In Garland, there are few things more important or more invigorating for the town than its annual Rotary Day Parade.

The town comes together in a unique way, celebrating its people, honoring those who have served our country so loyally and recognizing the flavor of small-town life in a big time way.

For a small town, the annual Rotary Day event comes off with tremendous flare and proves that it doesn’t take large numbers of people to pull off a hugely successful day or that small towns can’t welcome throngs of people into its midst.

This past weekend early estimates are that some 3,000 people attended the annual Rotary Day Parade and Fair, and by the accounts of those interviewed about the event, it was a great day.

The town’s Rotary Club is small in number but it’s big in commitment. Those involved in the event each year work hard to pull off not only a successful event but aim to improve it — which they’ve done — year after year. And nearly from the time this year’s event ended Saturday evening,, the club will begin working on next year’s.

Last year, we touted the event as one of the town’s best, but this year’s likely tops them all, and the promise is, that next year’s and the one after that and the one after that one will be bigger and better than those that have come before.

And that’s to the credit of everyone who has a hand in pulling it off each year. An event worth its mettle improves every year, draws more people and pulls in more favorable reviews, proving that hard work and continued commitment make the difference.

Such was the case Saturday in Garland without question.

Whether it’s the parade with all its regalia, the booths with everything from food to crafts, the salute to the veterans or the plain old fellowship among friends and neighbors, every year Garland improves its festivities and provides something in which the townsfolk can be proud.

We applaud the town’s Rotary Club, government officials who throw their support behind it each year, townsfolk who never fall short in rallying around the event and the out-of-towners who found their way to this small Sampson County town and are now glad they did.

Like the Garland event and this weekend’s Court Square Festival in Clinton, as well as dozens of others throughout the year, having local folks get behind it can, and often does, make the difference. It takes everyone to make an event like this successful, and by every account last Saturday’s Rotary Day Parade and Fair was just that kind of day.