Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Over 50 floats were in this year's annual parade.
Members of the High Plains Horseman's Club were one of multiple groups showing off their horses at the annual Veterans Day Parade on Saturday.
CLOVIS — Local residents lined the sidewalks on Main Street Saturday morning for the annual Veterans Day Parade.
Organized by the Joint Veterans Council of Curry/Roosevelt County, over 50 floats rode through the center of town waving, throwing candy and thanking veterans for their service during the parade.
Parade Chairman John Montano was pleased with this year's iteration of the annual parade and the chance to honor local veterans.
"I thought it turned out good. The weather turned out good and we had a good turnout," Montano said. "We've got a lot of veterans here in Clovis and we just want to honor them. I'm glad we can do something like this."
Clovis resident and veteran Johnny Washington was honored as the Parade Marshal. Washington earned the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal during his time in the service.
Washington dropped out of high school in 1952 to enlist in the Air Force and serve in the Korean War and was presented with an honorary high school diploma at the American Legion/New Mexico Mid-Winter Conference earlier this year, according to an article from The Albuquerque Journal that parade announcer Raymond Mondragon read from during the parade.
Mondragon began the parade by inviting all of the veterans in attendance to come up to the microphone and say their name and branch of service, with every branch being represented.
Though modern military equipment was on display thanks to the New Mexico Army National Guard's Humvees, it was the horses that parade attendee Kevin Starkey particularly enjoyed.
"I think the horses (were my favorite), that's real ancient military there," Starkey said.
The High Plains Horseman's Club was one of multiple groups showing off their horses during the parade on Saturday.
More advanced than the horses but not as much as the Humvees, Bill's Auto Service displayed a number of classic cars including a 1966 El Camino, a 1976 Corvette and a 1950 Chevrolet.
Fresh off second-place finishes at the Bands of America Regional Championship and the Red Rocks Invitational competitions last week, the Clovis High marching band performed and marched during the parade, but Starkey was hoping the parade would have additional musical elements.
"They need more music, maybe some John Phillips music; you got to have music," Starkey said.
Serving as judges for the parade were Clovis Assistant City Manager Claire Bourroughs, Field Representative for U.S. Senator Tom Udall Ben Salazar, and business owners Kara Caselman and James Burns.
Five groups were selected as winners of their respective categories: VFW Post 3280, United States Marine Corps, Knights of Columbus, Air Force Junior ROTC and Wreaths Across America, and American Legion Post 25 was chosen as the Traveling Trophy winner.
