Community & Clubs:

At 8 a.m. Friday millions of spectators from around the world will celebrate the New Year with the 121st Tournament of Roses Parade, themed “2010: A Cut Above the Rest.” The Rose Parade in Pasadena will once again feature the beautiful pageantry and tradition of magnificent floral floats, high-stepping equestrians and spirited marching bands.

Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary International will have floats in the parade. Service club members and their high school counterparts from throughout Orange County, including Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, have donated time during the past several weeks to decorate their respective floats.

The Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee’s 31st consecutive entry in the parade celebrates the work of Rotarians worldwide. Our float’s theme is “Service Above the Rest.” The float is not a project of Rotary International, and no Rotary International funds are used. The ability to enter a float depends solely on the generosity of individual Rotarians. Traditionally, the Rotary International president will attend the New Year’s Day festivities, and this year’s president, John Kenny, will join the Rotarians in the parade.

The Kiwanis International Rose Float Committee is providing 7,000 volunteers — the largest pool of volunteers from any organization — to create 10 floats for the 2010 Rose Parade.

The volunteers come from all over North America and represent nearly all of Kiwanis International’s clubs: Builders Club, for middle school students; Key Club for high school students; Circle K International for college students; Aktion Club for adults with disabilities and Kiwanis for adults.

“Service is at the heart of every Kiwanis club,” said Kiwanis International President Paul Palazzolo, who will ride on the Kiwanis International float with his family. “Our 7,000 volunteers will help make this year’s Rose Parade an artistic success.”

Kiwanis volunteers have worked the first three Saturdays in December. Beginning Saturday, Kiwanis volunteers were to work one of two decorating shifts each day through New Year’s Eve. Five hundred volunteers will work each shift, and Kiwanis clubs will feed the volunteers lunch and dinner. Kiwanis volunteers will work 56,000 hours to complete the floats.

Lions Clubs International has presented a float in each Rose Parade since 1992. The production price for the Lions’ float is a fraction of the cost of buying TV advertising of this magnitude. It sends a message that Lions serve others, states the Lions Club Rose Parade website.

Each year, the Lions Club International president and first lady ride on the Rose Parade float. This year, Lions’ President Eberhard Wirfs and his wife, Margit, will ride on the float. An added special feature to the 2010 float will be a blind precision marching unit from Tustin leading the float, and a blind marching band from Ohio bringing up its rear. Television commentary will once again highlight Lions’ service and note the presence of these special units.

Our family has found that the best television coverage of the Rose Parade is on KTLA. The station covers the parade from beginning to end and without commercial breaks, and with expert and lively commentary from Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards.

Enjoy the parade. Happy New Year one and all from the de Boom family!

Thought for the Day

“Make good memories today, so in the future you’ll have a good past.”

— Brad Penick

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK

TUESDAY

7:30 a.m.: The Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club meets at Five Crowns, 3801 E. Coast Hwy., to hear Irene Umipig discuss “Positive Action Toward Health.”

COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Wednesdays. Send your service club’s meeting information by fax to (714) 921-8655 or by e-mail to jdeboom@aol.com .