Cardinal Plant employees spread holiday cheer and carried off coal to be certain Santa could only deliver gifts in two eastern Ohio communities this Christmas.

The annual Christmas parades in Steubenville and St. Clairsville welcomed Cardinal Plant employees and their families on December 2 and 3.  

“2023 was Cardinal Plant’s first Christmas Parade and we had a huge turnout from our employees and their children.  It was great to support local community events, while promoting the plant, as well as coal fired generation,” said Bethany Schunn, Cardinal Plant manager.

Children of plant employees waved signs that read, “We use coal, so Santa doesn’t have to.” The signs were a big hit with the parade crowd.

“We had a lot of people compliment our float design and we had a great team involved behind the scenes who assisted with the construction of the float and other parade activities,” added Schunn.

Despite some rain, both communities lined the streets to celebrate the upcoming holiday and spread Christmas cheer.