Central High School cheerleading captain to perform in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Since she was a high school freshman, Abby Addleman has been waiting for a chance to participate in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

Today, the Cape Girardeau Central High School senior will have that opportunity as a result of an invitation extended at a National Cheerleaders Association camp held this summer at Southeast Missouri State University.

As far as she knows, Addleman said, she's the only person from the Cape Girardeau area participating in this year's parade. She is the captain of the Central cheerleading squad.

Mary LeGrand, who coaches the Central cheerleading squad with Patty Wamble, said Addleman has earned the necessary qualification to participate in the parade for several years, but waited until her senior year to take the "big trip."

LeGrand, who also is a central studies teacher at the high school, said Addleman texted that she'd been placed in the front line of the cheerleading pack.

Abby Addleman, 17, poses for a portrait near her home Friday in Cape Girardeau. Addleman, a senior at Central High School and captain of the varsity cheerleading team, will be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade today in New York City. (Adam Vogler)

"That's kind of an honor there," LeGrand said. "She told us that when they go into a formation to spell out the word 'Macy's,' she's in the left leg of the 'M' and she's in the front row of the formation."

The parade is scheduled to be broadcast on NBC starting at 8 a.m. today.

Addleman's trip is being offered through Spirit of America Productions, which has a cheerleading component, Varsity Spirit, and a dance part, Spirit of America Dance. Addleman's mother, Emily VanPelt, said she would pay for the expenses, but Addleman had to raise money for her plane tickets to the Big Apple and back.

She did that through a business called Bows by Abby, which offers handmade bows, key chains, clips and bows with ponytails.

Since the cheerleaders in the parade come from all over the country, they won't have practiced together before they arrive in New York, Spirit of America Dance sent out a short video so participants could practice, but Addleman just started learning it last week.

"I've practiced here at home watching [the video] on my laptop. That's probably why we have such long practices," Addleman said.

"I'm going by myself. That's kind of exciting -- flying there by myself and flying home by myself," Addleman said. "I'll have three roommates while I'm there. I've talked to one on social media. I don't know about the other two. They're all from Florida," but attend different high schools.

The most coming from one school is four people, so "hopefully it won't be super-awkward," she said.

The cheerleaders arrived in New York over the weekend. Leading up to the parade, Addleman said the group was going to practice twice a day, sightsee, view the Broadway musical "Newsies," watch the Rockettes' Christmas show, go up in the Empire State Building, and, of course, shop.

Addleman is in the color guard, plays clarinet, and is involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

She said everyone is "pretty excited" for her and she's not worried about the prospect of millions watching on TV.

"It'll probably be one of the biggest audiences I've ever performed for," Addleman said. " ... I don't think I'm really nervous. I'm just really excited. I don't get really nervous about cheerleading because it's one of my favorite things. I'm more like anxious."

LeGrand said Addleman's love of cheerleading is what makes her so good. "It's something that means a lot to her. She plans to cheer in college," LeGrand said. " ... She has very strong skills and she's dedicated to the task. ... She takes that captainship very seriously. She does a really good job of managing [and] organizing. She has to do a fair amount of choreography. She has to teach the other children on the team; she's a good teacher."

"Her coaches are very proud of her," LeGrand added. "We know she's going to do a good job because she does a good job at everything she does."

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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