BURRILLVILLE – Her party was cancelled due to COVID 19, but friends and family of Navy recruit Madison Davis weren’t going to let her leave town without a proper sendoff.
Dozens of locals joined first responders on Saturday, April 25 in a sendoff parade for Davis, an impromptu convoy of vehicles driving from Bella Restaurant to the recruit’s home on Joslin Road.
Davis, a Burrillville High School Class of 2019 graduate, was scheduled to leave home to begin basic training in the Navy on Sunday, April 26.
Her mother, Brittany Marshall Garneau, turned the event Saturday into a “drive-by goodbye” putting a callout to locals on social media, noting she, “wouldn’t mind a fire truck or two,” joined the parade.
Burrillville fire departments heeded the call, sending trucks, rescues and police cars, with representation from the Burrillville Police Department, and Pascoag, Wallum Lake and Harrisville Fire Departments. Around 50 vehicles met up in the restaurant parking lot, with participants staying in their cars while waving American flags and signs.
As they drove by Davis’s Joslin Road home, drivers blared their horns and sirens.
Norman Desjarlais took video of the event, posting footage on his Facebook page.
“I’m amazed at the response. There are a lot of cars here,” Desjarliais said. “I think she was very happy the town showed this kind of respect.”
