CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A few  proud parents of Clarksville’s Class of 2020 seniors have come together to host an event to celebrate their accomplishments.

Approximately 534 seniors are scheduled to participate in Clarksville Class of 2020 Senior drive-through graduation parade on Saturday, June 27 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the James E. Bruce Convention Center, located at 303 Conference Center Dr. in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

In May, the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System announced that their tentatively scheduled July graduation ceremonies were cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19.

“It’s a funny story. I’m a supervisor at LG. Once  a week we have meetings with the president and anytime we have an excuse he says, ‘No excuses. Do something.,'” said  Joanna Ginyard, one of the organizers.  “My daughter is a senior. She was heartbroken about prom and everything they lost this year. I put a little vent on Facebook about us being disappointed, but in the back of my mind I kept hearing, ‘Do something!'”

Ginyard made a Facebook group and it grew from 40 members the first night to approximately 1,100 members as plans progressed.

“I said, ‘I guess I’m doing a parade’,” Ginyard said. “We are full swing. We have 540 seniors signed up. We tried to do it in Clarksville but due to liability and cost we could not. A few of us parents personally paid and got sponsors to give gifts for the seniors.”

Ginyard said so many business came forward to donate everything from bookbags, items for gift bags, decorations, food, drinks and even jobs.

“The outreach from the businesses have been overwhelming,” she said. “We are thankful for the businesses and volunteers. This is a positive event to celebrate our graduates. It’s been positive for us and my daughter and her friends are through the roof with excitement.”

Each high school has been allotted a certain time to come to the Bruce Convention Center and each senior can bring two cars with them. When they pull up, they will walk the red carpet and their name will be announced by former Indiana Colts wide receiver, Troy Albea. They will receive a certificate from Montgomery County Commissioner Jason Knight and be able to take both a professional photo and candid photos with family, before getting a gift bag and exiting the parade.

A deejay will be on hand to provide tunes and Hopkinsville firetrucks to provide celebration noise.

The event was designed to meet the guidelines of social distancing while still providing the fun, recognition and celebration of graduation.

There are currently 60 slots left on a first come, first serve basis. For more visit the Clarksville Senior Graduation 2020 Facebook page.

If you have a graduating senior in any public, private or homeschool, please contact the group at the email Clarsksvillegrads2020@gmail.com to get the specific details no later than June 19, 2020.

The following businesses and people volunteered and donated to make the event successful: Parker and Pugh Law Firm, Cumberland Hall, James E. Bruce Convention Center, Hopkinsville Fire Department, Christian County Sheriff’s Department, Operation Come Together, Nason Homes, Funding 4 Excellence, Lee Jaquess Tate, National Society of Leadership and Scholars Membership Outreach Chair Jontayvion Osborne, Lisa McDaniels, Publix, Crystal Eisenhofer, Channon Green DJ Greenlite, Schneider National Inc., Pablo Guerrero of Shake and Bake Transportation LLC, LG, Old Chicago.