Georgia Anne Blackwell
Throughout this project, I was to help run and facilitate the Rexburg Fourth of July Parade for 2026. We were to help get businesses and people to sign up to enter a float into the parade and communicate with them on how many floats they wanted to enter. We then had to put together packets of information to hand out at the meetings held for the parade rangers, along with the entry floats involved with the parade. On the day of the parade, we were to line up the parade correctly, direct floats to the correct loading dock, and answer any questions that we were asked.
I have attached images from the day of the parade.
Most of the issues from my project occurred the day of the parade. We ran into a few issues on July 4th due to floats being late or having issues with those involved with floats. We also had issues getting the different groups into the correct loading dock; many groups were getting blocked in by the groups ahead of them, so we had to work on getting groups around one another. I was able to assist greatly through this portion of the project by “manning” one area and directing the different groups to different areas.
- Recruit businesses and community members to register parade floats.
- Communicate with participants and confirm float entries.
- Prepare and distribute informational packets for meetings.
- Organize the parade lineup and direct floats to their staging areas.
- Provide support and answer questions to ensure the parade runs smoothly.
I overall had a great experience working with the 4th of July Parade this year. I enjoyed getting to work alongside my peers and mentors, along with the businesses and community members that were involved in the parade this year. There were a few moments when I wished the parade had more structure and set rules or expectations, but that was something that we were able to write down and take into account for next year’s parade. I was able to learn many things that will help me throughout the rest of my schooling and throughout my future workplaces from this project.
Insights and Takeaways
This project taught me the importance of communication, teamwork, and organization when planning a large event. I learned how to adapt quickly when unexpected challenges arose and gained confidence in solving problems under pressure. Overall, the experience strengthened my leadership and event coordination skills while showing me the value of planning and collaboration.