Award Winning Float-Celebrating 100 Years of Rotary International

The Bristol, Plainville & Southington Rotary Clubs joined forces to create a float for the Bristol Mum Festival Parade (9/24/05) and the Southington Apple Harvest Parade (10/2/05). The Southington Rotary Club’s Centennial Committee thought it would be great to recognize Rotary International Centennial Year by participating in the two area parades and asked The Bristol & Plainville Rotary Clubs to join us. The three clubs joined forces and began the planning in April and built the float the week before the Mum Festival Parade.

The float included banners announcing Rotary 100 years, a large three-tiered Birthday Cake, Mums, Apples & Hay Bales. Thanks to Karen Anderson & CT Rotary District 7890 the back of the float had a large banner with our motto: “Service above Self.” The float was an enormous success, all along the parade route people exclaimed “how beautiful”, and we were awarded “Best Club Float” in the Apple Harvest Festival.

I would like to thank the following businesses for helping to make our float such a success; Dave Catucci of Trumbull Restoration Company, Plainville for a providing a location to decorate & store the float, Clayton & Lynn Saucier of Saucier Misc. Metal Works, Plainville, CT for providing the Truck, Drivers & Trailer, Mark Ramsay of Lewis Farms, Southington, CT for the beautiful mums & apples, and Jerry Heresko Of Bristol Mums for the beautiful mums. I would also like to get a special thanks to the following committee members for their time and talents; Southington Rotary Club members; Helen Archangelo, Audrey Brown, & Dolores Fanelli, Bristol Rotary Club members; Tom Barnes & Bud O’Neil, Plainville Rotary Club Members; Dolly Chamberlain & Anthony Famiglietti. It was great fun working with all the committee members and a wonderful way to celebrate 100 year of Rotary.

Ginny Roy
Parade Chair
Southington Rotary Club.

The float pictures