There is a unique kind of energy that comes with managing an event that an entire community looks forward to all year long. This year, I had the tremendous opportunity to step up as the project manager to operate and manage this year’s Rexburg 4th of July Parade. Seeing months of rigorous preparation, phone calls, and logistical planning finally culminate in a vibrant, successful community celebration was incredibly rewarding.
When I first took on this project, I knew the sheer scale of the moving parts would challenge my management skills. A community event of this size doesn’t just happen; it requires a massive network of people staying completely aligned. My main focus leading up to parade day was keeping everyone organized, building clear communication channels, and ensuring no detail slipped through the cracks.
The weeks leading up to the event were a whirlwind of preparation. A large portion of my time was spent synthesizing operational data, curating briefing materials, and organizing critical frameworks for our planning meetings with city rangers and local businesses. To bridge the gap between our core planning team and the community, I launched a massive outreach campaign—personally calling over 50 local businesses to share vital logistical updates, remind them of deadlines, and help them prepare their floats for the big day.
Executing the parade itself was the ultimate test of high-stakes project management and agile problem-solving. Working under tight deadlines alongside city officials, local law enforcement, and our internal teams required constant multitasking and clear communication under pressure. By drawing on my past operations experience, I focused on building structured organizational systems that didn’t just get us through this year’s parade, but left behind a scalable framework to streamline planning for future years.
Looking back on the weekend, I am incredibly grateful for the dedication of our local business owners, city rangers, law enforcement, and fellow team members who worked right alongside me to make it all happen. This project was an invaluable milestone in my journey as a project manager, and it has only made me more excited to dive deeper into the worlds of program, project, and event management.