Newly-elected president of the Tournament of Roses R. Scott Jenkins has promised that there will be major changes in the 125th Rose Parade in 2014. He told Janette Williams of the Pasadena Star-News that he plans to cut down the number and size of bands and equestrian units in the parade, increase the number of floats, and introduce elements in in a style he terms “Cirque du Soliel” between floats.
R. Scott Jenkins was formally elected to the post of president on Thursday night, and has been volunteering for the Tournament of Roses since 1982. He was elected to the Executive Committee in 2003 and has chaired the Formation Area, Float Entries, Queen and Court, and Services and Properties committees. After naming the new leadership team for the Tournament of Roses, Jenkins revealed the theme for the 2014 Rose Parade, “Dreams Come True” which was well-received by followers of this column.
“The 2014 theme is a reminder that not only is it possible to reach seemingly impossible goals, but that by boldly pursuing those goals, we have actually attained them,” he said. “Dreams have come true and continue to come true as a result of imagination, passion, creativity and hard work. And regardless of size or scope, dreams fuel the stories of our lives.”
The scope of Jenkins’ dream to update the Rose Parade includes reducing the number of bands from 23 to 20. Three of those, the PCC Tournament of Roses Honor Band and the two university bands are mandatory. He told the Star-News that band should be limited to 200 to 300 members. “We want to avoid 600-member bands,” he is reported as saying.
According to the Tournament of Roses official participant list, the largest bands in the 2013 Rose Parade were Banda El Salvador and the Los Angeles Unified School District All District High School Honor Band with 358 members each.
The 21 equestrian units of 2013 will be cut to 15, he said. Eleven of these groups have appeared multiple times, but only two—the Valley Hunt Club, founder of the Rose Parade and, as sponsor of the opening act in the parade, Wells Fargo—are mandatory. Traditional units include the only U.S. Marine Corps Mounted Color Guard and the only entry representing African-American history, The New Buffalo Soldiers.
Jenkins also told the Star-News that he would like to see more entertaining floats with more flowers (rather than a preponderance of flat materials such as seeds and rice).
Whether or not the public will happily receive such changes, especially Macy’s-style elements which might slow down the parade and could be geared more for the TV set than the street, will undoubtedly be a topic of discussion on Jan. 2, 2014. Several followers of this column have bemoaned the decreasing number of floats and increasing size of bands in the past. Let us know what you think now in the comments.
A San Marino resident, R. Scott Jenkins was born and raised in Pasadena and attended Pasadena High School. He received his A.B. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley and earned his J.D. from the University of Southern California, and is a Partner with Hahn and Hahn Lawyers with a corporate and real estate practice. He and wife Cindy have two daughters, Courtney and Lindsay.
The Jenkins regularly participate in church mission trips to Africa and in August of 2012, they led an expedition to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. They attend San Marino Community church, where he has served as an elder. He is also a member of several service clubs and has served on the board of many organizations in the community. In 2003, he was recognized with the Golden Apple Award from the San Marino Unified School District for his work with the schools.
The theme of the 125th Rose Parade and 100th Rose Bowl Game is “” The Tournament of Roses is a celebration that lasts several weeks in the fall and winter, with the high points being the Rose Parade presented by Honda and the Rose Bowl Game presented by VIZIO on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014. Keep following your Tournament of Roses Examiner for the latest news and for upcoming announcements.
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