While many of her peers will be watching the Times Square ball drop on TV from the comfort of home, one South Callaway High School cheerleader will get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to march in London's 26th annual New Year's Day Parade.
Morgan Rost of Fulton, Mo., is one of about 500 cheerleaders and dancers nationwide to earn the honor, after trying out for a prestigious All American position with the Universal Cheerleaders Association.
Only the top 12 percent of girls who try out will make All American and get to participate in the parade, but the odds aren't the only thing Rost has had to overcome. She also lives with scoliosis, an abnormal curving of the spine that at times makes the rigors of cheering painful.
The trip will cost Rost about $3,000, with some payments due as early as Aug. 3 and the bulk of it due in October. She is holding a car wash from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at Auto Zone in Fulton, and is still looking for sponsors. Interested sponsors may call her mother, Tosha, at (573) 592-4950.