Dear Editor:

Although I have written thousands of columns, features, news articles and opinions for the pages of this newspaper, I have never had the opportunity to write a Letter to the Editor. Until now.

Please allow me to use this space to express my deep appreciation to the LaGrange/Troup County Chamber of Commerce for the great honor of being grand marshal of the 2012 Christmas parade. There are not enough words in the language to adequately convey my thanks to the wonderful volunteers and dedicated staff members who made the parade a grand evening for me, my family and the thousands who turned out to celebrate the season.

Riding through the thronged streets of LaGrange in a cool antique car, hearing calls of “Merry Christmas,” from friends and strangers alike, feeling the buoyant excitement of children of all ages along the parade route was a thrilling experience. The evening was all the more memorable because I got to share it with my family – my mother, the man of the house, the now-grownup girlchild and boychild, their wonderful spouses and the lights of my life, the grandtwins and their sister, the grandprincess. My deep thanks to them for their constant love and for providing me so much column material through the years!

This was the 35^th annual parade, and I am grateful to every individual and group who, through all those Christmas seasons, gave time and energy to make the parade a marvelous community event. Our Chamber folks do a fabulous job of promoting our community, but more than that they give themselves wholeheartedly to making every day a special day for those of us blessed to live in this wonderful little city.

I will not need any Christmas presents this year. I was given a great gift on Nov. 29, and the memories of those moments will warm my heart for years to come.

With heartfelt thanks, I wish each of you a Christmas that reflects this year’s parade theme. Let there be “Peace, Love and Joy” in every home and every heart as we celebrate Christ’s birth, yet again.

Sincerely,

Andrea Lovejoy

LaGrange