By By Janet Little Cooper
The spirit of patriotism was in the air Friday morning as more than 100 people lined the streets of Atmore to watch the Veteran's Day Parade held by the American Legion and the Veteran's of Foreign War.
"We had a really good turnout for this year's parade," American Legion Post 90 commander Aubrey Stanley said. "We were pleased with the response from the people of Atmore who came out to support our Veterans."
The parade was led by a group of Veterans carrying their flags and the Northview JROTC. Floats from the 711th Signal Battalion National Guard, Huxford Elementary and American Legion Junior Auxiliary followed behind.
"We had three really nice floats representing three different wars," Stanley said. "Huxford Elementary won first place, the junior auxiliary won second and the National Guard won third place. We hope to have more floats involved in next years parade."
The rest of the parade was made up of antique cars and other participants including the Atmore Fire Department and The Atmore Advance.
Following the parade, participants met back at the American Legion for a hot dog lunch and the award presentation for the top three floats.
Veterans were also recognized throughout the week at several of the area schools in special Veteran's Day programs.
Ernest Ward Middle School welcomed local veteran's to a presentation held in the school's gymnasium on Wednesday, while just down the road, veteran's were honored in a special presentation by the Northview High School drama and theatrical group on Thursday morning.
Escambia County High School also held a program for local veterans Thursday morning featuring the presentation of colors by the high schools ROTC group.
Students at Escambia Academy completed the week with a program Friday morning in honor of veterans as well.