Thursday, July 5, 2012

Sponsors Saved Annual Fireworks

By all accounts, the annual fireworks at Tanglewood Park were a success. And the big winners were the three companies that stepped in at the eleventh hour to rescue to the annual 4th of July celebration outside Winston-Salem.

Forsyth County officials had forecast an attendance of 8,000 people. The event featured fireworks by Hale Artificier Fireworks Inc. And it wouldn't have been possible without Winston-Salem Federal Credit Union, Piedmont Advantage Credit Union and the Winston-Salem Journal.

All three had good reason to step up with a $5,000 donation each. The credit unions are in the midst of a big push to capitalize on ill will toward banks. The newspaper, as part of Media General, is being acquired by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway and has good reason to show it prioritizes its local community.

"Warren Buffett and our new ownership expect us to further increase our community involvement," Jeffrey Green, the newspaper's president and publisher, said in an article. "When I read ... that the fireworks were being cancelled I immediately felt like we had to help and contacted the county."

Forsyth County had actually cancelled the event just weeks before it was set to take place, attributing its decision to a lack of funding. For a reasonable amount, three willing sponsors get to claim that they saved an annual tradition.

And it likely helped boost the event's attendance. Normally, the county spends $10,000 on the event with an attendance of up to 4,000. County officials stated that the extra investment would help them boost attendance.

Hopefully, the 8,000 people who attended the event will remember the companies that salvaged the event.

See the fireworks below:

No comments:

Post a Comment