The recent summer-like weather may make it hard for some to get into the Christmas spirit, but Betty Christopher remains in the spirit year-round.

This will be the 14th year Christopher has been affiliated with the annual Christmas parade in Athens, though she has chaired the event for the last several years. She said Tuesday she never gets tired of planning one of Limestone County’s top annual events.

“I just love it, and it’s something I enjoy doing,” she said. “It brings everybody together, and it’s just a really good thing for the community.”

Up until this year, the event was known as the Reliance Bank Christmas Parade. Now that Reliance Bank has been purchased by Trustmark Corp., this year’s event will be the inaugural Trustmark Christmas Parade.

Christopher, who also serves as president of Trustmark Bank in Athens, said parade-watchers shouldn’t anticipate any changes to the event, however.

“I hope it’s as great as it was last year and the year before,” she said. “We’ve had great parades the past two years; they’ve just been perfect.”

Last year’s parade was well-attended, despite the fact the city of Huntsville decided to hold its Christmas parade on the same night. For more than a decade, the Athens parade has been held on the first Thursday night in December, whereas the Huntsville parade was on a Saturday afternoon.

She was pleased to know this year’s Huntsville Christmas parade is set for Tuesday, Dec. 5.

The grand marshal and theme of this year’s parade is set to be announced later this week. Ideas were submitted by students at Blue Springs Elementary School. Clements High School will be the lead band.

“Our community embraces opportunities to come together and celebrate, whether it is the Athens Fireworks Show for Fourth of July or the Christmas parade,” Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks said. “For the parade, the downtown streets will be lined with thousands of people eager to kick off the Christmas season. Together, residents and visitors will get into the Christmas spirit, and they will do that in Athens, which demonstrates the quality of life our city offers families.”