Fireworks Funded! 10 Communities Win $100,000 to Fund Fourth of July Events

Through Liberty Mutual’s BRING BACK THE 4TH Contest

Boston – As July 4^th draws near, local governments across the country are asking, “How will we pay for this year’s fireworks?”  Their goal: overcome budget woes and continue the patriotic traditions families look forward to, every year.  To help communities preserve their July 4^th fireworks and parades, Liberty Mutual Insurance is pleased to announce the 10 winners of its Bring Back the 4th^TM contest, which – from May 4 to June 14, 2011 – encouraged U.S. cities and towns to compete for ten $10,000 grants to help fund their official Fourth of July events.

Americans seeking to support their local July 4^th traditions were asked to take a brief U.S. history quiz at www.BringBackThe4th.com, featuring questions about people and events that helped shape our nation and inspire others.  Each completed quiz counted as one credit towards a website visitor’s town, and the 10 U.S. municipalities with the most completed quizzes would win grants.  Bring Back the 4th grants are awarded to cities and towns in three size-based categories: small (four grants), medium (three grants) and large (three grants).

Following are the 10 winning cities and towns that will each receive a $10,000 grant from Liberty Mutual Insurance to help support their Independence Day celebrations:

Small City/Town Category:

• Brockport Village, New York
• Chester, California
• Dahlonega, Georgia
• Springfield, Georgia

Medium City/Town Category:

• Bozeman, Montana
• New Britain, Connecticut
• Wilmington, Massachusetts

Large City/Town Category:

• Durham, North Carolina
• Rockford, Illinois
• Springfield, Illinois

            “As an insurance company with offices in cities and towns across America, we know how important local Fourth of July celebrations are to our neighbors and our customers, simply because we grew up with these patriotic traditions, ourselves,” said Paul Alexander, Senior Vice President, Communications for Liberty Mutual Group.  “In fact, we created Bring Back the 4th with our own July 4^th memories in mind; be it a festival capped with nighttime fireworks or a decades-old parade where residents get to thank servicemen and women who sacrificed all for our nation.”

In addition to Bring Back the 4th^TM, Liberty Mutual also helps America celebrate Independence Day by sponsoring The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, a nationally broadcast CBS Television special featuring conductor Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops orchestra.  This year’s celebration will feature Academy and Grammy winning superstar Lionel Richie and will be hosted by Emmy winning actor Michael Chiklis, known for his starring role on “The Shield” television series.  Set on Boston’s Charles River Esplanade, last year’s concert drew more than 500,000 concertgoers and over seven million TV viewers.  Liberty Mutual – whose sponsorship brings the concert’s 20-minute fireworks finale commercial-free to U.S. households – has also ensured the entire concert will be broadcast in HD (high definition). This year’s national broadcast will air on CBS-TV on July 4, 2010 from 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

About Liberty Mutual Group

"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on A.M. Best Company's report of 2010 net written premium.

The Group also ranks 82nd on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2010 revenue.  As of December 31, 2010, Liberty Mutual Group had $112.4 billion in consolidated assets, $95.4 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $33.2 billion in annual consolidated revenue.

Liberty Mutual Group offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, property, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, reinsurance and surety.  Liberty Mutual Group (www.libertymutualgroup.com ) employs over 45,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

About The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular

The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular was founded in 1974 by then Boston Pops Conductor Arthur Fiedler and Boston businessman David G. Mugar. While Fiedler had been conducting Esplanade concerts since 1929, the idea of adding fireworks, cannons and church bells sparked new life into the well-known musical event.  Now marking its 38th year, the event is attended annually by over 500,000 people who pack Boston’s Charles River Esplanade and surrounding area. In addition, The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular airs locally on WBZ-TV from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. and then close to seven million people join the live televised festivities across the country on the CBS network from 10 p.m. – 11 p.m. and the world on the Armed Forces Network (AFN). The event is produced and coordinated by Boston 4 Productions, the production arm of the non-profit organization Boston 4 Celebrations.  For more information, visit http://www.july4th.org.