Fort Worth-based GM Financial, the wholly owned captive finance subsidiary of General Motors, has officially become the new Title Sponsor of the Fort Worth Parade of Lights, annually held the Sunday before Thanksgiving in Downtown Fort Worth. As a result of GM Financial’s five-year sponsorship commitment, the parade’s official name for 2018 has been changed to the “GM Financial Parade of Lights Celebrating 100 Years of Cook Children’s.”
The 36th annual GM Financial Parade of Lights will kick off the 2018 holiday season on Sunday, November 18. The 2018 parade theme, “Through the Eyes of a Child!” pays tribute to Cook Children’s Medical Center’s 100th birthday celebration, and special families and children from Cook Children’s will be the 2018 parade Grand Marshals. The parade will serve as Cook Children’s finale event in its year-long centennial celebration series.
“GM Financial’s culture is based on strengthening the communities where we live and work, which aligns with the Parade of Lights’ mission to bring people together in the spirit of community,” said Dan Berce, president and CEO of GM Financial. “As the largest employer in downtown Fort Worth, we are pleased to help preserve the special tradition of the Parade of Lights in the city we’ve been proud to call home for 25 years.”
First staged in 1983, Fort Worth’s signature parade has grown to become Texas’ largest illuminated holiday procession, with more than 100 professionally designed and produced floats (each with more than 12,000 lights), antique cars, marching bands, decorated horse-drawn carriages, strolling carolers, and Santa and Mrs. Claus all along a 1.59-mile parade route.
Tickets for reserved 2018 parade “Street Seats” went on sale on August 15, and can be purchased online here: www.fortworthparadeoflights.org/parade-information/street-seats/.
“GM Financial fosters a corporate culture that encourages employee participation in the community, and they’re investing heavily in implementing programs to further employee recruitment, retention, and dealer activation. We are so proud that GM Financial chose the Fort Worth Parade of Lights to be a key component of their community, employee, and dealer relations long-term strategy,” said Nina Petty, chairman of the Festivals and Events Committee for Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc. “We would also like to thank XTO Energy for their many years of support as our Title Sponsor, and appreciate everything they have done for downtown and the greater Fort Worth community.”