By Sharon Aron Baron
For any student to miss out on a once in a lifetime experience like high school graduation is heartbreaking, but for students in Parkland, it is particularly devastating.
One community has taken the matter seriously and decided to give their graduates a parade in their honor and hopefully, an experience that will create lasting memories.
Parkland Golf & Country Club’s HOA Communications Director, Bonnie Hirschel, inspired by their community’s very popular Birthday Brigade, planned a neighborhood-wide parade featuring the 2020 graduates that live in Parkland Golf & Country Club.
“The parade’s focus is on our graduates from Marjory Stoneman Douglas, but the parade concept became so popular we opened it up to graduates from Pre-K to college and now have over 70 graduates participating.” says Hirschel.“
The Parkland Golf & Country Club 2020 graduation parade is intended to be a “very special event for their entire neighborhood to experience.
“We are a very tight-knit community of over 800 homes. We’re still recovering from the horrific mass shooting that happened at our high school two-and-a-half years ago, and we were not going to stand by and do nothing for the kids that witnessed that and now will miss out on their traditional graduation and prom,” said Hirschel.
Graduates and their families lined up in their decorated golf carts and cars at the community’s main clubhouse, where they were met with a movie premiere style red carpet and photographer. All graduates received special gifts, including a signed Parkland Golf & Country Club “diploma,” recognizing their academic achievements.
High school and college graduates were presented with a cap and tassel, and all participants were asked to practice social distancing guidelines.
The huge parade was led by the Parkland Broward Sheriff’s Office and the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department.
Parkland’s Mayor Christine Hunschofsky served as the parade marshall, and Broward County Commissioner Michael Udine and other county commissioners were also in attendance.
A DJ rode along the parade route to announce the names of the graduates and keep the crowd motivated as it traveled throughout our gated community and an ice cream truck made stops along our parade route for the benefit of all the residents.
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