A few years ago, my son went to the Rose Parade as a spectator. This year, he worked as a volunteer float decorator with a community service group from his high school.
They worked on the City of St. Louis float, which won the President’s Trophy for most effective floral use and presentation. Yeah, I know pretty much every float wins some kind of trophy, but the President’s Trophy is one of the good trophies.
To give you the flavor of the thing, here’s the list of “suggestions” given to volunteers by the float-building company:
- PLEASE DO NOT BRING RADIOS, WALKMENS, CAMERAS, HANDBAGS OR JEWELRY. BRING YOUR I.D. AND MONEY ONLY. FANNY PACKS WORK GREAT.
- WEAR OLD BUT WARM CLOTHING AND STURDY SHOES WITH CLOSED TOE AND HEEL. TIE BACK LONG HAIR.
- FIRE LANE MUST BE KEPT OPEN AT ALL TIMES AND THE AREA AROUND THE FLOAT SHOULD BE KEPT CLEAN.
- PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT TO USE THE OFFICE PHONES. THERE ARE PAY PHONES LOCATED OUTSIDE THE NORTH DOOR FOR YOUR USE. INCOMING CALLS WIL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR WORKERS AND NO PAGING WILL BE ALLOWED FROM THE OFFICE. WE WILL TAKE EMERGENCY CALLS ONLY. [Pay phones . . . how quaint! — PE]
- NO ONE IS ALLOWED INSIDE THE BUILDING DURING JUDGING. WHEN YOU ARE ASKED TO STEP OUTSIDE PLEASE DO SO PROMPTLY AND REMEMBER TO TAKE OUT ANY PERSONAL ITEMS WITH YOU.
- ALL BREAKS ARE TO BE TAKEN OUTSIDE.
- VOLUNTEERS ARE HERE TO WORK. THERE WILL BE SOME NOT-SO-GLAMOROUS JOBS THAT NEED TO BE DONE BESIDES DECORATING; IT ALL HAS TO BE DONE.
- NO SMOKING IS ALLOWED IN THE BUILDINGS.
- NO MORE THAN 3 PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED ON SCAFFOLDING AT A TIME.
- DO NOT WEAR FLOWERS AT ANY TIME, EVEN AFTER THE FLOATS HAVE LEFT THE BUILDING.
- PLEASE SIGN-IN WITH YOUR CREW CHIEF WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT YOUR FLOAT AND WHEN YOU LEAVE. SIGN-IN SHEETS ARE COLLECTED DAILY.
- HAVE FUN!!