EDMOND-- Members of the Edmond Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol marched in the annual Edmond Liberty Fest parade on Saturday July 3rd in a one mile route through downtown's main street. The annual event is a kick off to the Liberty Festival and Fireworks display held on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma. The event draws near 50,000 for the parade and more than 100,000 for the fireworks display.

Recently, both CNN and USA Today rated Edmond's Liberty Fest as one of the top ten Independence Day celebrations in the United States. More than 150 individual entries were included in this years parade and the Edmond Composite Squadron's color guard, cadet flight and seniors scored the prize for first place among the Marching Units category. This was the squadron's 10th appearance in the annual parade and only the second time they have one first place. "The cadets worked extremely hard to perfect their routines and it showed on Saturday." said Senior Member Rick Rutledge, the project officer. "The judges must have seen the same thing. Congrats to everyone who marched."