DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — A faculty member from one Decatur City School (DCS) will be heading to New York for the 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

DCS says Nicole Kmoch, the assistant band director at Austin Middle School, will join 400 band directors from across the country to perform on November 23rd.

Kmoch says she is honored to represent her school, the city of Decatur, and music educators as a whole. She also says she’s excited about where she’ll be in the lineup for the parade.

“We are going to be the first large marching band in the parade. But we will actually be following right behind Alabama A&M University who is also marching. So another recognizable group from Alabama. And we will be right behind Tom the Turkey balloon, and right behind the Snoopy balloon, right near the 10 o’clock hour of the television broadcast,” Kmoch said.

The morning of the parade, Kmoch’s group will rehearse starting at 1:30 in the morning, with preparations to follow afterward until the parade steps off at 8:30 a.m.