11:11 AM, Saturday, November 12th the 35th Annual Georgia Veterans Day Parade was started in Downtown Atlanta to honor our Veterans. Our council had one convertible entered into the parade driven by council Dale Mastley. Two of our sponsored Sea Cadet units, the 2745th Seabee Battalion and the 1124Th Construction Battalion, marched just ahead of the car. Congratulations to the 2745th Seabee Battalion who were presented the Parade Award for the best JROTC unit in the Georgia Veterans Day Parade for 2016.
The 2016 Freedom Ball followed that evening at the Oceans Ballroom of the Georgia Aquarium. Several council members attended this fabulous event.