SCOTTSDALE — Super Bowl XX champion quarterback Jim McMahon will serve as the celebrity grand marshal as Honoring America’s Veterans celebrates 30 years of presenting the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade, arriving in the same year the nation marks its 250th anniversary.

Parade Details

• 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11
• New route: Third Street, from McDowell Road to Indian School Road
  • See the full route here
• Theme: “250 Years of Freedom, 30 Years of Honor” tying the parade’s 30-year anniversary to the country’s 250th.
• Jim McMahon will serve as celebrity grand marshal, joining Honoring America’s Veterans in thanking the men and women who have served our nation through the Uniformed Services.

“Since my retirement from the NFL, I have devoted my time to thanking and honoring the men and women who have courageously served our nation,” McMahon stated in a news release. “Their sacrifices have ensured our freedom, and for that I am forever grateful.”

Since 1997, the Phoenix Veterans Day Parade has grown into one of the largest Veterans Day tributes in the nation, presented by Honoring America’s Veterans, a nonprofit dedicated to honoring, connecting and serving veterans and their families.

The Honoring America's Veterans logo.

(Courtesy Honoring America's Veterans)

“For 30 years, veterans have come down the parade route and seen people standing along the streets applauding them, thanking them and teaching their children what service means. That matters,” stated Paula Pedene, Executive Director of Honoring America’s Veterans and a Navy veteran who founded the parade in 1997.

McMahon built a football legacy that spans four decades. At Brigham Young University, he set 73 NCAA records and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1998. He went on to a 15-year NFL career with seven organizations — the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers — earning NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 1982, a Pro Bowl selection in 1985 and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in 1991.

McMahon won two Super Bowl championships: as starting quarterback of the 1985 Chicago Bears (Super Bowl XX) and as a member of the 1996 Green Bay Packers (Super Bowl XXXI). He is the father of four children, two daughters and two sons, and grandfather to seven.

The parade is supported by Medal of Honor-level sponsors USAA, University of Phoenix, TriWest and Spencer’s TV, along with other community partners.

Editor's note: The above was republished from an Honoring America’s Veterans  news release.