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Vol. 7 No. 12 | Richmond Suburban News | November 30, 2022
Ashland Olde Time Holiday Parade By Christina Amano Dolan Editor
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fter two years of excited anticipation, the Hanover community welcomed the return of the beloved Ashland Hanover Olde Time Holiday Parade to the streets of Ashland. The Kiwanis Club of Ashland has dedicated 25 years to spreading holiday cheer to all with the annual parade on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The club was founded in 1923 and is currently comprised of around 70 volunteers dedicated to serving the local community through a variety of projects and programs. Now in its 53rd year, the historic parade continues to draw larger crowds along with new and exciting displays every year. Ranny Robinson, chair of the Kiwanis
PHHS students give thanks to support staff with a Thanksgiving meal By Christina Amano Dolan Editor
Photo courtesy of The Town of Ashland
Ashland Town Council and Town Manager Josh Farrar pose in their festive attire while getting ready to cruise through the town in the Ashland Hanover Olde Time Holiday Parade.
Parade Committee, said this year’s crowd seemed to come in greater numbers than ever before, with residents from near
and far crowding sidewalks surrounding Thompson, England and Henry streets. see PARADE, pg. 7
Gagnon, grandsons raise $12K for fight against childhood cancer By Christina Amano Dolan old Gagnon’s sixth year participating in what has become Editor one of the country’s biggest With this year’s Great Cycle cycling events. He is among Challenge USA officially in the 33,675 cyclists who the books, Mechanicsville res- have joined the Great Cycle ident George Gagnon and his Challenge USA movement grandsons ranked nationally to help raise funds for the for their exceptional contri- Children’s Cancer Research bution to the annual fund- Fund (CCRF), which invests raising challenge. With thou- in groundbreaking research sands of dollars accumulated that is leading to better treatin community donations and ments and cures for children hundreds of miles cycled, the with cancer, assists vital famfamily team pedaled their way ily support services and advoeven closer this fall to a cure cates for childhood cancer education and awareness. for childhood cancer. see GAGNON, pg. 10 This year marked 72-year-
Contributed photo
George Gagnon and his grandsons, Michael and William Dickey, stand ready to ride while sporting their Great Cycle Challenge USA “I’m riding to fight kids’ cancer” shirts in honor of the annual challenge’s mission.
On the morning before Thanksgiving Break, Patrick Henry High School students in the Positive Dogs program spread the season’s spirit with a special Thanksgiving lunch honoring the school’s custodians, cafeteria staff and other support staff employees essential to the Patriot community. Positive Dogs program students gathered in the cafeteria for a special lunch with the school’s essential staff, featuring an abundant potluckstyle spread of homemade Thanksgiving dishes, comfort food, baked goods and more made by the students and their parents. “A lot of the parents came in strong,” said Brandon Farrar, PHHS assistant principal and founder of the Positive Dogs program. Positive Dogs member Peyton Dyer even brought a Thanksgiving turkey cooked by his mother the night before. Farrar, who has led the program for five years, first introduced the Positive Dogs program to Mechanicsville High School to promote the message of author Jon Gordon in his book, “The Positive Dog: A Story About the Power of Positivity.”
Christina Amano Dolan/The Local
Patrick Henry High School cafeteria faculty line up for the first pick of the Positive Dogs Thanksgiving spread.
“It’s basically all about intentional talking about different aspects of leadership that are positive, because in a world that’s filled with negativity, I want them to take the time to find out what the small things you can do every day are to make your life better but, more importantly, others’,” Farrar said. Before staff and students dug into the holiday buffet, Farrar offered an overview of the book to the crowd with extra copies distributed on each dining table. “The whole idea of this is you’ve got two dogs within see PHHS pg. 9