WHEELERSBURG— Over the weekend, hundreds gathered to celebrate Memorial Day in Wheelersburg, as Mike Gifford and Living With a Cause continued the parade tradition started 24 years ago by Joe Lester and Rick Wesney.

Two school bands, the Scioto County Sheriff’s Department, many businesses, Miss Wheelersburg and more were present in the parade that lasted more than 40 minutes. The route began at Kroger and ended at the veteran’s memorial by the Wheelersburg Pool.

“We welcomed the honor guard to shoot off and play the taps,” Living With a Cause’s Mike Gifford said. “We had the Wheelersburg band playing the anthem, and then we presented a $12,000 check to the Sheriff’s Department to buy a k-9 unit to protect our county further.”

The check was obviously important, as it wouldn’t be a Living With a Cause special event without some form of charity work involved. For Gifford, the giving was personal this year, as he presented a check for $12,000 to Sheriff David Thoroughman for the purchase of a new K-9 unit.

“We always like to have a cause attached to our parade,” Gifford said. “We really wanted to tackle this goal. As a matter of fact, I had a red coat on. When you become a Sheriff, you receive a red coat. My grandfather was a Sheriff over in Kentucky and I still wear that in honor of him. To shake hands with our Sheriff and have a red coat on was rewarding. The Sheriff told me that you wear the red coat when you have something important to do. It meant a lot to me to know my grandfather’s legacy lives on.”

Not only did Sheriff Thoroughman receive a check but he acted as Grand Marshall and claimed to have enjoyed his time representing his team at the parade.

“I was honored to have been the Grand Marshall this past Saturday in the Wheelersburg Memorial Day Parade,” Sheriff Thoroughman said. “Being a veteran who served overseas, I got to witness how blessed we are to live here in America. I am grateful for the sacrifices that our servicemen and women made that my family and I may live free. We must always honor and remember their sacrifices. The Living With a Cause organization spoke with a number of local businesses and citizens to help gather money towards starting up a K-9 program at the Sheriff’s Office. They gathered $12,000 in donations and presented a check to me at the conclusion of the parade. This money will be a tremendous help in starting a K-9 program and I am truly thankful for the generosity of our community. We have the greatest business owners and citizens, and I am thankful to have the honor of being Sheriff for Scioto County.”

Gifford, members of Living With a Cause, and his friends were extremely proud of the donation, as it was a special one for Gifford and one he worked very hard to manage.

“Our main goal this year was to bring in that money for the K-9 unit and present it to the Scioto County Sheriff’s Department,” Gifford said.

Over the years, Living With a Cause has hosted many benefits and cut many checks to various causes.

“We’ve had so many,” Gifford recalled. “We’ve honored students who have graduated schooling with success, we do honor people with an award in name of my wife, Bernadine, we recently just lost. Recently, the area also prematurely lost three children and we are currently taking on that cause now.”

2024 Miss Wheelersburg Shelby Hammond took a break from planning a large community event that will take place later this week to be present for the parade.

“Wheelersburg’s Memorial Day Parade left me feeling honored and proud,” Hammond said. “I enjoyed being able to participate and pay tribute to those who gave their lives for our freedoms. It was a beautiful day to remember! We live in an amazing country and our veterans are to thank for that.”

Gifford and friends are already working on next year, with a goal to make it extra special, since it will be a 25-year celebration of having the parade in Wheelersburg.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.