Howard Johnston to be Grand Marshal in Christmas Parade

ONE OF LAWRENCE COUNTY’S MOST RECOGNIZABLE PEOPLE IS GRAND MARSHAL OF THE 2021 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CHRISTMAS PARADE.

ADVOCATE PHOTOGRAPHER HOWARD ‘HOJO’ JOHNSTON HAS BEEN EVERYWHERE, DOCUMENTING EVERYTHING, IN A CAREER SPANNING MORE THAN 40 YEARS. HIS LIFE IS DEDICATED TO HIS ART AND SERVICE TO THIS COMMUNITY THROUGH IT.

“I STARTED OUT SHOOTING SPORTS AT LOCAL BALL PARKS,” HE SAYS, AND ATHLETES IN ACTION ARE STILL HIS FAVORITE SUBJECT. HOWARD WAS ONCE TOLD HE HAS MORE PHOTOS ON LAWRENCE COUNTY REFRIGERATORS THAN ANYONE ELSE, A FACT THAT GIVES HIM GREAT PLEASURE.

FOR MANY YEARS, HOWARD JUGGLED A FULL-TIME JOB AT MURRAY OHIO ALONG WITH HIS NEWSPAPER CAREER. AT THE TIME HE WAS SHOOTING AND DEVELOPING HIS PHOTOS AND SPENT COUNTLESS EVENINGS AND WEEKENDS IN HIS DARKROOM. HE MADE THE SWITCH TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY SOME YEARS AGO AND DURING HIS BUSIEST TIMES ESTIMATES MAKING OVER 1,000 PICTURES A WEEK.

 HE RETIRED WITH ALMOST 30 YEARS IN THE TENNESSEE NATIONAL GUARD’S 133^RD PUBLIC AFFAIRS DETACHMENT IN NASHVILLE. HE WAS STATIONED IN SAUDI ARABIA DURING OPERATION DESERT STORM, AND HIS GUARD DUTY ALSO TOOK HIM TO GERMANY, BELGIUM, AND THE PANAMA CANAL. HE REACHED THE RANK OF STAFF SERGEANT AND WAS DUBBED “SERGEANT HOJO” BY FELLOW SOLDIERS. HE ADOPTED “HOJO” AS HIS NEWSPAPER PHOTO CREDIT AND MANY KNOW HIM AS SIMPLY THAT.

HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY WERE RECOGNIZED IN 2001 WHEN HE WAS NAMED CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CITIZEN OF THE YEAR. THE BANQUET WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 11 BUT WAS POSTPONED UNTIL OCTOBER DUE TO THE TRAGEDIES OF THAT DAY. HE STILL LIKES TO JOKE THAT HE “WAS SHORTED A MONTH” IN HIS REIGN AS CITIZEN OF THE YEAR. HOWARD’S SENSE OF HUMOR IS AS MUCH HIS TRADEMARK AS HIS EVER-PRESENT CAMERA.

HOWARD IS A LIFELONG RESIDENT OF LAWRENCE COUNTY, AND HAS TWO CHILDREN, KERRY JOHNSTON PRATT OF SPRING HILL, AND BRUCE JOHNSTON OF LAWRENCEBURG. HE ALSO HAS THREE GRANDCHILDREN AND FOUR GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN.

CHAMBER PARADE