Each year, hundreds of Rotarian volunteers from a variety of California communities, plus some visiting Rotarians from elsewhere, labor long and hard to create a themed float for the iconic Tournament of Roses Parade held in Pasadena, CA.
Before the hands-on work begins, a committee composed of 83 members from 27 Rotary Districts in the U.S. and Canada meets monthly to plan the design and logistics of the project.
The 129th annual extravaganza will begin at 11 a.m. (EST) Monday, January 1. You’ll have plenty of choices from among TV channels scheduled to show the parade — ABC, NBC, HGTV, Hallmark Channel, and RFD TV.
If you tune in to the telecast, you’ll be able to see the Rotary float in the 49th position in the parade, just after the University of Georgia Redcoat Marching Band and just before Pasadena Mayor Terry Tornek riding in a 1924 Model TT truck.
Rotary’s theme this time around is “Planting the Seeds of Service.” It will depict a whimsical bunny gazing at a just-planted peach tree that appears in shape and form to be like any other float entry. As most people know, every surface of every float is required to be covered by living flowers, tree bark, grasses, and other such materials.
However, if you look beyond those components, you’ll see the Rotary float actually is the story of a child hungry for food, drinking bacteria-infested water; the story of a mother fighting to take care of her family; the story of a family living in a region of conflict struggling to survive. If you look deeper you will
Click here to download the new Tournament of Roes Parade app.
begin to see the bunny as a symbol of the watchful gaze of Rotarians, the tree as a symbol of life, growing the seeds of service provided by Rotarians worldwide, and bearing the fruit of Rotary’s “Six Areas of Focus” giving hope to all children, all mothers, and all families for a better world.
To enhance this message, a real sapling from one of Hiroshima’s atomic bomb survivor trees will be on the float. It later will be planted in one of Rotary’s Peace Gardens to help promote peace and a green legacy.
Click here to access the Rotary Float Committee’s Facebook page.
Breakfast Meeting
ROTARACT PROGRESS — New member John Justino discussed the Rotaract chapter being formed at the UAlbany School of Public Health where he will be the faculty adviser, and grad student Kaitlin Driesse, a chapter founder, reported that 15 to 16 students have expressed interest in participating. John said it would be good to schedule an SRC breakfast meeting for the group at the School of Public Health and suggested a joint program. A potential date is March 22, 2018, to coordinate with the school’s international event. Rotaract liaison Becky Raymond and John will follow up on this activity. Terry and Jim Leyhane will schedule a breakfast meeting in the near future with the Rotaract group.
YMCA — Shannon Romanowski spoke on “Y” services as they relate to community activities. She is looking to connect Rotary, the “Y” and other community groups to an events calendar that will create partnerships and working together to support community programs.
Christmas came 10 days early to Circles of Mercy in Rensselaer today when the annual collection of “Adopt-a-Family” gifts from the Southern Rensselaer County Rotary Club arrived at the family services agency.
Meeting at Quigley’s Restaurant
CLUB OFFICER SUCCESSION — We are in immediate need of people interested in becoming President-elect or Vice President since current co-Presidents-elect Ron Annis and Jim Butterworth and VP Ray Hannan all are bowing out of the administration line of succession. We need to fill the President-elect slot as soon as possible because the annual PETS (President-Elect Training Session) workshops are scheduled to begin on January 25. In the process of juggling, it is possible we also will have one opening as an at-large Board member. Anyone interested in 
ROTARY HOME COOKING — We have hosts lined up for five months of dinners and/or cocktail parties — all themes to be determined — as part of this series of events in 2018 intended to raise funds for the general treasury as well as strengthen social ties among club members. The first will be hosted on Saturday, January 20, by Debbie and Peter Brown, followed by events by Dean and Doris Calamaras in February, Terry and Geoff Brewer in March, Murray and Maggie Forth in April, and Jim Leyhane and Roberto Martinez in May. The March and May events probably will be cocktails-and-hors d’oeuvres events. February through May dates to be determined.
ADOPT-A-FAMILY DRIVE — Event coordinators April and Bill Dowd will deliver a huge carload of donated gifts from SRC members and several friends to Circles of Mercy this Friday. The annual drive this year was for a needy family with eight children, ages ranging from 18 years to 18 months. This is the fourth year SRC has adopted a family via Circles, a non-governmental local family services agency headquartered in Rensselaer but serving much of the same area our club serves.
HOLIDAY PARTY & BASKET AUCTION — Any last-minute reservations for the annual “Holiday Party & Themed Gift Basket Silent Auction” should be made with Murray and Maggie Forth (mmforth51@gmail.com, 518-477-7433) by 
