ness

ALAN All ad
Special to Vie

teers have to get up at 4 a.m. on
Thanksgiving Day and come down-
town, often in freezing temperatures.
usie Gross is in the business
Gross, who must deal with her
of fun. But she takes fun very
year-long, full-time paid staff of 12,
seriously.
the army of volunteers, the city and a
Her tasks as executive
board of directors, said she gets a lot
director of the Michigan Thanksgiving of help from her friends. They include
Parade Foundation and the Parade
members of the Jewish community
Company are the same as any CEO of like Gary L. Wasserman of Allied
a major corporation. But few CEOs
Metals Corporation, who served as co-
share their office with a giant Elmo, a
chairman this year, past chairman Paul
huge stuffed dog from FAO Schwarz,
Borman and board member Alan E.
a three-foot hammer and all the
Schwartz.
Beanie Babies you could ever want.
Other Jewish members of the
Gross just completed
board are Nathan Forbes,
her first Thanksgiving Day
Jonathan Holtzman, Ira
Susie Gross
parade in Detroit as execu-
Jaffe, Dr. Melvin Lester,
with the
tive director, a parade that
Fred Marx, Alfred A. and
Distinguished
set a new attendance record
Robert Taubman, and
Clown Corps
of 1.2 million. She also
Pamela A. Wyett, daughter
and
sold out the pre-parade
of Eugene Applebaum.
Doddlebug floats.
black-tie fund-raiser Hob
Applebaum, chairman
Nobble Gobble, tripled
and CEO of Arbor Drugs,
expectations for the program guide ad
who sponsors the pre-parade
book, sold out the parade grandstands
Turkey Trot, said of Gross, "She's such
and even sold out of hot chocolate.
a positive, inspiring individual.
"We are the corner grocery store
Whenever you see Susie, there's a
that became a huge supermarket this
smile on her face."
year," said Gross. Her challenge for
One of Gross' fund-raising innova 2-
1998 is how to continue that
tions, the Parade Company's
growth.
Traditions: America's Thanksgiving
"I felt like my grandma's up there
Parade Cookbook, has been a huge suc-
in heaven shining on me. I had this
cess since it was launched last month.
wonderful first year with wonderful
Co-editors Annabel Cohen and Linda
weather, and 1.2 million people all
Hayman have agreed to do another
came to celebrate with me," said
cookbook next year, to be titled
Gross, who from 1991-96 was the
Generations.
Parade Company's director of special
Gross, 45 and the mother of three ,-
events.
sons, has changed the parade's market-
It costs $3 million to produce
ing approach, targeting kids instead of
Detroit's Thanksgiving Parade. And it
adults.
requires coordinating the efforts of
"Our goal was to reach children, so
6,000 people to stage it. The volun-
we had Elmo and we had Arthur, and
Santa Bear from
Hudson's," said
Gross. "We had
bi gg er colors, and
we had anima-
tion, because we
know kids all
want to see
things move.
Gross institut-
ed a marketing
survey this year
and learned that
although people
love the parade, (--
they want more
Porta-Johns.
Gross oversees
production of
three broadcasts
of the parade: the
Alice in Wonderland awaits next Thanksgiving.
half-hour coast-

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Susie Gross and the Parade
Company work hard for
12 months on their annual
3-hour extravaganza.

12/26
1997

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