Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association
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| Founded | 1895 |
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| Focus | 121st Rose Parade 96th Rose Bowl Game |
| Location |
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Area served | Southern California and worldwide television audience |
Key people | Jeff Throop Acting President Mitch Dorger Chief Executive Officer |
Volunteers | 935 members |
| Website | Tournament of Roses website |
Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association is the non-profit organization annually produce the New Year's Day Tournament of Roses Parade since 1895 and the Rose Bowl game, since 1902. This "America's New Year Celebration" is "a festival of flowers, music and equestrians and sports unequaled anywhere in the world", according to the Tournament of Roses. The association has 935 volunteer members and the members spend some 80,000 combined man-power hours to stage the events.[1] 2010 marks the 121st Rose Parade and 96th Rose Bowl Game.
Membership
Members of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association are community people living or working within 15 miles from Pasadena City Hall. When they join, they are between the age of 21 and 64, and are willing to work on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. They must have "a reputation for integrity, reliability, dependability, commitment and dedication." Members are required to devote the time and effort to perform the designated task at the time required. They are interested in volunteering/commitment to community service, as evidenced by involvement in professional, civic, service, political and community organizations, according to the association[2].
During the Parade, tournament members are required to wear distinct white suits, with a red tie, a name tag, a membership pin and an official ribbon. Because of this, the volunteers are commonly referred to as "white suiters." In December each year, a fleet of white vehicles, provided by American Honda, with special "ToR" license plates are seen throughout the San Gabriel Valley. These cars are used by the members to perform their official duties.
Tournament House
Tournament House is the name given the building where the organization is headquartered. The Tournament House (formerly the Wrigley Mansion) and the Wrigley Gardens are located on South Orange Grove Boulevard, Pasadena, California. The structure, a stately Italian Renaissance-style mansion, was once owned by William Wrigley Jr., the chewing gum magnate. After Mrs. Wrigley's death in 1958, the property was presented to the city of Pasadena with the condition that the house become the permanent base of operations for the Rose Parade.[3]
Today, the five bedrooms of the second floor are used for committee meetings, dressing area for the Royal Court and for displaying of the Tournament of Roses traditions. There are displays of trophies, past Rose Bowl Games, Grand Marshals, Presidents, and Queens and Courts. Of interest is the original panel of Peanuts comic strip for January 1, 1974, when its creator Charles M. Schulz served as the Grand Marshal.[4] On the panel, Lucy was watching the parade on TV and was telling Charlie Brown that "They have some of the most beautiful floats this year I've ever seen." When Charlie asked about the grand marshal, Lucy said, "Yeah, you missed him ... but he wasn't anyone you ever heard of!"
The house was built for real estate and dry goods tycoon George Stimson, designed by his architect son G. Lawrence Stimson. After construction was completed of this house on "Millionaires' Row" in 1914, Mr. Stimson sold it to the Wrigleys for $170,000. A year later, the adjacent gardens were bought for $25,000.
The association maintains the grounds of the Tournament House, and volunteers from the Pacific Rose Society care for the rose gardens. There are hundreds of varieties of roses, camellias, and annuals planted at the All-America Rose Selections' test gardens. The gardens are open to the public throughout the year, except for December 31 through January 2.
Leadership
Each year, the newly elected president will select a new theme in January and choose a grand marshal during the year. With the announcement of the theme, the preparation and construction of the floral floats begin, along with the selection of marching bands and equestrian units. In 2005, Libby Evans Wright was elected as the first female president of the Tournament.
Gary J. DiSano was the Tournament President for 2009-2010 and led the 14-member Executive Committee until his death. He announced on January 22, 2009 that the theme for the 121st Rose Parade is "2010: A Cut Above the Rest". "I chose 2010: A Cut Above the Rest because the Tournament strives to put a Parade and Game together, every year, that are better than the last," said DiSano. Gary J. DiSano, whose more than 35 years as a volunteer member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses culminated in January when he became president of the Tournament of Roses Assn. for the 2010 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl game died at the age of 62 on September 20th, 2009. Now both the Rose Parade and the 96th Rose Bowl game will be held in his honor.
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses® announced that P. Scott McKibben will join the Association in the position of executive director, effective November 30, 2009. McKibben replaces John M. Dorger, who has served as chief executive officer since 2000.
Committees
According to the association, members are "assigned to one of the 32 committees, with responsibilities ranging from selecting Parade participants to directing visitors on New Year's Day, to serving hamburgers to band members at the end of the Parade route, to giving presentations about the Tournament to community groups.[5]"
Some of the committees are:
- Executive Committee – fourteen members overseeing the entire operation and is the main policy making body of the association
- Decorating Places – manage the viewing sites, allowing the public to view the floats at the various sites prior to the parade
- Equestrian – selecting the participating equestrian units, stage the Equesfest at L.A. Equestrian Center, and insert the units into the parade line-up
- Float Construction – overseeing the complete construction and testing of the floats
- Formation Area – take charge of the staging area before the start of the parade
- Football – in charge of the Rose Bowl game, including the selection of participating schools
- Music – help select the participating bands from around the country and the world, stage the Bandfest shows at Pasadena City College, and insert the marching bands into the parade
- Parade Operations – run the parade, escort the floats, and man the parade route
- Post Parade – take charge of the floats after the parade and operate the post parade viewing event
- Queen and Court – manage the tryouts, select the Queen and Princesses, and coordinate the various activities of the Royal Court
Queen and Royal Court
Each year, a selection process is held in late September and early October to find out which Pasadena-area girls (ages 17 to 21) will have the honor of being crowned Queen of the Tournament, or in substitution, one of the members of her "Royal Court". Each year over 1000 girls try out. Six princesses and one queen are chosen. The winners then ride on a float in the parade, and carry out duties in promotion of the Tournament, mainly during its duration and prelude. Their duties include attending over one hundred events in the Pasadena area. They usually receive scholarship money, a 30 piece wardrobe and other benefits. During the time that they attend Tournament events, usually from October to January, each girl usually attends school a few times a week for only a few hours at a time.
The first Rose queen, Hallie Woods, was chosen by her classmates at Pasadena High School in 1905. She made her own gown and helped decorate the float upon which she rode.
The 2010 Rose Queen is Natalie Innocenzi, 16, of Arcadia, announced by the association on October 20, 2009. She attends Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy and is the 92nd Rose Queen. The princesses are Katherine Hernandez, June Ko, Lauren Rogers, Kinsey Stuart, Ashley Thaxton, and Michelle Van Wyk. The official Coronation ceremony was held on November 4, 2009 at the Pasadena Convention Center.[6]
Grand Marshal
The Rose Parade has had some of the world's most distinguished individuals serving as Grand Marshal, which included actors, astronauts, writers, artists, athletes and political figures. Traditionally, the Grand Marshall rides in the Tournament of Roses parade and tosses the coin for the Rose Bowl.
Grand Marshal Shirley Temple was the youngest GM ever and she presided over the 50th anniversary Rose Parade celebration (1939). Other notable grand marshals included Bob Hope, Chief Justice Earl Warren, actress Carol Burnett, George Lucas, Bill Cosby, James Stewart, Kermit the Frog, Mickey Mouse, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, former Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Pilot Chesley Sullenberger was selected as the 2010 Grand Marshal, which was announced on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at Tournament House.[7]
Actress Cloris Leachman was the Grand Marshal for the 2009 Rose Parade. She became only the 10th female grand marshal in the 120-year history of the parade.
Rose Bowl
The Pasadena Tournament of Roses annual New Year's Day football game is played in the Rose Bowl stadium, which was completed in 1923 and hosted its first game between USC and Penn State. USC won the game, 14-3. In 2002, the first BCS National Championship Game was held on January 3 at the Rose Bowl stadium.
The Tournament of Roses will host both the traditional Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi and the Citi BCS National Championship Game in 2010.
The original Rose Bowl stadium was built in a horseshoe shape, open on the south end, for $272,198.26. It had a capacity of 57,000.
Awards and honors
- Los Angeles Area Governors Award, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, 2009 (six decades of broadcasting achievements)
Tournament of Roses Foundation
The foundation was created in 1983 as the charity arm of the association. It has donated grants to local civic, educational and cultural organizations in the San Gabriel Valley. The foundation awarded $102,372 in grant awards during 2009, ranged from $1,900 to $10,000 per organization.
See also
References
- ^ Gardening : Roses : Making the Floats : Home & Garden Television
- ^ Tournament of Roses Membership Information
- ^ Tournament House, Pasadena, California
- ^ Peanuts ~ January 1, 1974, schulzmuseum.org
- ^ Tournament of Roses volunteers
- ^ Crowning the queen, Glendale News Press, November 5, 2009
- ^ Splashdown pilot Sullenberger to lead Rose Parade, Associated Press, November 5, 2009
External links
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| Floats |
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| Rose Bowl | ||