Watching the world watch Texas.

Issue No. 8, 2025

In this issue of Branding Texas: Coverage of National Christmas Tree Lighting broadcast gets national and international pick-up for Texas-based Great American Media; Tiny Christmas trees for tots at the No. 1 children’s hospital in Texas; three grandmothers in McKinney dispense holiday magic and advice from a downtown booth; Christmas music with a country twang premieres in Grand Prairie; schools in Dallas mail Christmas cheer to folks in senior living centers across North Texas.


Thomas Graham

Texas-based Great American Media broadcasts National Christmas Tree Lighting

Country star Jon Pardi performed at the recent 103rd National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 4, 2025, at the Ellipse near the White House, joining other artists like The Beach Boys, Gabby Barrett, and Brett Young for the event, which featured President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lighting the tree and was broadcast on Great American Family.

Great American Media garnered national media attention and generated innumerable social media pickups for its broadcasting of the December 4th lighting of the National Christmas Tree.

Reuters and USA Today provided the most elaborate showcasing of the event with an extensive photo album. President Trump and the First Lady were in attendance, with POTUS leading the countdown and The First Lady lighting the tree. Vice President JD Vance and cabinet members Bondi, Hegseth, Kennedy, Bessett and Burgum all front and center for the festivities. The pictures include a snap of show-openers Gabby Barrett and Matthew West, both prominent country singers to whom themes of faith, family and God are central to their singing. The event was also featured in PBS news coverage and on BBC.

Great American Media CEO and President Bill Abbott was widely quoted: “We believe there’s great meaning in bringing Americans together to share hope and unity through music, light, and celebration.” Great American Media Chair Doug Deason welcomed the thousands in attendance to President’s Park saying, “Being chosen as the exclusive broadcast home of the National Christmas Tree Lighting is not just a privilege – it is the perfect expression of who we are.”

Crosswind, through our work with Great American Media, is proud to have helped plan, produce and promote this year’s event. The tradition of lighting a Christmas tree on the lawn of the White House began in 1923, bringing Americans together around a symbol of hope and unity.

 

Tiny Christmas trees in Houston cheer children at risk

We all need comfort this particular holiday break; so we’ve gathered a few Texas Christmas stories that have brought cheer and smiles to a national audience this month.

Network news at NBC featured a story of tiny, gifted Christmas trees delivered to lift the spirits of seriously ill children held over the holidays at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston – and institution ranked as the No. 1 pediatric hospital in our state by U.S. News & World Report for 17 consecutive years.

Young patients at Children’s are able to pick a personal favorite from more than 200 hand-decorated, kid-sized trees ahead of Christmas, reported award-winning NBC News reporter.

Texas Children’s Hospital partnered with J & J Flooring Group on an initiative called Helping Hands – a mission to bring Christmas to hospitalized patients. For the first time ever, children who are patients at Texas Children’s have the opportunity to explore an on-site tree farm where they can select a special tree to brighten their hospital room. Teams took great pride in designing and hand-decorating a unique theme for each tree, ranging from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Houston Astros and The Grinch.

Priscilla Thompson, who reported the tiny tree story, is a graduate of UT Austin and of the prestigious Columbia Journalism School in New York City. Her reporting has already won her an Emmy nomination, and her work has been recognized by the National Press Foundation, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the National Association of Black Journalists.

 

Three Texas grandmas take a stand downtown for the holidays

People Magazine found two more Texas stories this month for national distribution that do capture the rightful feel-good mood of the season. In the first, People lifestyle editor Toria Sheffield highlights a trio of grandmothers in McKinney, TX, operating “The Grandma Stand” during the holidays.

The stand invites passersby to stop for nonjudgmental advice, compassion and connection. The story was also picked up by local KVTV Dallas reporter/anchor Amelia Mugavero and broadcast nationwide on CBS News.

Said one of the three local booth sitters who styles herself as Grandma Nancy: “Grandmas are nonjudgmental and loving people. Sometimes it’s nice to talk to someone who’s basically a stranger, but with whom you still feel a connection with.”

The concept was first launched in New York State but has since spread to various cities around the country. This Texas version is set up in downtown McKinney TX.

 

Country music for the Christmas season… and Tex-Mex for Christmas Eve

People’s senior styles editor Hedy Phillips, reporting from Manhattan, published an exclusive sit-down interview with country-music trio Lady A (formerly Lady Antebellum) that celebrated the group’s new Christmas Album On This Winter’s Night.

Lady A launched the album on December 10 at the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, TX.  The album’s title song was co-written with Nashville’s legendary Grammy-nominated Tom Douglas, whose own first career success came from selling commercial real estate in Dallas.

Writes Taste of Country music critic Billy Dukes: “Vocally, Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood are as strong as ever. Their natural chemistry stokes coals in the fireplace, and they fit into one’s Christmas conversation as easily as a cup of hot chocolate or some spiced eggnog. The holidays are no time for grit, and these three are as smooth as Michael Bublé or Burl Ives.”

Dave Haywood – he plays guitar, piano and mandolin, and sings backing vocals in the group – is spending Christmas under the Lone Star with family and in-laws.  He said this about holiday eats: “We do Tex-Mex on Christmas Eve. My wife’s from Texas, so we do the big tamale kind of feast she grew up doing. It’s awesome.” Dave’s wife, Kelli Cashiola Hayood, a rising star in music management, is from Richardson, TX and has both an accounting and a graduate business degree from Texas A&M.

 

Holiday cheer from Dallas students delivered to North Texas senior-care facilities

Reporter Nicole Nielsen, who joined CBS in June 2020 and reports out of Fort Worth, won network pickup of a heartening Christmas story this month about a North Texas man who has collected hundreds of Christmas messages from kids to distribute to isolated seniors across Dallas.

Nicole’s usual Texas beat can take on a darker tone – ranging from school shootings to international fraud cases – and has had her stories picked up by CBS Mornings and CBS News Roundup.

But this new story from Nicole is decidedly upbeat: Local business owner Trae Jacobs started the project by printing hundreds of coloring sheets with room for personal messages and then distributed them to more than a dozen schools across Dallas.  Hundreds of elementary, middle and high school students responded and their notes will be distributed by Trae and supporters to senior living in care facilities across the region.

Trae Jacobs is himself in the home-care industry: He owns ComforCare, a licensed agency serving families across the East DFW area – including Garland, East Dallas, Lake Highlands, White Rock Lake, Rowlett, and nearby neighborhoods.

 

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