Mcdougald named as parade’s 2020 grand marshal
Retired Rome broadcaster Mike Mcdougald has been selected to serve as grand marshal of the 2020 Rome Christmas Parade.
“Mike Mcdougald has been one of the most active members of our community since he moved to Rome in 1977,” said parade co-chair Jerry Rucker. “He has touched so many lives, both personally and professionally, with his commitment to community service.”
Co-chair Janet Byington called him “an exemplary example of a true public servant.”
“He has gone above and beyond time and time again to make Rome and Floyd County a wonderful place to live,” she said.
The Dec. 1 “parade” will be like no other ever held in Rome. Floats will be parked in a semicircle in the west parking lot of State Mutual Stadium and, from 6 to 8 p.m., people will be able to drive around them.
Mcdougald grew up in Statesboro, graduated from Emory University and served in the military during the Korean War before launching a career in radio.
He moved from Gadsden to Rome in 1977 after purchasing WRGA and WQTU. Parade officials said that, over the years, Mcdougald and his wife, Leeta Mcdougald, took to heart a Federal Communications Commission mandate to serve the public interest of the community.
Heritage Holidays, the annual Salvation Army Can-a-Thon, bed races for Project CURE and the Redmond Regional Heart of the Community program are among the projects Mcdougald and the radio station partnered with through the years.
His alter ego, Grady Frisby, was a regular during morning drive time. Frisby would poke light-hearted jabs at public servants and was honored with the Marconi Award from the National Association of Broadcasters. His legacy of service resulted in his being named Broadcaster of the Year in two states, Alabama and Georgia.
Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue appointed Mcdougald to the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission. He served as chairman of that agency for 10 years and was a key player in the transformation from analog to digital technology across the broadcast spectrum.
“I’m getting too old for things like this, but I appreciate being honored,” Mcdougald said. He said he didn’t think he’d be sitting in a convertible out at the stadium next week but felt pretty confident the weather would make it feel like Christmas was right around the corner.
Byington said she hopes Rome will kick off its holidays at the drive-by parade.
“Now, more than ever, we all need a little Christmas in our lives,” Byington said.