KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

The cold temperatures did not put a halt to the holiday spirit in Tullahoma as the streets were filled to watch nearly 150 floats go down Jackson Street Friday night for the 68^th annual Tullahoma Christmas Parade, sponsored by Stan McNabb Automotive.

This year’s parade saw a return to the previous route as the parade lined up by the Tullahoma of Chamber of Commerce (TACC) office and all the way down to South Jackson Performing Arts Center. Also, an addition to the parade for attendees was the Siren Free Zone, which was set up at Walgreens, located at 700 N. Jackson St., to Tullahoma High School. The theme for this year was “Planes, Trains and Candycanes” which was submitted by Robert E. Lee Elementary student Kyle Obersteadt, who won the district-wide theme competition.

Prior to the parade, the chamber also held the Grand Marshal reception, sponsored and hosted by South Jackson Performing Arts Center, the previous evening to celebrate this year’s grand marshals RJ and Sande Hayes, who flipped the switch to light the city Christmas tree at the performing arts center.

After Trent McNabb, of Stan McNabb Automotive, led a countdown to kick start the parade, the community gathered and lined Jackson Street to watch the record breaking 146 registered floats make their way through Tullahoma’s main roadway and celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season in Tullahoma, with last year’s parade having 120 entries.

A couple of the floats received some notable distinctions, as the chamber parade committee judged each float just before the parade. The floats were placed in four categories, CEO/School, Business, Civic Group/Nonprofit and Jingle Award, and both first and second place winners in each category had banners that preceded them during the parade, with a total of eight top floats. The CEO/School float winners were Jack T. Farrar Elementary in first place, with Bel-Aire Elementary taking second place. The Business float winners were Penner Trailer Sales taking first and Signature Design Beauty Academy placing second. In the Civic/Non-profit category, the Coffee County Lannom Library placed first, followed by Come To The Table. The Jingle Bell Award was given to Rogers Group Inc. for first place and Grow In Grace Preschool placing second.

Chamber officials thanked everyone for attending the parade, as well as the sponsors for their generosity and support for helping to make the parade a “memorable celebration” for the community.

“”We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the sponsors of the Tullahoma Christmas Parade,” officials said. “Because of you, we’re able to spread holiday cheer and create lasting memories for families and friends.”

The list of sponsors for the 68^th annual Tullahoma Christmas Parade include Stan McNabb Automotive, South Jackson Performing Arts Center, SmartBank, Edward Jones-Financial Advisor: Kristin Breyette, AAMS, Century 21/ Coffee County Realty, Ascend Federal Credit Union, First Vision Bank, Jack Daniel Distillery Lynchburg Tennessee, TUA LightTube, Traders Bank, Cascade Hollow Distilling Co., Barrett Construction, Roscoe Brown, Inc., Coffee County Bank and Vanderbilt Tullahoma-Harton Hospital.