Almost every child in America has watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City at some point in their life. Many may have dreamed afterwards of actually marching in the parade through the heart of New York.

Well for four Bulloch Academy cheerleaders that dream is about to come true.

Taylor Nelson, Candice Boyett, Kate Duggan and Courtney Burnette will head to New York City this weekend and prepare to participate in the 84th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The girls were selected to be part of the Macy's parade on Thanksgiving Day next Thursday during the Universal Cheerleading Association's Summer Camp in Milledgeville.

The parade will be broadcast locally on WSAV beginning at 9 a.m.

As captains of the BA Cheerleading squads, they competed for the right to be in the parade against all of the other girls who attended the camp. According to the girls, the cheerleading part of the parade will have a "Beach Boys" theme. The group will depart Saturday and return Friday.

"Going to New York City with just the girls is going to be a blast," Nelson said.

"I've never been to NYC before, and going as a member of our cheerleading team to participate in the Macy's Day Parade, it couldn't get any better," Boyette said.

"I've known these girls all of my life, since we all came to BA," Burnette said. "We've been cheerleading together now, forever it seems. I couldn't think of anyone else I would want to do this with."

Duggan, after listening to her friends, shared that being part of the Macy's Parade actually is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for her.

"When I was 4 years old my parents brought me to New York and we actually watched the parade," she said. "I remember thinking to myself, I would give anything to be in this parade. Now, here we are, all these years later, and I'm getting ready to go do just that. Unbelieveable!"

While in New York, the girls will visit both the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, and attend Christmas shows at both Radio City Music Hall and on Broadway.

Also, there will be lots of practicing for the nearly 400 participants in the UCA All-American Cheerleading Squad, led by some of America's best choreographers and dance instructors who have written this year's routines for the UCA.

Kem Dennard is BA's head cheerleading coach. She is a third grade teacher at Langston Chapel Elementary.
"I am so excited for these four seniors," she said. "These ladies have been given an awesome opportunity to do something they love to do on Thanksgiving Day. I know they will remember this experience for a lifetime."

In order to pay for the trip, the girls sold ads for their cheerleading team in the school yearbook and then organized and ran a cheerleading camp for youngsters held at BA during the summer.