Thank you Porterville

I had the esteem honor Saturday to serve as grand marshal of the 2017 Veterans Day Parade. It is a day I will never forget and one my family will cherish forever.

Never in my wildest imagination did I ever expect to be named grand marshal of anything, let alone the prestigious Porterville Veterans Day parade. And, probably like many of the grand marshals before me, I did not feel I deserved the honor. I can think of several others more deserving than me, but that feeling does not take away from the pride I felt going down Main Street Saturday morning.

It turned out my best friend Paul Kerrigan had suggested my name as a possible grand marshal after last year’s Veterans Day Parade. He made that suggestion to Ed Flory who has been chairman of the parade longer than most participants in this year’s parade have been alive.

I guess Ed passed that along to the committee and they began debating in the summer who would be the grand marshal of the 99th version of the annual parade. Unknown to me, Ed contacted both Paul and my wife in late summer to be sure I would be around on November 11. He also contacted the staff of the Porterville Recorder where I just retired as editor and publisher. They kept it a secret until Ed called me in October.

When Ed called me I, probably like others before me, tried to talk him out of it. I am not a veteran and assumed you had to be a veteran in order to be grand marshal, but Ed explained the committee felt I had always supported veterans and the activities of veterans, including Veterans Day, and they felt that was important.

I have supported veterans and being editor of the paper in one of the most patriotic communities in America, made that an important quality. I can think of no other community which supports its service men and women as much as Porterville does.

I recall the late Bill Rogers, former mayor and editor of the Farm Tribune, telling me of that first Veterans Day celebration in 1918. Bill, he told, was a young lad at the time and he remembered how the citizens of Porterville gathered on Main Street on that Nov. 11, 1918 to celebrate the end of World War I. That was Porterville Veterans Day No. 1.

To be part of Porterville Veterans Day No. 99 is such an honor; I can’t begin to explain how I feel. Riding down Main Street Saturday and seeing all those people - young, old, children; men and women of all races, gathered to pay homage to our veterans, was impressive. I saw many faces I recognized, but so many more that turned out to pay their respects to our military folks.

I didn’t get a chance to say it before, but it was not me there as grand marshal, but me representing all the men and women from Porterville who have served our nation.

I also know my father, Frank Elkins, who passed away in 2012, would have been extremely proud. He was not a Porterville resident, but he did serve in the Navy pilot in World War II and was very proud of his service to his country and defending America in World War II.

My day concluded with the Band-a-rama and the spectacular show put on by more than 1,000 young musicians.

Thank you Porterville for giving me the highest honor of my life. It is one which I will be forever grateful for and will never forget.

Rick Elkins is the former editor and publisher of the Porterville Recorder.