The Murray Developmental Center held a ‘Patriotic Day Parade on Friday.
The idea for the parade came from some of the Murray residents who wanted to decorate their bikes on the 4th of July and parade around the center. This led to the parade on Friday with floats, decorated trucks, trailers, side-by-sides cheerleaders, horses, fire trucks, and more.
Each cottage participated, along with several Murray Center departments. After the parade around the outer circle there was a wheelchair parade with individuals in decorated wheelchairs parading around the inner circle. The day ended with trailer rides in the MPA trailer, refreshments, and music.
Families joined in the fun, and the newly appointed Illinois Director Developmental Disabilities Tonya Piephoff also attended. As well as watching the parade she toured the center visiting cottages, as well as the day program at Murray Center, where she met several of the staff and individuals.
The President of the Murray Center Parents Association, Rita Winkeler, says Piephoff was amazed at how many entries were in the parade, and how the individuals and families were all involved. Piephoff also commented how kind and welcoming the staff were to her when she visited the cottages and the day program as well as how beautiful and neat the grounds were. Piephoff said she hoped this was the first visit of many to Murray Center.
