PASADENA, Calif. – Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, will serve as grand marshal of the 134th Rose Parade.
Giffords will ride in the Rose Parade on Jan. 2. Because New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday this year, the annual parade will be held on a Monday in keeping with the Tournament of Roses’ tradition.
She will also be part of the coin flip before the Rose Bowl game later in the day.
According to The Associated Press, Giffords’ husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, will be beside her for the New Year’s festivities.
Giffords, 52, has spent years recovering after being shot in the head at a Tucson grocery store during a public appearance in January 2011. Because of the severe brain injury she suffered, she had to relearn how to walk and talk.
“Our lives can change so quickly. Mine did when I was shot but I never gave up hope,” Giffords said Thursday on the lawn of Tournament House in Pasadena. “I chose to make a new start, to move ahead and not look back.”
