Kit Bond to be SEMO parade marshal

In a nonelection year there tend to be fewer entries in the Southeast Missouri State University Homecoming parade because politicians aren't campaigning.

This year, however, a politician leaving office will be taking center stage during the event.

Sen. Kit Bond, who will retire after his fourth Senate term in 2010, will be the grand marshal of the Oct. 10 parade.

The deadline for community entries in the parade was Friday but will be extended, said Michele Irby, director of Campus Life and Event Services.

Because the parade is a couple of weeks earlier than in past years, participants were caught unawares, Irby said.

"We're finding that it's catching people by surprise," she said.

Irby said entries will be accepted up until the week of Homecoming. So far there are 35 entries, which is comparable to past years, she said.

The Homecoming theme is "Get in the Game." The parade will start at 9:30 a.m. at Capaha Park and travel east on Broadway.

During Homecoming festivities the university will also give Bond the Distinguished Service Award for his contributions to Southeast.

As a member of the federal delegation, Bond helped secure funds for the university including $7.55 million for the River Campus, almost $2 million for the Southeast Missouri Regional Crime Lab and $2 million for equipment at the Seabaugh Polytechnic Building.

"With tight state funding issues, these and other federal funds have made a significant difference in the ability of Southeast Missouri State University to serve its students and the region, and in the quality of life for all Southeast Missourians," university president Dr. Ken Dobbins said in a statement.

Bond will be recognized at an alumni breakfast Oct. 10 along with three other recipients of the award: Mike Smythe, general manager of KFVS12; Lisa Filkins, vice president of human resources at Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, a real estate company in Clayton, Mo.; and Cape Girardeau native Lu Ruzicka.

abusch@semissourian.com

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