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JUNEAU - The theme for this year's Juneau Fourth of July parade is "America's Kids," and three amazing local youths will serve as the parade's Grand Marshals: Anna Graceman, Russadell Buzard and Nicole Nelson.

Anna Graceman, 10, is already an accomplished musician. At 18 months, she started singing and hasn't stopped since. By age 4 she could reproduce a song she had heard only once or twice. In first grade she wrote her first song, "So I Cried," which is on her first album, released last year. Graceman has played on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. When Graceman is not playing her piano or singing, she spends hours reading and writing stories. Her favorite topics include mythical stories, beauty in nature, and family. She also enjoys swimming, riding her bike, skiing and sledding. Graceman hopes that through her music she can make a difference in the world and encourage others, especially children, to nurture their gifts and use them for good on this earth.

Russadell "Lio" Buzard, 17, was born in Sitka. He just finished his junior year at Thunder Mountain High School. Buzard was stage manager for the opera "The Mikado" last fall; most of his theatrical training was at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. He was a member of the rifle team and the Boy Scouts, where he held the record for the most popcorn sold in the state of Alaska for two consecutive years. He holds the rank of Cadet Master Sergeant in the Juneau Civil Air Patrol (CAP). His peers wrote, "He knows that school is a big thing to advance in CAP and life after. He works very, very hard to maintain a blanced routine with CAP and school. He is a hard worker in everything that he commits to." Buzard enjoys video games, socializing with friends, discussing politics and philosophy, and writing short stories and poetry. He thanks his parents for putting up with him for 17 years.

Nicole Nelson was born in Juneau in 1995 to Joyce Niven and Daniel Nelson, and just completed her freshman year at Thunder Mountain High School, where she was an honor student. Nelson is a member of many groups in and out of school, including Student Council, cheerleading, Students Against Drunk Driving, Teens Against Tobacco Use, American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Girl Scouts Senior Troop 4009, and an intern with the Juneau School District RALLY program. Nelson's career goal is to be an art teacher.