Watch: LINC drum line celebrates state bicentennial with FACT, Clydesdales, Gov. Parson and crowds

They had to rise in the dark, hitting the road in their school bus by 5:30 a.m., bound for Jefferson City after going most of two years without a public performance because of Covid.

But what a coming-out party.

LINC’s drum line and drill team from Smith-Hale Middle School in Hickman Mills broke out its blue and silver, joining the nearly 100 attractions with Gov. Mike Parson under Saturday’s brilliant sun, marching in Missouri’s Bicentennial Parade.

“My first parade!” said drill team member Brianna Strong, describing her enthusiasm for the trip to the Capitol. “Who wouldn't want to be in a parade?”

LINC and its drum line marched with other community service programs with the Missouri Family and Community Trust (FACT) that came together for the Bicentennial celebration.

FACT’s flat-bed float and Radio Flyer wagon car followed behind the drum line.

“Members have come from all over the state,” said FACT Executive Director Bill Dent, to recognize the role the network has played in strengthening the families and children of the state they all love.

“We’re celebrating us, and our history,” he said. And to the Hickman Mills students, he said: “You are stars in our eyes. It’s going to be a historic day for all of us, and you’re part of it.”

“Parades are the best thing in the world,” said Melissa Emel, executive director of Northeast Missouri Caring Communities. “It’s fun to see the excitement in the little kids’ faces . . . the dogs, the horses . . . old tractors, old cars . . .”

Emel was part of the team that designed and built a float on a flatbed trailer that followed behind the drum line along the parade route. A giant “Radio Flyer wagon” car completed the FACT entourage.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, in red, center, gives a thumbs-up to the FACT team in the Radio Flyer car.

LINC and FACT rewarded the students with gift bags and gift cards for putting together a drill performance and making the trip.

The drum line and drill team included some seniors and alumni who have been in the program since they were in elementary school, said drill team instructor Sheila Ellingburg, and it was nice to see them show out.

“We’ve been sitting out over a year and we had such a short time to pull this together,” she said. “I love my kids. We can depend on every last one of them. They were ready.”