Bill Gladden to lead the 2025 Christmas parade as Grand Marshal
BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
CHAMBERS COUNTY — The 2025 Greater Valley Area Christmas Parade Grand Marshal, Bill Gladden, served the Greater Valley Area through his work at the Chamber of Commerce — making a lasting impact on the community.
“My first reaction [when I was asked to be Grand Marshal] was I don’t deserve that — that’s not something I do,” he said. “Carrie talked me into it, and I’ve gotten pretty excited about it since I decided to do it.”
The Greater Valley Area Christmas Parade is on Dec. 11 — the parade will begin in West Point and travel to Valley, brightening attendees’ day with holiday cheer. Gladden said he enjoys the parade and encourages the community to join in the fun by attending.
“[It’s a place to] meet people and be social, because you go and park somewhere along [Highway] 29, there’ll be three or four people beside you and you get to meet some neighbors or some people from down the Valley,” he said. “The parade is neat — your friends will be in it, your organizations will have floats and it’s just a good thing to do. If people quit coming, they’ll quit having it — so people need to come and support it.”
Gladden graduated from Georgia Tech in 1976. After graduation, he moved home to West Point and worked at WestPoint Pepperell and then CharterBank. While he was working at CharterBank, he began his time with the Chamber of Commerce.
“The Chamber came in while I was at CharterBank, and they asked me to join the board, and I did. [Then I] served a three-year term, and then another two years, before I was elected president,” he said. “I served as president for two years — during that time, we just did the things that the Chamber did, and there’s a lot of just staying alive for the Chamber — because things were changing, everything was going digital.”
Along with his time volunteering for the Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce, Gladden also volunteered at West Point Depot Committee, Habitat for Humanity, the Charter Foundation, West Point Planning and Zoning Board, Rotary Club and Hospice.
“I get a lot out of volunteering, personally — that’s the greedy side of it, because I enjoy working with people and helping people do stuff,” he said. “I think it’s everybody’s duty to volunteer and to do something, because it’s just what makes the community go — you meet new people, learn new skills and you just make things better because you help that organization accomplish their mission better.”
Gladden also worked with the Junior Achievement program that was previously in Valley — making a lasting impact through preparing students for their college classes.
“I did long stand with Junior Achievement, which we don’t have here in the Valley anymore, but I taught economics programs at Burns Middle School and at the Springwood School for 15 years,” he said. “I get messages back from the students periodically through people, and they talk about taking an economics class in college and how what I taught them fits in and helped them understand what was going on.”
Reflecting on his life volunteering in his community, Gladden said he wants to encourage others to volunteer and help make a difference for future generations.
“For anybody who wants to volunteer — I can think of a few places, the library, the Chamber, the Fuller Center or a church,” he said. “There are a lot of places you can volunteer, and I promise you, all of these places need it — all these people need your help. They all have projects that are going on, things they would like to do and they don’t have the money to hire somebody to do it. I think it’s very important that people get involved in something.”
Carrie Wood, the executive director of the Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce, said she is thankful for the impact Gladden had on his community, and she hopes the community will join together to enjoy the 2025 Christmas Parade.
“It is a privilege to recognize Mr. Bill Gladden as our 2025 Grand Marshal,” she said. “His leadership and commitment to our community exemplify the very best of who we are. He has played a huge role in our community for decades and means so much to many of us. We look forward to this year’s parade with a joyful celebration on Dec. 11, as our community gathers to kick off the holiday season together.”
