Photo:  Stacy Evans

The guests of honor at a reception hosted Friday evening by the City of Lobelville at Lobelville School, following the annual Christmas parade, were members of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment assigned to the Perry County National Guard Armory. Pictured above, the 278th bowed their heads for a special prayer offered as a request for their safe return home. The regiment left this past weekend for Camp Shelby, Mississippi, for pre-mobilization training, and then will deploy to Iraq after the fi rst of the year. The soldiers marched in the parade Friday evening which, in their honor, was themed, “Hurry Home for Christmas.” The 278th is Tennessee’s largest unit; headquartered in Knoxville, the unit has more than 3,000 soldiers assigned to armories in forty-five cities across the state. More Lobelville Christmas parade photos appear elsewhere in this edition.