Michigan Matters: Kicking off the holiday season Motor City style
Before hundreds of thousands line up along Woodward Avenue for America's Thanksgiving Parade presented by Gardner White, Bob Riney, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health, Rachel Stewart, president and CEO of Gardner White, and Tony Michaels, president and CEO of The Parade Company, appear on Michigan Matters to talk about the massive community effort to bring the annual event to life.
The Detroit parade (ranked the No. 1 holiday parade in the nation by USA Today more than a few times) will have eight new floats and a new giant papier-mache head made in the likeness of Detroit Tigers great Kirk Gibson in this week's procession, Michaels said.
Riney, chair of The Parade Company board, talked about the health provider's float celebrating its growing health care imprint in Detroit.
Stewart, who is the sponsor of the parade, talked about the event's significance to the community, which was first held in 1924.
The Detroit parade is again a finalist in USA Today's 2025 top holiday parade contest underway.
Then, the Detroit Goodfellows organization is in the spotlight as Jordan Mulka, executive director, Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison, and Anrico Lockhart, former gift recipient and member of the Goodfellows, talk about their annual event, as they will give away 25,000 holiday gift boxes for children across the region.
The Goodfellows have done so for 112 years, with holiday gifts distributed with help from Detroit police officers and firefighters.
Since it began, the storied group has given away over one million dolls dressed by volunteers across the community, as well as shoes, books, clothing, and other toys.
Mulka talked about their $1.4 million campaign, which is underway to help cover the costs of the gifts.
(Watch Michigan Matters at its new time: 5:30 a.m. Sundays on CBS Detroit and 9:30 a.m. Sundays on CW Detroit 50 WKBD).
(Carol Cain is the 13-time Emmy-winning senior producer and host of Michigan Matters).