Downtown Franklin's Veterans Day Parade returns Wednesday, Nov. 11, with an expected 50,000 spectators lining Main Street for what organizers are calling the event's 25th anniversary.

It will also be the last parade for Tom Lawrence, chairman of the Veterans Day Parade Committee, who is stepping down after leading the event for a quarter-century, the Williamson Herald first reported.

"I think 25 years is a pretty good run. A quarter of a century is a pretty good run," Lawrence told the Herald. He said he believes it is time for someone else to step into the role, though he plans to remain available to help.

"When we started this parade, I was 51. Now I'm 76. There's a considerable difference there," he added with a laugh.

The parade, presented jointly by the city of Franklin and WAKM AM-950, is scheduled for 11 a.m. It begins at West Main Street and Fifth Avenue, travels down Main Street from Five Points to Third Avenue North and ends at Bicentennial Park. As many as 5,000 participants are expected to march, according to the Herald.

Lawrence has served as chairman of the 12-member parade committee for the event's entire run. He revived the parade after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Franklin had last held a Veterans Day parade in 1946 to welcome troops home from World War II, according to the Herald.

Grand marshals

Two grand marshals will lead the Nov. 11 procession.

Art Jacobs, an Army captain and Vietnam helicopter pilot, earned three Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars among his military decorations, according to the Herald.

Beverly Williams, an Air Force captain and nurse, served with the 22nd Casualty Staging Flight in Da Nang from 1968 to 1969. She triaged and treated incoming casualties from field hospitals and prepared them for evacuation. "It was a privilege to take care of our wounded," Williams told the Williamson Herald in a separate profile.

The Franklin Police Department Motorcycle Corps will lead the procession, followed by the Old Glory Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution Color Guard, Franklin's police chief and the Williamson County Sheriff, according to the Herald. Local high school marching bands, JROTC units and veteran organizations round out the lineup.

Before the parade

A reception for veterans and their families runs from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Williamson County Archives, according to the city of Franklin. The Herald described the venue as the Williamson County Archives and Museum, where hundreds of veterans are welcomed and served breakfast.

The Franklin Special School District will also send students to the parade to show appreciation to veterans, according to the city.