Farmers Float is 'A Cut Above'
Leading off the 121st annual Tournament of Roses Parade, the Farmers Insurance 60-foot tall marching band bugler turned heads all along Pasadena's Colorado Boulevard. Appropriately titled "A Salute to the Bands, " our float not only fit perfectly with our sponsorship of the parade bands, it also personified the parade's theme: "A Cut Above the Rest."
Not only was it among the tallest parade entries, it was one of the most colorful. Our giant bugler wore a vibrant band jacket made of whole red carnations with trim created with yellow strawflower and gold clover seed. In his hand was a glimmering brass bugle accented with clover seed, flax seed, silverleaf, ground lentil and blue statice. At his feet were eye-catching floral depictions of streamers and bright red roses. And cannons shot confetti from the base of the float to start the parade with a bang. He was accompanied by the 200-member Riverside Community College Marching Tigers (renamed the Farmers Insurance Group Band for the parade).
Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined the parade route to watch America's favorite New Year's Day tradition, and millions more tuned in on TV. In fact, our bugler put Farmers' name and brand in front of nearly 40 million Americans in 16.5 million households on ABC, NBC, Univision, Travel Channel and Discovery HD. The worldwide exposure was also phenomenal, as the parade was broadcast live in 150 countries and territories around the globe.
Undoubtedly the best seats in the house, right on the float itself, were given to some special Farmers VIPs: Agent of the Year Al Candos, Orland Park, Ill., and District Manager of the Year James Hawkins, Belmont, Calif. Also onboard, Farmers' top 2009 fundraisers for the March of Dimes: agent Jimmy Gary, Arlington, Texas; district manager Dan Siegfried, Johnston, Iowa; senior auditor Cathy Guevara, Oklahoma City, Okla., and state executive director of Arizona, the top fundraising state, Frank Soldano.
Did you know?
Farmers' first Rose Parade float, a drum-beating clown, rolled down Colorado Boulevard in 1959. We also participate in the Portland, Ore., Rose Parade and the Fiesta Bowl Parade in Phoenix, Ariz.
The Tournament of Roses Rose Parade began as a modest line of flower-decorated horse-and-buggies in 1890.
The Farmers journey began in 1928, when two men who shared a dream of providing a quality insurance product at a reasonable price opened the doors to the Farmers Automobile Inter-Insurance Exchange in Los Angeles. In the eighty years that followed, we've grown and adapted to meet the changing needs of Americans - but one constant has remained. We have an unwavering commitment to upholding the ideals with which we began by providing industry-leading products and services to the customers we're privileged to serve.
Today, Farmers Insurance Group of Companies is the country's third-largest insurer of both private Personal Lines passenger automobile and homeowners insurance also provides a wide range of other insurance and financial services products. Farmers operates primarily in 41 states across the country through the efforts of approximately 20, 000 employees. Farmers exclusive and independent agents, along with Farmers employees, are responsible for servicing more than 15 million customers.
For more than eight decades, Farmers has been helping Americans get back where they belong after life's unexpected events. Our story began with the simple goal of insuring the vehicles of rural farmers, but as the world changed, so did we. Our co-founder John C. Tyler once said, "The measure of our worth is not what we have done for ourselves, but what we have done for others." Farmers agents, district managers and employees make up what we call the Farmers Family, and as a family we're proud to give back to our communities.
Learn more auto insurance about Farmers community outreach programs and our commitment to education at www.farmers.com
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