Grand Marshal Betty Ann Ballard Lights The Way

Betty Ann Ballard

Winter Wonderland is the theme of the annual Bridgeport Christmas parade, set for Saturday, December 6. The parade, which starts at 4:30 p.m., will be a lighted event for the second consecutive year.

Betty Ann Ballard, selected as grand marshal by event host Citizens United for a Better Bridgeport, will be the shining centerpiece leading the procession.

“When we pick a grand marshal, we try to choose someone who does things for the betterment of the community,” CUBB representative Melissa Stovall says. “Betty Ann does that. She cooks for people, she helps with the needy, and helps with various baking fundraisers with CUBB and other nonprofit organizations.”

Betty Ann, born in Bridgeport on July 25, 1954, is a 1972 graduate of Bridgeport High School. However, her family’s connection to the town doesn’t start with Betty Ann. Her parents, the late Charlotte Day Bellomy and C.W. Bellomy Jr., a World War II veteran and volunteer firefighter, were also Bridgeport natives. A bench honoring them sits at the entrance to Bridgeport Utilities, where C.W. worked for more than 30 years, including a tenure as its board chairperson.

Betty Ann and Stevenson native Roger Ballard have been married for 34 years. They have 2 daughters, Amber Madewell and Ashley Ballard, and 1 son, Erik Coates. They also have 3 granddaughters, Kelsea Barton, Layna Madewell, and Katie Beth Helton, and recently welcomed their great-granddaughter, Ivy Grey.

“My hobbies are reading, thrifting for treasures, and cooking, which includes making goodies for the CUBB and Bridgeport Lions Club bake sales,” Betty Ann says. A member of First Baptist Church in Bridgeport since she was 16 years old, she is the church’s Sunday School secretary and serves on several committees, including as head of the kitchen committee.

Betty Ann worked at BlueCross Blue Shield of Tennessee in Chattanooga for 25 years. But she gave up her career in 1998 to help care for her ailing mother. After her mother’s death, she decided to remain at home to be there for her father and her young son.

“Bridgeport has been my home all my life,” she says. “I love living in our close-knit community and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”