November 18, 2024 • 21 mins
Join us on the Rotary Heroes of Hope podcast as we unlock the secrets behind the Rotary Rose Parade Float with none other than Gene Hernandez, the President of the Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee. Prepare to be enchanted by the meticulous artistry and logistics that go into crafting this floral wonder. From selecting top-notch designers and builders to sourcing vibrant blooms from Southern California, Mexico, and South America, Gene unveils the year-long journey behind the scenes. Discover the partnership with Phoenix Decorator and the sophisticated choreography involved in getting the float to Pasadena for its moment of glory.
Explore the dynamic collaboration between renowned service organizations like Rotary, Kiwanis, Optimist, and Lions during this iconic parade. Gene shares insights on the vital discussions among international presidents as they tackle common challenges such as membership and fundraising, all while leveraging the parade for unmatched global exposure. We delve into the parade's intrinsic value, not only as a branding powerhouse but also as a fun, engaging project for members and a magnet for potential recruits. Stick around for practical tips on securing tickets and immersing yourself in the vibrant spectacle of the Rose Parade.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Rotary Heroes of Hope podcast.
I'm your host, judy Zolfakar,proudly serving as the current
district governor for RotaryDistrict 5330.
Co-hosting with me is JamieZinn, our esteemed immediate
past district governor.
Heroes of Hope brings to lightthe remarkable stories of impact
from Rotarians within ourdistrict.
Our episodes shine a spotlighton transformative community
(00:23):
projects taking root in ourregion and extend their reach to
initiatives making waves on aglobal scale.
Each story is a testament tothe profound influence Rotarians
exert on the lives ofindividuals and communities we
are committed to serving.
Join us in this inspiringjourney.
Dive deeper into the world ofRotary with us and witness
firsthand the extraordinary waysin which Rotary touches lives,
and witness firsthand theextraordinary ways in which
(00:45):
Rotary touches lives andreshapes our world.
Welcome to the Rotary Heroes ofHope podcast, where hope takes
center stage and the heroes arethe Rotarians among us, turning
vision into action.
How are you doing today, judy?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I am doing great Good .
Well, I am excited becausetoday we have a fabulous guest,
mr Gene Hernandez, who I'm goingto let him introduce himself
here momentarily, but he is thepresident of the Rose Parade
Float Committee that deals withthe rotary float that is in the
Rose Parade every year.
So, he is here to share with usall the excitement about that,
(01:21):
about how you can be anambassador, how you can go down
and actually decorate and, ifyou want to, he has a way for
you to be able to walk or ride.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I know I'm getting my walk and shoes ready, gene, so
let's let you take it away, tellus all about it and let's have
this conversation.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
All righty.
Well, first, thank you forhaving me on the podcast here to
talk about one of my favoritetopics, and that's the Rotary
Rose Parade and our floatcommittee.
I am this year's chair of theRotary Rose Parade float
committee.
Not of the Tournament of Roses,that's a whole other ballgame.
We are one small component ofthat, but we've been in the
(02:00):
tournament for over 30 years,consecutive years, so we're very
proud of that fact.
And basically what we do, weput out a float every year,
which means we have to find adesigner and builder, then we
pick the design we want, thenit's built and then we put
(02:21):
flowers on it.
So that's in a nutshell.
The designer we use is calledPhoenix Decorator and they do
about almost a little over athird, if not almost half, of
all the floats in the parade,and so those floats they take
place.
We build them basically attheir warehouse, their building
(02:42):
area, which is um off the 210freeway.
Uh in, uh, oh gosh pasadenaright erwindale oh no, it's not
pasadena erwindale.
Where's that rock quarry off the210?
It's um erwindale erwindale.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I think I know that by now I'mshifting gears from another
(03:02):
panel.
Uh, we build it in erwindaleand then, basically, once it's
built and flowers put on andI'll talk about that in a minute
Then they drive it like threein the morning down the the
highway not the free of thehighway roadway to Pasadena, so
it can be then judged to OrangeGrove, where it's judged, and
(03:24):
then the next day the tournamentstarts.
So, basically, what we do, we,our committee, we meet with the
builders, in this case Phoenix,who we, who we chose as our
builder there's a number ofbuilders, but we've been with
Phoenix for a number of yearsand what they'll do, that and
this.
This occurs about february ofthe year, following the last
(03:49):
parade so this is a year-longprocess?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
oh, it's a year-long process, yes not necessarily
well to build.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
In fact I'll explain that.
So once, once we uh pick thedesign that we want, phoenix
will show us a number renderingsand we'll say, boy, that's the
one we like, let's go with that,take that to our committee, we
all vote on it, and then we givethem the go-ahead to start
building on it.
And they start building aroundearly March and basically what
(04:17):
they're doing it looks like abig go-kart kind of thing and
they put the, the the wire, notthe wire, the the steel on it
first, then the wire mesh, thenthey shoot it with a
polyurethane foam and then theycolor code it based on the
(04:37):
design we chose what color offlowers are going to go where.
So if it's orange, they'll putthe where the orange flowers are
going to go.
They, if it's orange, they'llput the where the orange flowers
are going to go.
To put orange, they'll paint itthere.
If it's red for rose, they'llput red where the roses are
going to go, and that's doneprobably june or july.
So it's pretty quick that thatthat process is done.
Then it's going to sit until weactually uh get closer to
(05:03):
parade day, because obviouslyyou can't put fresh flowers on a
float for months Right andPhoenix gets their flowers.
Basically they clean outSouthern California of all the
floral shops, every flower youcan get, and then they have to
go to many times Mexico andSouth America to get the
remainder of the flowers and thecolors they want in South
(05:24):
America to get the remainder ofthe flowers and the colors they
want.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
South America is really good about getting
purples and blues, which is veryrare in our neck of the woods,
and there's how many floats inthe Rose Parade?
Well, that's a great question,and it depends.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Generally there's right around 61 floats but about
98 events.
So in other words, you'll havemarching bands, Right, You'll
have equestrians, Then you'llhave a float, Then marching
bands, equestrian and a float.
So the whole thing stretchedout to about a little over 90,
(05:58):
but about 60 actual floats.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
That's a lot of flowers.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Oh, that's a lot of flowers, because the only thing
that's on lot of flowers.
Oh, that's a lot of flowers,because the only thing that's on
the on the float they have tobe.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
It has to be, uh, vegetative of some sort.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
I'm just gonna say it has to be a uh, biomaterial.
It can't be anything, uh,plastic manufacturer.
It's got to be, uh, it's got tobe a plant.
Bark seeds, uh seeds, yeah,that kind of thing.
It cannot be any, anything.
They made one exception acouple of years ago when they
(06:31):
were doing a tribute to RoyRogers and they had a stuffed
trigger up there.
Who's Roy Rogers, that trigger?
Yeah, I think it was Trigger,so he was that, the horse was
stuffed and that was OK.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Oh, that's interesting.
So there's a lot ofopportunities for Rotarians and
non-Rotarians alike to come andjoin in on the building of that
parade when it comes up.
So tell us a little bit aboutthat.
I know the registration is open, so tell us about the process
and how somebody can getinvolved in being a part of this
float build.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
That's an excellent question as far as who actually
can do this.
Well, a, anyone can do it,because Phoenix is always
looking for decorators for thevarious other floats.
They contract with the KiwanisClub to provide the vast
majority of volunteers that workon all the floats, majority of
volunteers that work on all thefloats.
We, the Rotarians, work on therotary floats, so we get our
(07:31):
Rotarians all over the worldactually to come out and what
they do, they can go on ourwebsite, rotaryfloatorg.
Go on that website and it'llsay decorator, sign up.
You click on that and then yougo down and you pick the shift
you'd like to work.
Now most of our shifts arealready filling up very fast,
(07:54):
but we still have a lot ofopenings on the first couple of
weeks and I'll tell you thedifference there.
The first couple of weeks iswhen you start doing the dried
material.
So you'll be clipping thelittle colors off of the purples
, off whatever those purpleflowers or the mustard seed.
You'll be putting thosetogether because that's the
material that gets glued on thefloat, the actual flowers.
(08:18):
That occurs about three daysbefore the turn of it, so
they're still fresh.
Those are the most popularshifts and they fill up real
quick because people want towork with live flowers.
So it's a process where youtake the flower, you put it in a
vial by the way, we needvolunteers to fill those vials
you put it in the vial and thenyou poke it into where that
(08:39):
particular color flower issupposed to go and we have a
crew that manages that, ourforeperson, who looks and says,
okay, today we're going to dothis Today, here's where I want
the colors, and so that's onejob.
There's a gluing job that'sprobably the messiest job where
you're the one that goes andgets the buckets of glue and you
(09:01):
paint it on the float andthat's where the seeds and the
dry material is going to go, andso that's kind of the process
of the dry material is going togo, and so that's that's kind of
the process.
To sign up, and then, once youhave your shift, you've paid.
We we asked for 15 dollars pervolunteer to sign up and that
gets you a, a shirt, and thatshirt we kind of uses your
ticket to get inside the thebuilding and once you get there,
(09:24):
you register, or you'reregistered.
You get to our float site.
We have a table outside, wesign you in, we give you an
orientation, and then we takeyou in and you start working.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
That's awesome.
There's some otheropportunities clubs, correct?
Do you want to talk a littlebit about that, Jamie?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yes, so our clubs have the opportunity to go and
sign up and normally it's theyouth or the community service
person who will do that, and wetake our interactors down and we
take, of course, their parentsvia busloads and we go down
there and as a group, they willsign up and they will also
(10:03):
process, you know, the flowersand everything.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
And we really we appreciate the interactors
because they're the younger onesthat can actually climb up on
the scaffolding.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
I was going to say it's pretty high A little more
tentative on that.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Well, and a club can participate, even if they don't
go down to decorate, by being anambassador club.
Is that correct, gene?
Do you want to tell us a littlebit about that?
That?
Speaker 3 (10:23):
is correct.
Now, what I didn't mention isthat, yeah, we have to pay.
A float costs about $145,000.
And all of that money is raisedby our committee.
We get a small bit frominternational.
That was just last couple ofyears.
We started getting that about$25,000.
But the rest of it we have toget through sponsors and
(10:47):
volunteers who just bring themoney in.
So that's.
We created what we callambassador clubs.
So that costs $500 to be anambassador club and basically
you'll get a priority on a dayyou want to sign up to come down
and put flowers on and, moreimportantly, you know that
you're helping us offset thecost for a very expensive float.
(11:09):
And we're one of the cheapestones.
We're only 35 feet, which isthe smallest you can get, and
145 is.
In the overall scheme of things, building floats is very cheap.
You look at a Trader Joe's orsome of the big boys and they're
spending up to two, three,$400,000.
Some of the big boys andthey're.
They're spending up to two,three $400,000.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
And also Jean, if I'm not mistaken.
You can be an ambassador on anindividual level if you'd like.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
You can, you can, you can, you can pay to be just an
individual.
That's which I am.
All of my club is too, andagain, that's it's.
You're really donating to thefloat building and that's what
we have.
We really appreciate that, andyou'll get a little.
You'll get a jacket and you getsome little items that say that
you are an ambassador and youcan wear that with great pride.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And, if I'm not mistaken I don't know if you're
going to do it this year or not,but last year one of the
ambassadors you did a drawingand an ambassador got a ride on
the float, for last year we didthat.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
That was another way.
We're very creative in how wecan raise money, yes, and that
was another way that we did araffle, and the winner of that
raffle, which is announced atour dinner, our holiday dinner,
rides on the float or walkseither one.
There's two positions there'sthe walkers and the writers.
The walkers and that's where itcosts you 75,000 to be a walker
(12:37):
, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry 10,000, 10,000 to bea walker, 75, 10,000 to be a
writer, 75 to be a walker.
There we go.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
I was a walker actually one year, and I know uh
10,000 to be a writer, 75 to bea walker.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
There we go, we got it.
I was a walker, actually oneyear, and I know Jamie, you were
, and Judy, I think you were awalker too, correct.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
No, I'm going to be a walker.
This year, jamie was a writer.
Last year, I was a writer.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
A writer is there's two ways to go.
The writing people think, oh,that's the way to go.
Well, I don't know about you,but I don't like to sit, for you
know five and a quarter milesand I got to be moving around
and jumping, and that's what thewalkers get to do, so we
actually have more fun, I think.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yeah, well, and I will tell you, yeah, that space
where you're sitting, the wayyou have to hold your legs, and
all of that, yeah, I thinkwalking is a better way, better
deal.
Yes, but last year we were veryfortunate because not only was
I riding, but Myra Allen fromour Temecula Sunrise Club was
(13:36):
the ambassador who won.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Yeah, yeah, she was very excited about that.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
And keep in mind that each year, our international
president rides on the float too.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Well, I think that's a really big part of it when you
look at.
We talk a lot aboutcollaboration, working with
Rotary Clubs working together,but also service organizations
working together.
And at the Rose Parade, tell usabout how the three largest
service organizations in theworld get together and all their
(14:05):
presidents get together.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Sure, and that's one thing that we started, actually
a number of years ago, where wehave a.
It started as a brunch I thinkit's a lunch now, but we started
as a brunch where we wouldinvite the international
presidents of Rotary, kiwanis,optimist and Lions Thank you boy
(14:27):
, they'll get on me if I don'tremember them and Lions.
Those presidents will meet andmany times for the first time in
their year Now, they'll go intoa separate room while the rest
of us, the entourage, will havebrunch in another room, and the
reason being is that they thencan feel very free to let their
hair down and talk about mutualissues and then of concern, and
(14:50):
generally it's gonna revolvearound ongoing membership,
fundraising, those kinds oftopics.
And it got so popular withthese international presidents
that as a result of that, theydecided to have a group that
meets almost quarterly wherethey'll call each other and say,
hey, how's it going?
Can we share any ideas orinformation?
So it turned out to be a really, really collaborative effort.
(15:12):
I mean, we're all in it forcommunity service, we all want
to improve our communities.
So we're not competing, we'renot.
This is something where we worktogether.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
That's a big part of it too and I love that
collaboration.
And you know a lot of people.
Rotarians often ask why are wedoing this?
Why are we spending over, youknow, nearly $200,000 to do and
be a part of this parade?
So what's the value added thatwe're getting Rotary and in
general out of being a part ofthe Rose Parade?
Speaker 3 (15:42):
That's a great question, and two things
primarily.
One the viewing audience.
Over a million viewers on NewYear's Day and worldwide close
to 6 million viewers will seethis parade and they'll see the
Rotary float and the advantageof a float.
When our float wins one of thetitles and becomes a banner
(16:03):
float, going down, theannouncers will spend extra time
talking about Rotary.
This is Rotary International.
They made a commitment to endpolio.
They're, you know, 99% there.
They work with communitiesimproving their.
And then we talk about our sixareas of focus.
You know health, businesses,education, women and children
(16:26):
issues, and so I'm a clean water.
So it becomes a real educationpoint that people say, oh,
rotary, I didn't know that'swhat they did.
So where else are you going toget that kind of branding
anywhere?
I mean, it's one of the biggestevents in the world.
So people don't realize that.
They think, oh, is this a kindof a Main Street parade?
No, no, this is not.
(16:47):
If you've been to the Rose Turnof the Rose Parade, it's a huge
event, huge.
So that's one.
So that's a marketing tool forus to increase our membership,
so that we can get more peopleinvolved and say, hey, look,
this is what Rotary is all about.
We go on speaking tours andgive these presentations to
groups, and it's always nice tosay, hey, this is what Rotary is
(17:07):
all about.
We're really talking aboutRotary, and that's the advantage
, that why we should be doingthis, and it's where are you
going to get more bang for yourbuck.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Exactly, and there's just so many opportunities and
we talked about you know,anybody can come and decorate,
rotarians can be members and wecan walk and we can ride.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
It's amazing that the intrinsic value that you have
with this particular event, itis a bucket list thing and I
think what's great about it iswe always talk about the best
thing to bring a potentialmember to is a project.
And this is a project, and it'sa fun project.
And not only can theyparticipate in it, they can then
go and watch the parade.
And speaking of that, jean, whydon't you let our listeners
(17:51):
know how they can go out and gettickets to see the Rose Parade?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Now the tickets are run through a separate
tournament facility, an outletthat does that, and it's called
something Seeding I'm trying tothink of the first name of it,
it'll come to me in a minute.
Seating I'm trying to think thefirst name of it, it'll come to
me in a minute.
But they, they handle all theseating for the whole tournament
(18:17):
of roses and you want to getthere early and get good seats.
You can get, actually, you canget uh like uh, stadium seating,
or you can just go and park andstand on the side of the road
and watch the tournament, go byand watch it there too.
So there's a number of ways toview it.
The the committee gets, we getour seats so that we're right at
the beginning of the parade,right at Green Street and Orange
(18:41):
Grove, and we watch the paradestart, literally kick off there,
which is really cool because wesee, you know, the jets fly
over and it's just a wonderful,wonderful day to start and the
real advantage and I'll behonest with you is that when it
passes us, we can then leave,because there's another couple
(19:02):
of hours that thing's going allthe way down.
Colorado Boulevard and trafficwhen it lets out is a nightmare,
so we kind of beat that.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
That's lovely, yes, and it is sharpse, so we kind of
beat that.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
That's lovely, yes, and it is sharpseatingcom,
sharpseating, sharpseating.
Thank you so much,sharpseatingcom.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Sharpseatingcom.
Yeah, and you want to get there, and they also provide parking,
so you can get one of theirparking locations and then walk
to where you need to go.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Well, gene, it has been a pleasure having you here
to tell us all about the RoseParade.
I can't believe we're alreadytalking about Christmas and New
Year's already, but we are happyto do so and looking forward to
seeing the next Rose Paradefloat for Rotary.
Yes.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
I will tell you, ladies, it's magical.
So please, please, listeners,come on down and have the time
of your life.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I guarantee you we will have fun do you want to
give us a little hint on thetheme for this year?
Speaker 3 (19:59):
I'll give you one of the hint.
I'll tell you what it is.
The tournament's theme is bestday ever, best day ever, and so
we morph that, that into thisrotary On the road.
With the rotary, our rotaryhits the road and it's kind of a
(20:20):
theme of a road trip, and soour float looks like a hot rod
with a bunch of animals in thebed of the truck and they're all
kind of pointing forward andexcited to go on this quote road
trip.
And then we picked the musicfor that and that's the theme.
So it's a great.
It's really cute, verywhimsical and I think people are
(20:42):
gonna love it I love the cathanging off the front doing a
cell oh yeah doing aselfie that's it holding the
cell phone, taking a selfie.
Taking a selfie, yeah, taking aselfie, all right.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Well, thank you so much.
We're looking forward to goingout and decorating and I'm
looking forward to walking, andI hope everybody else is looking
forward to enjoying it eitherat home or on site the day of.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Please join me.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
All right.
Thank you, Gene, for joining us.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
Have a great rest of your day, Thank you ladies.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
All right, thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Bye.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
So that wraps up this episode of Heroes of Hope.
We are so happy that we have anaudience out there listening.
We want you to subscribe, shareand tell your friends about the
Rotary Community Heroes of Hope, because that's how we get the
word out about the impact we'rehaving in this world.
Welcome to the Rotary Heroes of Hope podcast.
I'm your host, judy Zolfakar,proudly serving as the current
district governor for RotaryDistrict 5330.
Co-hosting with me is JamieZinn, our esteemed immediate
past district governor.
Heroes of Hope brings to lightthe remarkable stories of impact
from Rotarians within ourdistrict.
Our episodes shine a spotlighton transformative community
(00:23):
projects taking root in ourregion and extend their reach to
initiatives making waves on aglobal scale.
Each story is a testament tothe profound influence Rotarians
exert on the lives ofindividuals and communities we
are committed to serving.
Join us in this inspiringjourney.
Dive deeper into the world ofRotary with us and witness
firsthand the extraordinary waysin which Rotary touches lives,
and witness firsthand theextraordinary ways in which
(00:45):
Rotary touches lives andreshapes our world.
Welcome to the Rotary Heroes ofHope podcast, where hope takes
center stage and the heroes arethe Rotarians among us, turning
vision into action.
How are you doing today, judy?
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I am doing great Good .
Well, I am excited becausetoday we have a fabulous guest,
mr Gene Hernandez, who I'm goingto let him introduce himself
here momentarily, but he is thepresident of the Rose Parade
Float Committee that deals withthe rotary float that is in the
Rose Parade every year.
So, he is here to share with usall the excitement about that,
(01:21):
about how you can be anambassador, how you can go down
and actually decorate and, ifyou want to, he has a way for
you to be able to walk or ride.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
I know I'm getting my walk and shoes ready, gene, so
let's let you take it away, tellus all about it and let's have
this conversation.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
All righty.
Well, first, thank you forhaving me on the podcast here to
talk about one of my favoritetopics, and that's the Rotary
Rose Parade and our floatcommittee.
I am this year's chair of theRotary Rose Parade float
committee.
Not of the Tournament of Roses,that's a whole other ballgame.
We are one small component ofthat, but we've been in the
(02:00):
tournament for over 30 years,consecutive years, so we're very
proud of that fact.
And basically what we do, weput out a float every year,
which means we have to find adesigner and builder, then we
pick the design we want, thenit's built and then we put
(02:21):
flowers on it.
So that's in a nutshell.
The designer we use is calledPhoenix Decorator and they do
about almost a little over athird, if not almost half, of
all the floats in the parade,and so those floats they take
place.
We build them basically attheir warehouse, their building
(02:42):
area, which is um off the 210freeway.
Uh in, uh, oh gosh pasadenaright erwindale oh no, it's not
pasadena erwindale.
Where's that rock quarry off the210?
It's um erwindale erwindale.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I think I know that by now I'mshifting gears from another
(03:02):
panel.
Uh, we build it in erwindaleand then, basically, once it's
built and flowers put on andI'll talk about that in a minute
Then they drive it like threein the morning down the the
highway not the free of thehighway roadway to Pasadena, so
it can be then judged to OrangeGrove, where it's judged, and
(03:24):
then the next day the tournamentstarts.
So, basically, what we do, we,our committee, we meet with the
builders, in this case Phoenix,who we, who we chose as our
builder there's a number ofbuilders, but we've been with
Phoenix for a number of yearsand what they'll do, that and
this.
This occurs about february ofthe year, following the last
(03:49):
parade so this is a year-longprocess?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
oh, it's a year-long process, yes not necessarily
well to build.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
In fact I'll explain that.
So once, once we uh pick thedesign that we want, phoenix
will show us a number renderingsand we'll say, boy, that's the
one we like, let's go with that,take that to our committee, we
all vote on it, and then we givethem the go-ahead to start
building on it.
And they start building aroundearly March and basically what
(04:17):
they're doing it looks like abig go-kart kind of thing and
they put the, the the wire, notthe wire, the the steel on it
first, then the wire mesh, thenthey shoot it with a
polyurethane foam and then theycolor code it based on the
(04:37):
design we chose what color offlowers are going to go where.
So if it's orange, they'll putthe where the orange flowers are
going to go.
They, if it's orange, they'llput the where the orange flowers
are going to go.
To put orange, they'll paint itthere.
If it's red for rose, they'llput red where the roses are
going to go, and that's doneprobably june or july.
So it's pretty quick that thatthat process is done.
Then it's going to sit until weactually uh get closer to
(05:03):
parade day, because obviouslyyou can't put fresh flowers on a
float for months Right andPhoenix gets their flowers.
Basically they clean outSouthern California of all the
floral shops, every flower youcan get, and then they have to
go to many times Mexico andSouth America to get the
remainder of the flowers and thecolors they want in South
(05:24):
America to get the remainder ofthe flowers and the colors they
want.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
South America is really good about getting
purples and blues, which is veryrare in our neck of the woods,
and there's how many floats inthe Rose Parade?
Well, that's a great question,and it depends.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
Generally there's right around 61 floats but about
98 events.
So in other words, you'll havemarching bands, Right, You'll
have equestrians, Then you'llhave a float, Then marching
bands, equestrian and a float.
So the whole thing stretchedout to about a little over 90,
(05:58):
but about 60 actual floats.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
That's a lot of flowers.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
Oh, that's a lot of flowers, because the only thing
that's on lot of flowers.
Oh, that's a lot of flowers,because the only thing that's on
the on the float they have tobe.
Speaker 1 (06:08):
It has to be, uh, vegetative of some sort.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
I'm just gonna say it has to be a uh, biomaterial.
It can't be anything, uh,plastic manufacturer.
It's got to be, uh, it's got tobe a plant.
Bark seeds, uh seeds, yeah,that kind of thing.
It cannot be any, anything.
They made one exception acouple of years ago when they
(06:31):
were doing a tribute to RoyRogers and they had a stuffed
trigger up there.
Who's Roy Rogers, that trigger?
Yeah, I think it was Trigger,so he was that, the horse was
stuffed and that was OK.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Oh, that's interesting.
So there's a lot ofopportunities for Rotarians and
non-Rotarians alike to come andjoin in on the building of that
parade when it comes up.
So tell us a little bit aboutthat.
I know the registration is open, so tell us about the process
and how somebody can getinvolved in being a part of this
float build.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
That's an excellent question as far as who actually
can do this.
Well, a, anyone can do it,because Phoenix is always
looking for decorators for thevarious other floats.
They contract with the KiwanisClub to provide the vast
majority of volunteers that workon all the floats, majority of
volunteers that work on all thefloats.
We, the Rotarians, work on therotary floats, so we get our
(07:31):
Rotarians all over the worldactually to come out and what
they do, they can go on ourwebsite, rotaryfloatorg.
Go on that website and it'llsay decorator, sign up.
You click on that and then yougo down and you pick the shift
you'd like to work.
Now most of our shifts arealready filling up very fast,
(07:54):
but we still have a lot ofopenings on the first couple of
weeks and I'll tell you thedifference there.
The first couple of weeks iswhen you start doing the dried
material.
So you'll be clipping thelittle colors off of the purples
, off whatever those purpleflowers or the mustard seed.
You'll be putting thosetogether because that's the
material that gets glued on thefloat, the actual flowers.
(08:18):
That occurs about three daysbefore the turn of it, so
they're still fresh.
Those are the most popularshifts and they fill up real
quick because people want towork with live flowers.
So it's a process where youtake the flower, you put it in a
vial by the way, we needvolunteers to fill those vials
you put it in the vial and thenyou poke it into where that
(08:39):
particular color flower issupposed to go and we have a
crew that manages that, ourforeperson, who looks and says,
okay, today we're going to dothis Today, here's where I want
the colors, and so that's onejob.
There's a gluing job that'sprobably the messiest job where
you're the one that goes andgets the buckets of glue and you
(09:01):
paint it on the float andthat's where the seeds and the
dry material is going to go, andso that's kind of the process
of the dry material is going togo, and so that's that's kind of
the process.
To sign up, and then, once youhave your shift, you've paid.
We we asked for 15 dollars pervolunteer to sign up and that
gets you a, a shirt, and thatshirt we kind of uses your
ticket to get inside the thebuilding and once you get there,
(09:24):
you register, or you'reregistered.
You get to our float site.
We have a table outside, wesign you in, we give you an
orientation, and then we takeyou in and you start working.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
That's awesome.
There's some otheropportunities clubs, correct?
Do you want to talk a littlebit about that, Jamie?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yes, so our clubs have the opportunity to go and
sign up and normally it's theyouth or the community service
person who will do that, and wetake our interactors down and we
take, of course, their parentsvia busloads and we go down
there and as a group, they willsign up and they will also
(10:03):
process, you know, the flowersand everything.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
And we really we appreciate the interactors
because they're the younger onesthat can actually climb up on
the scaffolding.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
I was going to say it's pretty high A little more
tentative on that.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
Well, and a club can participate, even if they don't
go down to decorate, by being anambassador club.
Is that correct, gene?
Do you want to tell us a littlebit about that?
That?
Speaker 3 (10:23):
is correct.
Now, what I didn't mention isthat, yeah, we have to pay.
A float costs about $145,000.
And all of that money is raisedby our committee.
We get a small bit frominternational.
That was just last couple ofyears.
We started getting that about$25,000.
But the rest of it we have toget through sponsors and
(10:47):
volunteers who just bring themoney in.
So that's.
We created what we callambassador clubs.
So that costs $500 to be anambassador club and basically
you'll get a priority on a dayyou want to sign up to come down
and put flowers on and, moreimportantly, you know that
you're helping us offset thecost for a very expensive float.
(11:09):
And we're one of the cheapestones.
We're only 35 feet, which isthe smallest you can get, and
145 is.
In the overall scheme of things, building floats is very cheap.
You look at a Trader Joe's orsome of the big boys and they're
spending up to two, three,$400,000.
Some of the big boys andthey're.
They're spending up to two,three $400,000.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
And also Jean, if I'm not mistaken.
You can be an ambassador on anindividual level if you'd like.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
You can, you can, you can, you can pay to be just an
individual.
That's which I am.
All of my club is too, andagain, that's it's.
You're really donating to thefloat building and that's what
we have.
We really appreciate that, andyou'll get a little.
You'll get a jacket and you getsome little items that say that
you are an ambassador and youcan wear that with great pride.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
And, if I'm not mistaken I don't know if you're
going to do it this year or not,but last year one of the
ambassadors you did a drawingand an ambassador got a ride on
the float, for last year we didthat.
Speaker 3 (12:11):
That was another way.
We're very creative in how wecan raise money, yes, and that
was another way that we did araffle, and the winner of that
raffle, which is announced atour dinner, our holiday dinner,
rides on the float or walkseither one.
There's two positions there'sthe walkers and the writers.
The walkers and that's where itcosts you 75,000 to be a walker
(12:37):
, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry 10,000, 10,000 to bea walker, 75, 10,000 to be a
writer, 75 to be a walker.
There we go.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
I was a walker actually one year, and I know uh
10,000 to be a writer, 75 to bea walker.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
There we go, we got it.
I was a walker, actually oneyear, and I know Jamie, you were
, and Judy, I think you were awalker too, correct.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
No, I'm going to be a walker.
This year, jamie was a writer.
Last year, I was a writer.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
A writer is there's two ways to go.
The writing people think, oh,that's the way to go.
Well, I don't know about you,but I don't like to sit, for you
know five and a quarter milesand I got to be moving around
and jumping, and that's what thewalkers get to do, so we
actually have more fun, I think.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Yeah, well, and I will tell you, yeah, that space
where you're sitting, the wayyou have to hold your legs, and
all of that, yeah, I thinkwalking is a better way, better
deal.
Yes, but last year we were veryfortunate because not only was
I riding, but Myra Allen fromour Temecula Sunrise Club was
(13:36):
the ambassador who won.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
Yeah, yeah, she was very excited about that.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
And keep in mind that each year, our international
president rides on the float too.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
Well, I think that's a really big part of it when you
look at.
We talk a lot aboutcollaboration, working with
Rotary Clubs working together,but also service organizations
working together.
And at the Rose Parade, tell usabout how the three largest
service organizations in theworld get together and all their
(14:05):
presidents get together.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
Sure, and that's one thing that we started, actually
a number of years ago, where wehave a.
It started as a brunch I thinkit's a lunch now, but we started
as a brunch where we wouldinvite the international
presidents of Rotary, kiwanis,optimist and Lions Thank you boy
(14:27):
, they'll get on me if I don'tremember them and Lions.
Those presidents will meet andmany times for the first time in
their year Now, they'll go intoa separate room while the rest
of us, the entourage, will havebrunch in another room, and the
reason being is that they thencan feel very free to let their
hair down and talk about mutualissues and then of concern, and
(14:50):
generally it's gonna revolvearound ongoing membership,
fundraising, those kinds oftopics.
And it got so popular withthese international presidents
that as a result of that, theydecided to have a group that
meets almost quarterly wherethey'll call each other and say,
hey, how's it going?
Can we share any ideas orinformation?
So it turned out to be a really, really collaborative effort.
(15:12):
I mean, we're all in it forcommunity service, we all want
to improve our communities.
So we're not competing, we'renot.
This is something where we worktogether.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
That's a big part of it too and I love that
collaboration.
And you know a lot of people.
Rotarians often ask why are wedoing this?
Why are we spending over, youknow, nearly $200,000 to do and
be a part of this parade?
So what's the value added thatwe're getting Rotary and in
general out of being a part ofthe Rose Parade?
Speaker 3 (15:42):
That's a great question, and two things
primarily.
One the viewing audience.
Over a million viewers on NewYear's Day and worldwide close
to 6 million viewers will seethis parade and they'll see the
Rotary float and the advantageof a float.
When our float wins one of thetitles and becomes a banner
(16:03):
float, going down, theannouncers will spend extra time
talking about Rotary.
This is Rotary International.
They made a commitment to endpolio.
They're, you know, 99% there.
They work with communitiesimproving their.
And then we talk about our sixareas of focus.
You know health, businesses,education, women and children
(16:26):
issues, and so I'm a clean water.
So it becomes a real educationpoint that people say, oh,
rotary, I didn't know that'swhat they did.
So where else are you going toget that kind of branding
anywhere?
I mean, it's one of the biggestevents in the world.
So people don't realize that.
They think, oh, is this a kindof a Main Street parade?
No, no, this is not.
(16:47):
If you've been to the Rose Turnof the Rose Parade, it's a huge
event, huge.
So that's one.
So that's a marketing tool forus to increase our membership,
so that we can get more peopleinvolved and say, hey, look,
this is what Rotary is all about.
We go on speaking tours andgive these presentations to
groups, and it's always nice tosay, hey, this is what Rotary is
(17:07):
all about.
We're really talking aboutRotary, and that's the advantage
, that why we should be doingthis, and it's where are you
going to get more bang for yourbuck.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Exactly, and there's just so many opportunities and
we talked about you know,anybody can come and decorate,
rotarians can be members and wecan walk and we can ride.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
It's amazing that the intrinsic value that you have
with this particular event, itis a bucket list thing and I
think what's great about it iswe always talk about the best
thing to bring a potentialmember to is a project.
And this is a project, and it'sa fun project.
And not only can theyparticipate in it, they can then
go and watch the parade.
And speaking of that, jean, whydon't you let our listeners
(17:51):
know how they can go out and gettickets to see the Rose Parade?
Speaker 3 (17:56):
Now the tickets are run through a separate
tournament facility, an outletthat does that, and it's called
something Seeding I'm trying tothink of the first name of it,
it'll come to me in a minute.
Seating I'm trying to think thefirst name of it, it'll come to
me in a minute.
But they, they handle all theseating for the whole tournament
(18:17):
of roses and you want to getthere early and get good seats.
You can get, actually, you canget uh like uh, stadium seating,
or you can just go and park andstand on the side of the road
and watch the tournament, go byand watch it there too.
So there's a number of ways toview it.
The the committee gets, we getour seats so that we're right at
the beginning of the parade,right at Green Street and Orange
(18:41):
Grove, and we watch the paradestart, literally kick off there,
which is really cool because wesee, you know, the jets fly
over and it's just a wonderful,wonderful day to start and the
real advantage and I'll behonest with you is that when it
passes us, we can then leave,because there's another couple
(19:02):
of hours that thing's going allthe way down.
Colorado Boulevard and trafficwhen it lets out is a nightmare,
so we kind of beat that.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
That's lovely, yes, and it is sharpse, so we kind of
beat that.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
That's lovely, yes, and it is sharpseatingcom,
sharpseating, sharpseating.
Thank you so much,sharpseatingcom.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
Sharpseatingcom.
Yeah, and you want to get there, and they also provide parking,
so you can get one of theirparking locations and then walk
to where you need to go.
Speaker 1 (19:30):
Well, gene, it has been a pleasure having you here
to tell us all about the RoseParade.
I can't believe we're alreadytalking about Christmas and New
Year's already, but we are happyto do so and looking forward to
seeing the next Rose Paradefloat for Rotary.
Yes.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
I will tell you, ladies, it's magical.
So please, please, listeners,come on down and have the time
of your life.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
I guarantee you we will have fun do you want to
give us a little hint on thetheme for this year?
Speaker 3 (19:59):
I'll give you one of the hint.
I'll tell you what it is.
The tournament's theme is bestday ever, best day ever, and so
we morph that, that into thisrotary On the road.
With the rotary, our rotaryhits the road and it's kind of a
(20:20):
theme of a road trip, and soour float looks like a hot rod
with a bunch of animals in thebed of the truck and they're all
kind of pointing forward andexcited to go on this quote road
trip.
And then we picked the musicfor that and that's the theme.
So it's a great.
It's really cute, verywhimsical and I think people are
(20:42):
gonna love it I love the cathanging off the front doing a
cell oh yeah doing aselfie that's it holding the
cell phone, taking a selfie.
Taking a selfie, yeah, taking aselfie, all right.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Well, thank you so much.
We're looking forward to goingout and decorating and I'm
looking forward to walking, andI hope everybody else is looking
forward to enjoying it eitherat home or on site the day of.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Please join me.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
All right.
Thank you, Gene, for joining us.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
Have a great rest of your day, Thank you ladies.
Speaker 1 (21:07):
All right, thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Bye.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
So that wraps up this episode of Heroes of Hope.
We are so happy that we have anaudience out there listening.
We want you to subscribe, shareand tell your friends about the
Rotary Community Heroes of Hope, because that's how we get the
word out about the impact we'rehaving in this world.
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