Marshals of the 2024 parade

Nia Imani Franklin is a composer and singer whose music has been performed by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Friction Quartet, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and many others. 

In 2024 Nia was named the inaugural Composer-in-Residence for the American Library in Paris where she will perform this spring. Previous Composer-in-Residence tenures include Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California and Festival Napa Valley where she was awarded the Darioush and Shahpar Khaledi Prize for Excellence and Innovation in Classical Music. 

Upon finishing her Lincoln Center fellowship in New York City, she earned the jobs of Miss New York 2018 and Miss America 2019 where she devoted her service to arts education advocacy. 

Nia was born in Winston-Salem, NC and graduated from the UNCSA with her Masters in Music Composition in 2017. 

Brent Campbell is a familiar face and voice in these parts. For nearly 20 years, Brent was a television news anchor and reporter in both Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and at FOX8 WGHP.  He was nominated for an Emmy Award during his time at FOX8 and has been recognized by the Associated Press, the NC Radio and TV News Directors Association, and countless other media entities as an outstanding journalist.

In 2016, Brent was named the Communications and External Relations officer for Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and thousands of families across the district received his daily or weekly calls with important updates and information. Brent was recognized by the Winston-Salem Journal and Winston-Salem Monthly as one of the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic for his unwavering delivery of vital information to parents and students navigating school closure and remote learning.

Brent has served as coach for Leadership Winston-Salem, as an officer on the NC School Public Relations Association Board of Directors, as the President on the Board with AIDS Care Services, on the Christmas Board for The Salvation Army, as a Trustee at Green Street UMC, and has hosted Winston-Salem's Pride Parade for more than five years. 

He is a strong community advocate for senior adults and LGBTQ rights. Brent was most recently named the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at Arbor Acres, Winston-Salem’s premiere senior adult living community and remains an ally of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and the hard work of our public educators!