Robbinsville – A homegrown realtor is the grand marshal for the Robbinsville Christmas Parade on Saturday.
Southland Realty’s Maxine Williams has been afforded this year’s duty as grand marshal of the annual extravaganza, which begins at 6 p.m. Saturday.
“While I am deeply grateful and appreciative of this honor, I would like to recognize all those persons who works tirelessly in doing these beautiful parades, Christmas extravaganzas and the many other events for our wonderful Graham County,” said Williams.
A Robbinsville native, Williams has been an extensive civil servant for Graham County, helping with education and the community as a whole.
She has owned Southland Realty for 25 years, bringing in more wonderful and supportive residents to Graham County.
Williams has 30 years of education experience, starting as an art teacher. She was then the administrator for Graham County Schools, overseeing projects for the Full-Service Community School Program. She was also a counselor who helped students find jobs and go to college while administrating.
The Community School Program allowed Williams to be very involved with the community while working for the school by writing grants and developing programs like the Youth Developmental Center. She also collaborated with the Graham County Board of Commissioners and Graham County Education Board to secure funds for the county. Williams helped bring the DARE program to Graham County, bring in the first Jostens computer lab, and also helped form the Cherokee language program.
She has also supported other community-based projects. She helped with grant writing and oversaw the project of building the Santeetlah Community Building – which also houses the community’s volunteer fire department.
The parade will be live-streamed on The Graham Star’s Facebook page.