Parade Rest was founded in 2009 by Greg Saathoff and Elsie Thomson who had obtained tickets to a Paramount Theater event, but found – to their surprise – no direct way to distribute the tickets free to veterans in gratitude for their service.   Over the next few years the research organization that Greg led within the University of Virginia, the Research Strategies Network, served as “home” for ParadeRest with UVA students supporting its activities.   In 2015 it was incorporated as a stand-alone charitable organization with the same mission: to honor and appreciate our military and their families. In the same year ParadeRest initiated a photographic memorial tribute to local and University of Virginia military personnel who died while serving in times of war.   Currently, our Finding the Fallen tribute has photos and information on nearly 800 fallen veterans.

ParadeRest expanded free ticket distribution. UVA has made generous and significant donations of tickets to sports events over many years; especially football and basketball tickets are always in high demand.   Our ticket distribution program paused because the Covid pandemic made participation in large gatherings ill-advised; the program is now being re-started.  Recognizing that the life stories of individual  veterans should be preserved, in 2016 ParadeRest began a program of interviewing veterans, Nickel for your Story.  We established a relationship with the Library of Congress. More than 75 properly formatted, oral histories have been entrusted to the Library to ensure broad access and long-term preservation.

ParadeRest built a relationship with the UVA Foundation to organize an annual 4 our Freedom 5K race that highlighted veteran participation.   ParadeRest took full responsibility for the race in 2017.  Soon after, the pandemic forced “virtual races” in which participants made a 5K run at the time and place of their choosing and reported their run times.  Now, we have restarted the in-person race, along with the children’s races.   It is now held each June at the 5K grass race course at beautiful Panorama Farms.  Community involvement increases every year.

ParadeRest seeks donations from sponsors of the race.   Annually, a portion of the donated funds are awarded to competitively selected organizations in the local region that offer specialized support services that they have developed over many years.   The ParadeRest board feels that it best serves veterans and their families by having both our own programs – e.g. recording and preserving oral histories as wells as distributing tickets – complemented by financially supporting other organizations that, likewise, have developed a specific and well-formulated service that benefits veterans and their families.