Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood, and Fire Commissioner BJ Calvi joined with MGM Springfield President and COO Chris Kelley and MGM Chief of Security Trent Hufnagel to celebrate the start of the holiday season with a small tree lighting ceremony at MGM Springfield.
The ceremony included first responder representatives from the Springfield Fire Department and American Medical Response who joined Mayor Sarno, Commissioner Clapprood, and Commissioner Calvi in officially flipping the lights on MGM Springfield’s massive holiday tree located outside the casino. The ceremony ended with a performance by Vanessa Ford, whose daughter and grandsons were also in attendance.
Mayor Sarno stated, “First of all – thank you to our first responders. They continue to be on the front lines of this COVID-19 pandemic and will be working throughout this holiday season so let us remember to be grateful for their sacrifices. I also want to thank MGM for continuing holiday traditions like this. As we face these surreal and challenging times, these holiday traditions – though celebrated differently – remind us that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we will get through this together.”
