Canton Cadet Marches In NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade

CANTON, GA -- A cadet from Canton got the chance of a lifetime when she was one of 100 cadets from Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA) to march in the New York City Saint Patrick's Day Parade on March 15.

Danielle Wimmer, a junior at R-MA and the daughter of Chris Wimmer and Tracy Corbitt of Canton, marched in the parade as a member of the R-MA Parade Unit.

The cadets departed from R-MA at 6 a.m., which allowed them to arrive in New York in time to tour the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum aboard the USS Intrepid (aircraft carrier). After a night in a nearby hotel in Secaucus, New Jersey, the cadets and their chaperones returned to the city to march in the nation's oldest and largest (most participants) Saint Patrick's Day Parade on Fifth Avenue.

The NYC Saint Patrick's Day Parade is one of New York City's greatest traditions. Held on the streets of New York since 1762, the New York City Saint Patrick's Day Parade is billed as the oldest and largest parade in the Western Hemisphere. The event is a true spectacle, with more than 150,000 participants marching in the parade and more than 2 million spectators lining the streets of 5th Avenue.

Randolph-Macon Academy (R-MA), founded in 1892, is a college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school for students in grades 6 through 12. Students in grades 9-12 participate in R-MA's 91st Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC), and have the opportunity to learn to fly through a unique flight program. The Academy also offers several summer programs. R-MA is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is located in Front Royal, Virginia.