Officials announced Thursday afternoon that Boyd Bates has been selected as the Grand Marshal for this year’s Fredonia Valley Parade which will be held next week.
According to Michelle Travis, Bates was born in December 1964 to Ray Bates and Ruth Farmer in Madisonville, where his family lived for 5 years and moved to Fredonia.
She says Bates attended Fredonia Elementary and graduated from Caldwell County High School. He then joined the Army National Guard where he served 4 years of active duty during the time he was enlisted. He was deployed in 2003 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and in 2005 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he received a Purple Heart. He retired after 23 years of service.
Boyd reportedly worked with the Ironworkers 782 where he took part in working on the new Ledbetter Bridge along with other projects and then retired at the age of 55. Travis indicates Boyd also worked in several different police departments including the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office, Providence Police Department, and Cadiz Police Department. He joined the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office in January 2023 where he currently works.
Travis says Boyd volunteers his time by mowing the Legion ball fields, helps with all the parades in Fredonia, and lends a helping hand to anyone that he can — especially the elderly citizens of Fredonia.
Boyd is married to Kathy Bates and has three children: Crystal Bates, Michael Bates, and Aundria Williams and husband, Cain, along with two step-children, Gauge Gray and Brooklyn Gray. He has one granddaughter, Maggie Williams.
The Fredonia Valley Parade will be Friday evening, August 11, at 6:00. Officials are asking everyone in the parade to start lining up around 5:15 to 5:30 p.m. You need to enter by Fredonia City Hall and drive toward First Baptist Church where someone will point you in the right direction. Officials ask that you do not park in the parking lot of the church.
If you bring horses or anything that is being hauled like a tractor or antique car, etc., you are asked to park behind the old Fredonia School and unload there.
For any questions, please call Michelle Travis at (270) 625-6936. Any and all information will be posted on the What’s Happening in Fredonia Facebook page.
