You can begin your Thanksgiving celebration watching the granddaughter of Nemaha County residents.
Brighton Kathol, 17, will perform Thursday morning, Nov. 22, in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Kathol’s mother, Stephanie (Gauchat) Kathol, is a 1984 Johnson-Brock High School graduate.

Her grandparents are Fred and Marcia Gauchat of Brock. Brighton Kathol is a senior at Shawnee, Okla., High School.
“We’re pretty excited. It’s just a great opportunity for her. No one from her school has had this opportunity. It’s priceless. They go for a whole week. They watch an instructional video and learn the routine. They rehearse the week before the parade. They will have some fun, too. They will go sightseeing in New York City. It will be a great week for all of them,” said Stephanie (Gauchat) Kathol.
Brighton Kathol will be among 600 dancers internationally in the Macy’s Parade. The dance teams represent the Spirit of America Productions and Varsity Spirit.
Stephanie Kathol said her daughter met the two main qualifications for participating in the parade. She is captain of her high school pompon dance team and is an All-American dance team member. Stephanie Kathol said the pompon team involves more cheering and dancing while a cheerleading team involves cheering and stunts.
Brighton Kathol has been dancing since she was 18 months old. She started dancing in a Mommy and Me team.
“She had an amazing dance instructor. She’s competed and won national titles,” Stephanie Kathol said of her daughter.
Brighton Kathol is involved in many other school activities. She ranks in the Top 5 percent of her senior class. She has been admitted to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the fall of 2013. Her mother said she is considering a career in pre-engineering or pharmacy. Brighton Kathol is strong in mathematics and science, her mother said.
“We miss Nebraska. We’ve been in Oklahoma 28 years. We hope to return some day,” Stephanie Kathol said.
Shawnee, Okla. is 30 miles east of Oklahoma City along Interstate 40.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be televised at 9 a.m. on NBC. The dancers will perform along the streets of Manhattan from Central Park West and 78th Street down to 34th and Seventh Avenue.
Stephanie Katrol said she has watched the parade on television for years, in anticipation of seeing Santa Claus, who appears at the parade’s end.