Across the span of nearly 40 years, Miami Lakes has saluted veterans with the longest running parade in Miami-Dade County. This year, the Town’s Veterans Affairs Committee will host the 39th annual Veterans Day Parade from 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday, November 11.
Sponsored in part by The Graham Companies, Miami Lakes AutoMall and Dade Institute of Technology, the patriotic parade will feature more than 3,000 participants including active duty and retired military, veterans’ groups, local high school and middle school marching bands, JROTC units, and more.
The parade can be viewed from multiple locations along Ludlam Road from Bull Run Road to Eagles Nest. Parade attendees are encouraged to show their support by wearing red, white and blue, as well as by waving flags as the parade participants go by.
Grand Marshall for this year’s parade is former U.S. Army Sergeant and longtime Miami Lakes resident Fred Senra.
Born in Havana in 1946, Senra immigrated to the U.S. in 1961 accompanied by his parents and siblings. In 1966, he joined the U.S. Army and served for six years as an instructor in the Third Army Signal Corps. Stationed in Fort Gordon, Georgia, Senra trained more than 1,000 troops on vital communications functions and technologies including telephone line installation, radio and teletype operation, and exchanges for use on the front lines throughout the Vietnam War era.
Senra has been in the automobile business for more than 50 years and has been associated with Miami Lakes AutoMall since it was established in 2010. A Miami Lakes resident since 1987, he remains very active within the community and serves as chairman of the Town’s Planning and Zoning Board, and is on the Board of Directors of the Miami Lakes Foundation. He is a proud member of American Legion Post 144.
He married Maggie, his wife of 51 years, in 1967, and has three children, Michelle, Mylene and Fernando.
For more information, contact Committees and Special Events coordinator William Sanchez at 305-364-6100, or sanchezw@miamilakes-fl.gov.