Rose Parade offers a model
Sometimes I wish the state of California were run more like the Rose Parade. It’s not just how nice it’d be to have all the surfaces in Capitol offices covered in flowers. Or how much more fun it would be to visit government offices if you could bring a b
My bias on this subject runs deep. I grew up in Pasadena, five blocks south of the parade’s Colorado Boulevard route, and today I reside in the town next door. So I know from experience that Jan. 1 is the year’s most important day — and that special things happen when enough people spend an entire year getting ready for just one day.
People like to talk about living in the moment, but the Rose Parade teaches that nothing allows you to appreciate today like always keeping an eye on next year. I can mark the calendar by parade preparations. There’s the selection of an annual theme in January; float construction in spring; the selection of a Rose Court in the fall. This Pasadena kid knows the holidays are coming when the temporary parade stands go up. Then, between Christmas and New Year’s, we greet the bands and equestrians and football teams and glue flowers to floats.
The parade’s never-ending planning around fixed deadlines forces all sorts of good habits that the rest of California could learn from. In state government, endless delays are the status quo; environmental reviews and legislation are routinely pushed back for months. But the Rose Parade can’t be pushed back.
Today’s California keeps adding all kinds of new tolls and fees — for bags at the grocery store, for certain lanes on the freeway. But while the Rose Parade sells grandstand tickets, anyone who can find a place to stand or sit along the 5½-mile parade route can watch for free.
The Tournament of Roses Association, which has been running the New Year’s Day parade since 1895, is a model of efficient, dedicated service — at least compared with Sacramento, where you find a high turnover of legislators, who often know little about policy details. The 935 volunteer Tournament members, however, are assigned to specific committees that each governs a different aspect of the event, giving them detailed knowledge. And while state government lacks accountability, parade volunteers are graded on their work.
A parade volunteer ascends to higher position within the group only after many years of successful service. And even then, there’s an apprenticeship. A person is selected to serve on the executive committee of the Tournament of Roses eight years before the year when he or she serves as president of the parade and game — giving the future president time to do different jobs and gain command of the entire event.
California is a mismatched mix of regions, and our government is overstuffed with agencies that work at cross-purposes. But the Rose Parade pulls off an event that satisfies floral designers and those who couldn’t tell a tulip from a tiger lily. It manages simultaneously to serve as our community’s homegrown gathering of the year and a global TV spectacle watched by tens of millions.
Like any local parade watcher, I have complaints. The parade leadership still doesn’t come close to reflecting our region’s diversity. The parade has gotten shorter (down to 45 floats from 60), in part to accommodate TV’s desire for a two-hour parade. And the corporate logos on the floats have gotten too big.
But these problems pale in comparison to the value of the parade’s message: No excuses and no slow starts. If you plan ahead, you can be in full bloom right from the very start of a new year.