Former NBA star and hometown favorite Larry Hughes will join four other local notables as Grand Marshals for the 2016 Annie Malone May Day Parade on Sunday, May 15.
“I’m a hometown guy,” Hughes said about returning to St. Louis after retiring from the NBA. “I could live anywhere in the world right now, and this is where I live. This is home. I’m comfortable here. My wife’s family is from here, so everything is good for me.”
Accompanying Hughes on the Grand Marshals float will be KMOV-TV Channel 4 Anchor Andre Hepkins, Michael McMillan, president and chief executive of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, James Clark, vice president and community organizer for Better Family Life, Inc., and Sarah Woolfolk-Edwards, daughter of the late Ida Goodwin-Woolfolk, who was a long-time Annie Malone board member.
Hughes, a former CBC and Saint Louis University Billikens’ star had a multitude of college opportunities but opted to stay in his hometown to play for SLU for one season before jumping to the National Basketball Association. Hughes played from 1998 to 2012 in the NBA, averaging 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 727 games with eight teams. When he was done, he opted to return to his hometown and has rejoined SLU’s basketball program.
Leslie Gill, chief executive officer for the Annie Malone Children & Family Service Center, said the organization is happy to have the foursome lend their support to its cause.
“Each year, we have been fortunate to have some notable people serve as our Grand Marshals,” Gill said. “We are very thankful that Larry, Andre, Mike, James and Sarah are taking time from their busy schedules to join us for a fun-filled day with a purpose. I’m sure the parade crowd will be happy to see them.”
The Annie Malone May Day Parade is the nation’s oldest and second largest African-American parade. It raises money to help fund the agency’s Crisis Intervention, Transitional Living, Parenting Education and Therapeutic School programs. The funds also provide at-risk children and young adults a safe place to stay, learn and overcome life’s challenges.
The May 15 procession will gather at 20th and Market Streets at 1 p.m., and proceed eastward on Market to downtown, where it will culminate in an outdoor festival. This year’s theme is “Our Children, Our Community, and Our Priority!”
