2010 Rotary Rose Parade Float

2010 was a New Year's Day like never before. Most years would find me soundly sleeping through the early hours of January 1^st, but this year, I found myself pulling into an empty Pasadena parking lot at 5:00am. As the Rotary Rose Float rider representing District 5280, I rubbed the last of the sleepy dust out of my eyes and eagerly met my fellow float riders.

The journey to the Rotary Rose Float began in late August when I received a call from Governor Susanne. She said that this year's float would be ridden by Rotaract and New Generations members. Rotaractors range between age 18-30 and are either college students or young professionals. New Generations members are Rotarians but their clubs cater to younger members, primarily those 25-45. As a Rotaract member for the past 9 years, and a member of the South Bay Rotaract club for the past 5, I was excited to accept Governor Susanne's offer to represent our District on the float. I joined 7 other representatives on the float, each representing one of the seven Southern California Districts.

The 2010 theme of the Rose Parade was "A Cut Above The Rest". Rotary put a creative twist on this theme, entitling the float, "Service Above The Rest". The centerpiece of the float was "Dr. Bear", a giant teddy bear holding a bouquet of roses in one hand and waving to the crowd with the other. Behind him was an open book. Rotary's mission to end polio was inscribed on the pages. The back cover of the book said "End Polio Now". Over 425 million people watch the Rose Parade each year-just imagine how many people are now aware of Rotary's mission to end polio now!

For those of you who watched the Rose Parade live, you noticed that Rotary's float was second in the parade route. We were directly behind the Grand Marshall's car, who this year was Captain "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot of the miracle on the Hudson. Shortly before the parade commenced, we were informed that the Rotary float was the 2010 Winner of the Tournament Volunteers' Trophy for best floral design of theme 35 feet or under. This is a testament to the mission of Rotary International. Our float would not have been possible without the countless volunteers who gave their time and energy to build and decorate the float. All of the riders were proud to ride such a beautiful float and shout "Happy New Year From Rotary" to the crowd. A particular highlight of the parade experience was all of the Rotarians from around the world who came up to the float to introduce themselves and take photos next to the flowered Rotary wheel. There was even a father who told us his daughter was studying abroad on a Rotary scholarship and he wanted to take a photo of the float to send to her. The pride of Rotarians and their families was overwhelming, and that perhaps was my favorite moment of the parade.

The chance to represent Rotary in the Rose Parade was a stand out moment along the road of my Rotary journey. I'd like to share my appreciation to a few Rotarians for making this possible- Governor Susanne for giving me the opportunity to represent our District, Marc Leeka for his hospitality and first -class emcee abilities at the LA5 Rose Float luncheon, and LA5 Rotarian Ken Chong for his support along the parade route. As Rotarians, or in my case, as a Rotaractor, we are all so eager to share the work of Rotary. The Rose Parade is a special opportunity to share our mission of service year after year.

Visit www.rotaryfloat.org for photos of the float, bios of the float riders and committee, and much more!