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Brandon Prepares For Festive 4th

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 2, 2008

BRANDON - BRANDON - There's no question. Attorney Lee Elam has the best seat for the annual Brandon Fourth of July Parade.

Each Independence Day for the past 35 years, he has set up bleachers in the front lawn of his office at the southeast corner of John Moore and Lumsden roads.

That's the same corner where Elam has an office and a pole sign that's better known for displaying Elam's opinions, well-wishes for sports teams and messages to the community than advertising.

That's also the corner where the parade kicks off. Elam and anyone fortunate enough to be invited to join him in his front seating have the distinct advantage of seeing dance troupes while they are still fresh and enthusiastic, clowns before their makeup begins running and antique cars before their engines overheat.

The location plays another important function in Brandon's Fourth of July festivities. At 8 a.m., two hours before the start of the parade, members of the Presidents' Roundtable of Greater Brandon gather in the inner-sanctum law offices with the candidates for honorary mayor of Brandon to count the money they raised for charity and discern who will be Brandon's honorary mayor for the coming year.

Throughout the month of June, candidates for the honorary post host fundraisers for their declared charities. The candidate who raises the most money by the morning of the parade is declared the winner. The name of the new mayor is promptly posted on Elam's sign, and he or she then rides in the parade and is congratulated by the community.

This year's candidates vying to replace 2007-08 mayor George May are Jake Piascik and Tammy Holmberg.

Piascik, whose campaign is being sponsored by the Brandon Rotary '86 Club, is raising money for the Emergency Care Help Organization, which provides food, clothing and other supplies for families in crisis; A Kid's Place, an emergency shelter for children in crisis; and The Trey Curry Foundation, established to help children in need in the Brandon area in honor of 20-year-old Valrico resident Trey Curry, who died this year.

Holmberg, sponsored by the Brandon Rotary South Club, is raising funds for the Brandon chapter of the Dream Factory, which grants wishes to critically ill children; greater Brandon area YMCAs; and the children's theater at Center Place.

This year, Elam is once again president of the roundtable, a position he has assumed several times since he opened Brandon's first law firm in the early 1970s. The roundtable, an umbrella organization made up of Brandon civic and nonprofit groups, has hosted Brandon's Fourth of July festivities for 50 years, and Elam has been active in the organization since coming to the area.

His involvement isn't simply out of convenience - because the parade passes by his front yard. Elam said he likes the small-town quality it brings to Brandon, no matter how large the community grows.

"It's a nice, hometown tradition," Elam said. "It's the one event that brings the entire community together."

The parade attracts more than 100,000 people each year, making it one of the largest in the state. However, Elam laments that only a handful of volunteers ever step up to help organize it, no matter how much the roundtable appeals to the community for help.

"It's a massive effort," he said. "But it's hard to find people willing to put in all that time and work."

One person the roundtable has been able to count on year after year is parade marshal LaWayne Wyatt, who is in charge of getting the units lined up and coordinating people to monitor the parade route, control the crowds and handle communications.

"Talk about a thankless job," Elam. "But LaWayne is always there. He's such an endearing person."

Wyatt, a management information specialist, first became involved in the Brandon parade in 1988 as a volunteer on the lineup crew. He took over as parade marshal in 1995.

Wyatt depends on a team of about 20 volunteers, including members of the Brandon Amateur Radio Society. The society provides all the radios for the parade committee and volunteers. Wyatt is still seeking volunteers. Anyone interested can call him evenings at (813) 741-0193.

Starting at 7 a.m. on the morning of the parade, Wyatt and his team begin setting stakes in the ground along Lumsden Road between Parsons and Kings avenues, marking off spots for each division. Meanwhile, other volunteers wait at the staging area at La Viva Plaza to direct parade participants to their correct spots in the lineup.

As in past years, the parade will begin at 10 a.m. at Lumsden Road and Parsons Avenue, turn left and head north on Parsons, then turn left on Robertson Street. The parade ends at Buckingham Place just before the Publix parking lot west of Kings.

As always, the reviewing stand will be at The Brandon News & Tribune offices at 505 W. Robertson St. A master of ceremonies will announce the units, which will be scrutinized by a panel of judges and prizes will be awarded.

This year's parade will be more than a mile long, with 101 units - including a number of new floats, said parade chairwoman Peggs Stuart.

"We've gotten a great response this year," she said. "There will be quite a few new things for people to see."

Most likely due to the high price of gas, this year's parade will have an abundance of motorcycle and motor scooter entries, she said.

"The AMVETS will have up to 30 motorcycles in the parade, and another group will be bringing motor scooters from the 1950s," she said. Also in the lineup is the Faith Riders motorcycle group from Bell Shoals Baptist Church.

Bell Shoals Baptist will have a number of entries this year, including the Heav'nly Hillbillies singers and the Faith Cruisers with their classic cars. The church also will have three floats representing Bell Shoals' roots as a tent ministry, its present with the recent opening of its new worship center and its plans for the future.

The River of Life United Methodist Church cluster, made up of seven area United Methodist churches, is collaborating on a joint float.

Parade watchers also can expect to see floats entered by the Brandon Cowboys Youth Football & Cheerleading Association, a first-time float from Stepp's Towing Service of Tampa, the TECO Buccaneer float, the Rough Riders float and a new professional float from the East Hillsborough Democratic Club.

Cub Scout Pack 92 from Bay Life Church, the Sirens of the Golden Sabre krewe based at O'Brien's Irish Pub & Bistro in Brandon and the Lighthouse Ministries International, which last year won the award for Best Musical Vocal Unit, also will have parade entries.

Music will be offered by the Bloomingdale and Brandon High Schools Summer Band, professional fiddler Stephanie Ann Simon, Spirit FM radio and Stage Door Performing Arts. Stage Door performers will promote their production of "Oklahoma," to be presented July 10 to 19 at the Limona Village Chapel United Methodist Church.

Traditionally, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputy cruisers and motorcycles open the parade to ensure the route is ready, followed by military units - and this year will be no exception, said Stuart.

The 290th Joint Communications Support Squadron from MacDill Air Force Base will be on hand with a military Humvee and 5-ton truck. Also returning this year will be the Buffalo Soldiers re-enactment group with their horses and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Mounted Posse.

The Seffner and Bloomingdale volunteer fire departments will be represented. And there will be vintage fire trucks, one representing the Brandon Lions Club and another carrying U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampa trib.com.

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