Tourism has a multimillion-dollar impact in LaGrange and the two women who help make it happen will be grand marshals of the Chamber’s 2024 Christmas parade.
Kathy Tilley, president and CEO of Visit LaGrange, and Lynne Holle, visitor center manager, will be honored Dec 5 as the parade rolls through downtown LaGrange. Theme for the event will be “Christmas Vacation.”
The dynamic duo was surprised by the announcement at a joint board meeting of the Chamber, Downtown LaGrange Development Authority and Visit LaGrange, held to emphasize the cohesive relationship of the three organizations.
Chamber President Connie Hensler said the selection of Tilley and Holle was well-deserved.
“The team at Visit LaGrange has done outstanding work drawing visitors to our town and enriching our local economy. Kathy Tilley’s and Lynne Holle’s passion and dedication to showcasing the best of LaGrange make them truly deserving of this honor as Grand Marshals. We’re excited to celebrate them in this year’s Christmas Parade for all they do to make LaGrange a vibrant destination and a wonderful place to call home,” she said.
The honor is greatly appreciated, Tilley said.
“We are grateful for the recognition of Visit LaGrange’s efforts to market LaGrange across the Southeast,” she said.
Visitors spent more than $280 million here in 2023, placing LaGrange in the state’s top 12 communities in tourism revenue, excluding Atlanta.
Tilley and Holle are enthusiastic, longtime LaGrange residents who welcome the opportunity to promote the city they have loved for decades.
Tilley is a UGA graduate with extensive marketing experience, including at Callaway Gardens. She guides Visit LaGrange’s work, partnering with the community to increase visitation. Creative and extensive online marketing has brought major results, and current projects include plans for a second downtown hotel and the restoration of the historic Mulberry Street Cemetery.
Holle, a Brenau graduate, is the ever-welcoming face at the Visit LaGrange LaGrange Visitor Center at 206 Ridley Ave. Her consistent hospitality and extra-mile effort have earned her the unofficial title of “LaGrange’s goodwill ambassador.” Holle also does a regular “City Scenes” program on local TV to keep area residents up to date on happenings in the community and coordinates a team of volunteers who assist at the Visitor Center.
Both honorees have connections to the Christmas parade.
“The coldest I’ve ever been was as a LaGrange High majorette in the Christmas parade,” said Tilley, laughing at the memory. Years later, during a stint as interim president of the Chamber, she found herself responsible for the parade and gained appreciation for the months-long behind-the-scenes work that precedes each event.
Holle is a second generation grand marshal. Annette Boyd, Holle’s mother and founder of the Sweet Land of Liberty parade, was honored in 1989.
Being named grand marshal “takes me back to a lot of parades,” Holle said. “It will be fun to be in the Christmas parade after all these years.”
The parade is one of the Chamber’s longest-running events. Founded in 1977 as a project of the Chamber’s Women’s Division and the Civitan Club, the parade annually draws thousands of people to downtown LaGrange.
“Generations of LaGrange and Troup County families have made the parade part of their Christmas celebration,” said Hensler. “It draws together people from all walks of life and from our church, civic, business and school communities.”
Or, as Holle puts it: “It’s the whole Christmas thing. It’s part of the magic.”