By Blake Deshazo | The Selma Times-Journal

The town of Orrville is proud of the Keith Lady Bears for winning the 1A State Championship last month, and they will honor the team’s championship season this weekend with a parade.

The parade is scheduled to start Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Orrville Community Center. Lineup for the celebration will begin at 9:30 a.m. The parade will make its way to Keith High School, where a cookout will be held for both the Keith girls and boys basketball teams.

“Anytime in Orrville when something great happens, we always celebrate with a parade,” said Orrville Mayor Louvenia Lumpkin. “We are so excited to celebrate their victory.”

The Lady Bears defeated Spring Garden 38-25 in Birmingham the last week of February.

“We are proud of all the hard work it took them to become the 1A state champions,” Lumpkin said. “It took a lot of time and sacrifice, so we want them to know the Orrville community, and Dallas County, appreciates their hard work.”

The team dedicated their championship victory to coach Eugene Mason, who passed away just days before the Bears played for the title. Mason, who coached girls head coach Cecil Williams in high school, was helping the team prepare for the game against Spring Garden. Mason will be honored during the parade.

“For years to come we want our students at Keith High School to know that we appreciate them, and we are behind them 100 percent,” Lumpkin said.

Lumpkin said the community has been great at showing its support for the Lady Bears.

“A lot of the fans traveled from Montgomery to Birmingham,” Lumpkin said. “They were the ones who started it with the tournament, so we’ve got some good fans that went all the way. We can’t wait until Saturday.”

The parade is open to anyone who wants to participate.

“There is no charge for people to come out and help us support the team,” Lumpkin said. “All [people] have to do is show up at the community center and sign up.”

Contact Lumpkin at 996-8688 for more information.