Related Page
Rotary USA
ROTARY AT THE PARADE
I know we all seen the Rose Bowl Parade on TV… perhaps some of you have also attended it in person. The parade actually had its beginning in 1890 as a local promotion to promote what they called “The Mediterranean of the West”
Rotary International has been a regular, featured participant since 1980. Prior to that, there were various appearance starting in 1927
At the recent January 2014 parade our float included Ron Burton, R I President plus Deborah Sabin and Peter Salk, both children of the original developers of the polio vaccines which were developed in 1955. As you know, our main philanthropic effort is to eradicate polio, worldwide.
R I does not pay for the float. Donations are solicited from various Rotarians, clubs and districts. Most of the money (93%) goes for building and decorating the float. The balance is for insurance and other administrative costs.
It is estimated that the parade… and our float…. Is seen by 39 million people in the US as well as millions more in the over 200 countries that are shown the event worldwide.
You may volunteer to decorate the float, next year. The sign up sheet will be available on Sept 10. This year, more than 800 Rotarians and their families participated in the effort.
The web site is www.rotaryfloat.org