Exceptional OC PR alum brings new traditions to life for The Rose Bowl Parade

The Rose Bowl Parade is an annual event that is accompanied by the Rose Bowl game, taking place in Los Angeles. This year, a unique concept for the Rose Bowl Parade’s opening ceremony came to life, and an OC alumnus, Ed James, designed the flag presentation that the parade committee now wants to include every year.

Originally, James missed the deadline to submit a float for the parade. Instead of counting himself out, he began to brainstorm ideas that would take the parade to the next level.

James’ idea was to form a flag team to celebrate the parade coming back after a halt due to the pandemic. The parade committee was thrilled with this clever idea and explored its possibilities. 

According to a story about James by Oklahoma City’s News 9 reporter Mike Glover, “James’ idea was to encourage the parade committee to go bigger after coming back from the 2020 COVID-19 year.” 

Glover describes the presentation as having, “18 flags, with each of them raising 8 feet tall on 12-foot poles.” 

This grand presentation demanded James’ hard work, even on Christmas Day. 

According to Glover, “the big Rose Bowl parade flags have never been done in the parade before, but the parade committee is so excited about the presentation, they want to include them every year.”

James was delighted to help in the parade and represent Oklahoma in this accomplishment. Recently, he moved back to the Oklahoma City area, but James continues to be in demand around the country.

“Ed James is one of the most accomplished PR alumni in OC’s history,” said Associate Professor of Communication Josh Watson. “Oklahoma is certainly going to benefit from having him back in the Oklahoma City market. He’s certainly welcome at OC as a resource for students who hope to follow in his footsteps.” 

To learn more about James, this recent Oklahoman story also highlighted his career and ways he has recently used his event designing skills to serve a nonprofit in Oklahoma City.