PASADENA, Calif. — All eyes were on California for the historic Tournament of Roses.
Leading the colorful floats and marching bands was former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. She was chosen as the 2023 Rose Parade Grand Marshal. Officials said she is the epitome of this year's theme, "Turning the Corner."
"No one has turned a bigger corner than our grand marshal Gabby Giffords,” said one broadcast announcer. “After an attack by a gunman in 2011, she showed true grit, working hard to regain her speech and mobility. While founding the Giffords organization to fight for gun safety legislation.”
Giffords also recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She along with her husband US Senator Mark Kelly were seen waving to the massive crowds. Giffords talking about her journey here, “I chose to make a new start, to move ahead, not to look back.”
Following the parade, Giffords and Kelly were on the football field where she did the coin flip for the Rose Bowl.
Giffords wasn't the only Arizonian honored during the grand festivities. Fallen DPS Trooper Tyler Edenhofer was represented on a float created by Donate Life America.
In 2018, on his last week of field training Edenhofer was shot and killed while he and fellow troopers tried to apprehend a suspect accused of throwing rocks and motorists on Interstate 10 near Avondale.
“He had so much to do and so much more to give,” said Deborah Edenhofer. Tyler’s mother.
Even in death, he helped 22 people by donating his corneas, helping two people get their vision restored and 20 others benefited from his tissue donations.
His floragraph was seen on the float, created in part by his mom.
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