Not only did Columbia’s Christmas parade draw record thousands downtown, but it also brought the community some statewide recognition.
Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves posted photos on Facebook and said, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas all across Mississippi with towns decorating for the season. In Columbia, my friends Kristian and Yolanda Agoglia with Looks Great Services made downtown look beautiful.”
While Reeves’ motivations are transparent — currying goodwill for his 2019 run for governor — it’s still nice to see Columbia’s name out there to people throughout the state for something positive.
The entire community pitched in with a cooperative spirit that made the event such a success. The Looks Great Services crews spent untold hours installing all the lights, the city had everything clean and ready to go, Kiwanis Club members again volunteered their services to organize the parade, businesses decorated and entered floats, and an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 people came out to enjoy it all. For one night, everyone was united. That’s a great start toward more good things happening in Marion County.
— Charlie Smith
