Two regional celebrities will lead parade participants this year. Rusty Ray, news anchor and producer for WBTW Channel 13 and Emmy McLean, 2010 Miss Greater Sandhills, will serve as grand co-marshals for the Laurinburg Christmas Parade.

Anchoring three shows, "News13 Early Morning," "News13 First Morning," and "News13 This Morning," Ray began working at WBTW News13's Lumberton bureau in late July 2002, where he got to cover anything and everything as an on-call, one-man-band reporter.

Since then, Ray has covered several hurricanes, the 2004 U.S. Senate election in South Carolina, three Daytona 500s, and every single NASCAR race at Darlington Raceway since the 2004 Dodge Dealers 400. His NASCAR reports appeared on CBS News ("The Saturday Early Show") and CBS Radio News in 2007. He also submitted work to be included in the upcoming release "Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR."

Beginning in January 2010, Rusty will teach a class on broadcast journalism in the Department of Communications at Coastal Carolina University in Conway.

McLean will represent the counties of Lee, Moore, Richmond and Scotland as Miss Greater Sandhills at the 2010 Miss North Carolina competition in June. She is a 23-year-old Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and graduate student at North Carolina State University where she is pursuing a master's degree in teaching.

McLean was named the national Sun Smart Teens Program Director, and her PowerPoint presentation, which has been made available across the country through the Skin Cancer Awareness Foundation’s Web site, was made the official information tool of the Sun Safe Spa Program. Her goal is to educate adolescents about the dangers of tanning with UVA and UVB rays and to encourage them to take advantage of safe tanning alternatives.

The parade lineup will begin at 12:30 p.m. along Railroad Street on Sunday, Dec 6. Entries in the lineup before 1:30 p.m. will be entered into the homemade float contest. A first and second place winner will be chosen based on float appearance, originality and theme. When the parade begins, participants will travel south down Main Street to the route’s end at Plaza Road.

Entries are $35 for non-commercial or non-profit groups and $50 for businesses. The chamber is also selling professionally made floats. The floats can accommodate up to 16 riders, and feature the organization’s or business’s name on the side.

Participants can join the parade by filling out an entry form, which can be picked up from the Laurinburg/Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce at 606 Atkinson Street, Laurinburg, or by e-mailing mkendall@laurinburgchamber.com. For information, call the chamber at 276-7420.