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Dade City Woman In Parade Limelight

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A staff report

The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 12, 2009

DADE CITY - Channel 13 news anchor John Wilson and his son, Mark Wilson, also an anchor for Fox 13 news, will be grand marshals at the Pasco County Fair Parade at 1 p.m. Monday, kicking off festivities for the 62nd annual Pasco County Fair.

Assisting the Wilsons in leading the parade will be Emma Day Jones of Dade City as co-grand marshal. Jones, 56, was selected to be co-grand marshal in a drawing to correspond with the fair's theme of "Your Magical Ticket to Fun."

When contacted, Jones said she was excited to have won, a news release states. She has attended many parades before but never been a grand marshal.

The Wilsons, on the other hand, are celebrities in Central Florida, seen each night on Fox 13 television for many years. John, born in the coal-mining town of Big Stone Gap, Va., studied journalism, English and drama, and he anchored prime-time newscasts at several stations before joining Fox 13 in 1993. He is co-anchor of the 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts.

He has won three Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and numerous other awards. He is a popular master of ceremonies, narrator, lecturer and speaker and equally at home in front of a symphony orchestra. Married to a professional singer, Mary K. Wilson, the two often perform with orchestras.

Mark Wilson is one of the couple's three sons and anchors "NewsEdge" at 11 weeknights on Fox 13 as well as producing special reports throughout the week. Mark, an honors graduate of Florida State University, joined Fox 13 in 1997. He garnered honors for reports from ground zero in New York after Sept. 11 and from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast during and after Hurricane Katrina.

The Pasco County Fair Parade will start at Rodney B. Cox Elementary School, travel east on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, south on Seventh Street and west on Florida Avenue before ending at Pasco Elementary School.

The fair will continue through Feb. 22. For information, see the Web site www.pascocountyfair.com or call the Fair Office at (352) 567-6678.

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