Insights & Information

Triad teen is Kernersville royalty for a day

Katie Lakey rides in the Kernersville Fourth of July parade as Miss 4th of July

 

Memories of parade watching with her late grandfather on West Mountain Street — and the freedom it represents — have long made the Fourth of July Katie Lakey’s favorite holiday.

Add another reason: riding in the 2015 Kernersville Fourth of July Parade as “Miss 4th of July.”

“I had never been a queen in anything,” Katie says of the honor bestowed on her by the Kernersville Rotary Club, “and had been to the parade but had never been in it. It was so different to get to ride along and see everyone along both sides of the parade route.

“My favorite part of riding in the parade this year as Miss 4th of July would be waving and talking to all the little girls who were calling me ‘Queen’ and ‘Princess,’ as in, ‘Oh, there’s the queen, mommy,’ or ‘Oh, there’s the princess.’

“I enjoyed getting to call them a princess, too, and seeing their faces light up.”

Lakey found out she’d be parade royalty in late May. Weeks earlier, she had been one of five East Forsyth High School students nominated by the school’s guidance department. Like the others, she’d written an essay on “The Meaning of the Fourth of July” and been interviewed by a Rotary Club panel.

Katie Lakey

In her contribution, Lakey writes about love of country, family, and connections to Kernersville’s Fourth of July Parade.

“My greatest memory is of going to the parade with my PawPaw before he passed away,” she wrote. “He was a great spiritual leader in my life as have been my pastors and leaders at Triad Baptist Church. PawPaw had always planned on our family riding the tractor in the parade while my sisters and I threw out candy. We were not able to fulfill that plan due to his death from cancer in June that following year.

“Every year, we attend the parade and sit in our regular spots beside the small church on West Mountain Street in remembrance of him.”

The daughter of Robbie and Portia Lakey, Katie and family have been a part of Triad Baptist Church since she was in the seventh grade. Not too far behind her in the parade route was another Triad group — the Upward Football program — with a float and volunteers passing out flyers promoting the upcoming fall season.

She considers her parade experience another opportunity from God to note her faith and point people to Christ.

“Standing for Christ in the public school system has always been thought of as difficult,” Katie says. “You do hear and see things that many Christians would rather not and things that are clearly an offense to our Lord. But, for me, being there has forced me to let the Lord lead me and influence me.

“I am thankful that God has given me the opportunity to stand for Him in a place where He is not the center,” she says. “That includes giving me many opportunities to share my testimony with others and to be a leader in my school, and now to be Miss 4th of July.” 

The parade experience caps a busy summer for Katie. She graduated from East Forsyth June 6 and is preparing now to begin studies in the fall at Forsyth Technical Community College. After two years, she plans to transfer to N.C. State University and major in agriculture business and minor in accounting.

For the parade, the blue dress she’d worn to East’s prom proved the perfect attire. Her experience as queen also included helping lead the children’s parade June 27 and being a guest at a pre-parade breakfast with World War II and other veterans hosted by Hayworth Miller Cain funeral home.

“It was so rewarding to be able to see everybody you know, and to get to eat breakfast with the veterans and thank them for all they’ve done,” Katie says of her Miss 4th of July duties. “Being Miss 4th of July is something I’ll remember for a long, long time.”

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