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History |
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The Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee Inc presents
“Inching Towards the End of Polio” the theme of our
January 2, 2012 float.
A happy and determined inchworm
in medical attire represents “the final inch” of Rotary
International’s 25-year effort to end polio worldwide.
In
addition to contributing nearly one billion dollars, Rotary’s
global network of community volunteers has mobilized “National
Immunization Days” (NIDs) in countries as small as Ghana and as
large as India. In just over 25 years, Rotary funding and Rotary
field volunteers have helped vaccinate more than three billion
children.
Several of those Rotary Club international
volunteers will be riding on our 2012 float (Float Riders) and
several more will be walking alongside the float (Outwalkers).
As a group, they are generally referred to as “Float
Participants.” They will be wearing the identifying jackets and
caps they wore on their NID trips to many different countries. |
Rotary Districts 5030 5240
5260 5280
5300 5320
5330 5340
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Float Riders and Outwalkers
RI President, Kalyan Banerjee and
Bonoita
Larry Bender
Patricia Ellis
Patty Fallahee
Julie Jenkins
Terry Geiling
Joe Harding
John McDannel
Roxanne Nomura
Juan Carlos Quiroz-Zolezzi
Brian Russell
Linda Stouffer
Ezra Teshome
Herb Trumpoldt
Vicky Wallace |
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Rotary International President Kalyan Banerjee and
Bonoita
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Kalyan Banerjee
is married to Binota, a social worker, and they have two
children and four grandchildren. is chair of United
Phosphorus, Bangladesh, and a director of United Phosphorus
Ltd., one of the largest manufacturers of agrochemicals in
India, and Uniphos Agro Industries Ltd. Born in Kolkata in 1942,
he earned a degree in chemical engineering from the Indian
Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 1964. He is a resident of
Vapi, Gujarat, where he has contributed significantly to its
development as one of the largest industrial estates in India,
helping to provide infrastructure for health care and education.
Banerjee has been a member of the Rotary Club of Vapi since
1972. He served as club president in 1975-76 and district
governor in 1980-81. He began his international service to
Rotary in 1995, with his appointment to the RI Board of
Directors. He has gone on to serve as general coordinator of the
Poverty and Hunger Alleviation Task Force (1997-98), trustee of
The Rotary Foundation (2001-05), and chair of the Southeast Asia
PolioPlus Committee (2009-10). He has served on numerous other
committees, including the International PolioPlus Committee
(2008-09), Reach Out to Africa Ad-Hoc Executive Committee
(2009-10), Leadership Development and Training Committee
(2009-10), Permanent Fund Committee for India (2008-09), and the
Child Mortality Emphasis Coordinating Team (2008-09).
Banerjee is also active in many other organizations, including
the American Chemical Society, Indian Institute of Chemical
Engineers, and the Senate of the Vishva-Bharati University. He
has served twice as president of Vapi Industries Association and
is a past chair of the Gujarat Council of the Confederation of
Indian Industry. In addition, he is a trustee for the Jai
Research Foundation.
Kalyan Banerjee is married to
Binota, a social worker, and they have two children and four
grandchildren.
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Rotary District 5030 |
Seattle, Washington |
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Rotary Float Outwalker Ezra
Teshome is a 27 year member of the Rotary Club of
University District in Seattle, Washington. He is a past Club
President and is the 2013-2014 District Governor Nominee for
Rotary District 5030 . For over 15 years, Ezra has led
more than 800 Rotarians and friends from the U.S. and Canada to
his homeland, Ethiopia, to participate in the National
Immunization Days.
He was also involved in promoting
Rotary’s work to eradicate polio in the world through a feature
documentary , “After the Rains.” Ezra has a passion for this
cause and is committed to continue his service work until polio
has been eradicated from our planet.
Ezra and his wife
Yobi have been married for 32 years and are blessed with three
daughters, a son, and a grandson. They are pleased to be
participating in Rose Parade activities with the Rotary Float
Committee. |
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Rotary District 5240 |
Ventura,
Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kern Counties
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Roxanne Nomura is
a charter member and Past President of the Rotary Club of
Carpinteria Morning. A Realtor, mother of two and grandmother,
Roxanne is also the wife of Rotary District Governor Wade
Nomura, a Polio Survivor.
Roxanne traveled to India in
2010 on an National Immunization Day (NID), to the city of
Moradabad in the state of Uttar Pradesh. She was part of a
massive volunteer mobilization that immunized 916,000 children
under the age of six in that one city.
In the 2012 Rose
Parade, Roxanne will be a Rotary Float Outwalker, proudly
wearing the yellow NID jacket that she wore while volunteering
in India.
Roxanne reflects that “through Rotary, we are
changing lives around the world, and the eradication of polio is
only the beginning.” |
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Rotary District 5260 |
San Fernando Valley,
Antelope Valley, Eastern Sierra
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Julie Jenkins is
Past President and International Service Chair of the Rotary
Club of Burbank Sunrise. Her classification is television
distribution. Julie is a polio survivor, as were both her
parents. Her late father, Richard Jenkins, was proud to be a
Rotarian and served as President of the Rotary Club of Niles,
Ohio. She will be a Float Rider on the 2012 Rotary Rose Parade
Float.
Julie was privileged to participate in the NID in
India in February 2010. She was part of a five member team to
Badaun in Uttar Pradesh to support the on-going efforts of local
Rotarians and health care workers as they strive tirelessly to
eradicate polio in India.
“Everyone involved in the
process knows that this is a critical time and the opportunity
to finally eradicate the disease” says Julie. “So they must push
harder than ever to get the task done. It’s very humbling to
witness their dedication and to consider the millions of
children over three generations that have been protected from
polio by their determination and diligence.” |
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Patty Fallahee
joined the Glendale Sunrise Rotary in November of 2010.
Currently Patty holds the position of “Event Chair” organizing
all special social events for the club and has accepted the
nomination of Sergeant-at-Arms for 2012-13.
She has been
involved in many club service projects, most recently catering
the “Kettle Kick-Off” breakfast for the Salvation Army and
feeding more than 250 people. Patty and her husband are the
owners of “The Spot Gourmet” catering in Glendale; her business
classification in Rotary is catering.
Patty is excited to
represent Rotary in such a fun and festive way by participating
in the Tournament of Roses Parade as a Rotary Float Outwalker. |
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Patricia Ellis
will be an Outwalker with the Rotary Rose Parade Float. She is a
relatively new member of Rotary, inducted to the Rotary Club of
Bishop, California in 2009. She was immediately asked to be the
Club Secretary for 2010-2011 and is now completing her second
term. During this past year she has undertaken the management of
Bishop Rotary’s “Snack Shack” at several local fund raising
events, as well as volunteering to serve and clean at a local
Soup Kitchen.
Patricia is well known in the community for
her outstanding success in fund raising for her sons’ schools,
her Church, and many Rotary charitable programs. For the past 10
years she has been Co-Chairperson of the very popular annual
“Bishop Mule Days Celebration” concert and dance, which provides
a vital economic boost for many merchants in this scenic Eastern
Sierra town.
Professionally, Patricia has worked in
office administration, human resources, accounting, and bank
management. Patricia has two sons. Her eldest is a freshman in
high school and her youngest is in 6th grade. When they were in
the primary grades she parent-taught the school’s physical
education class and when they started playing soccer, she became
an AYSO coach. |
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Rotary
District 5280 |
Los Angeles
Basin
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Larry Bender is a
member of the Rotary Club of Hawthorne, California in District
5280. Recently retired, his classification was Cable Television
Administrator. He has one daughter and four grandsons.
As
an Outwalker with the 2012 Rotary Rose Parade Float, he will be
wearing his hospital work uniform from a Polio Corrective
Surgery Camp in Ghatkopar, India.
Larry was part of a
visionary District 5280 corrective surgery team which first
traveled to India in 1995 to work with Indian Rotarian Doctors
to perform 500 surgeries over a 4 day period.
This
surgery camp concept was expanded in India and transported to
Africa. Cataract Removal-Lens Implant, Ob-Gyn, Plastic & General
Surgeries and Dental procedures were added to the Polio
Corrective Surgeries in Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zambia,
Swaziland, Madagascar, Lesotho and Tanzania.
“Working in
the Polio Corrective Surgery Camps,” says Larry, “I am astounded
by the love of parents who come from all over to give their
children a better chance for success in life. Then I feel sad
that these children were here because they didn’t get the polio
vaccine drops in time to prevent the disease.” |
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Joe Harding is a
member of the El Segundo, California Rotary Club in District
5280. He served as Club President twice and is currently serving
the district as the RYLA Chair and District Trainer. His
classification is Hotel Manager.
While in Uganda
participating in a polio corrective surgery project, he realized
he needed to do more to bring light and attention to Rotary's
global effort to eradicate polio. Along with another Rotarian,
he started R.A.C.E. ( Rotary Approaches Complete Eradication )
and has since run 8 marathons for the End Polio Now campaign.
Joe continued to travel with Rotary and the Polio
Corrective Surgery team to India twice, Madagascar, Nigeria and
Ethiopia. While in India he was able to see the massive
undertaking of a National Immunization Day and the amazing
efforts Rotary puts forward to rid the planet of this horrible
virus.
Joe is the proud father of two daughters. His
oldest is in Interact and serves as a youth counselor for RYLA.
He is a Rotary Foundation Major Donor and his daughters are both
Paul Harris Fellows. |
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Rotary
District 5300 |
San Gabriel
Valley, San Bernardino County, Southern Nevada
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Juan Carlos
Quiroz–Zolezzi is a member of the Rotary Club of
Upland, California in Rotary District 5300. His Rotary
Classification is Real Estate. He will be an Outwalker with the
2012 Rotary Rose Parade, wearing the jacket he wore while
participating in a polio eradication National Immunization Day
(NID) in India.
Juan Carlos is 35 years old, born and
raised in northern Mexico. His academic background is in law and
he is a licensed attorney in Mexico. He moved to the United States
in 2003 and has been working in the business side of Real
Estate.
He serves on the Board of his Rotary Club, and in
February 2011, he had the opportunity to participate in a
National Immunization Day (NID) in India. He was sent to the
city of Badaun in the state of Uttar Pradesh, one of the last
places in India where polio is still endemic.
About his
NID experience, Juan Carlos says, “By joining the fight against
polio, we have the opportunity to give humanity a world free of
a very damaging disease and be a model for eradicating other
diseases. Rotary provided me with a unique experience to be able
to go to a distant land, connecting with people and children of
a very different culture.”
Juan Carlos and his wife,
Barbora, have
a baby princess of 16 months, and they are expecting their
second baby to be born in January 2012. |
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Rotary Float Outwalker John
McDannel John McDannel joined Rotary in 1973 and is a Senior
Active member of the Rotary Club of Pasadena. He is a retired
United Airlines 747 Captain. He earned his business/economics
degree at the University of La Verne and his MBA from the
University of Southern California. He was a commissioned officer
and pilot in the US Air Force.
After his military
service, John spent 32 years flying a variety of airplanes for
United Airlines. He was chosen to fly the Reagan Charter around
the country during his campaign for president in 1980. For 25 of
those years, he was concurrently employed as an officer of Trans
World Bank which was located in the San Fernando Valley.
John served as President of the Rotary Club of Van Nuys in 1985
and chaired the 1986 Rotary District 5260's Business Conference.
More recently, he is serving as a board member of the Pasadena
Masonic Temple and an Officer of the Pasadena Masonic Lodge.
In 2011, John participated in the Rotary International “End
Polio Now” visitation team to end polio in India. About this
experience, John says, “In 1985 I was assigned to a committee
that helped kick off the Polio Plus program at our RI Convention
held in Kansas City, Mo. Visiting India was truly a life event
for me to see how much progress we have actually made on the
world stage since 1985. Right now, we are only a few cases away
from defeating this horrible disease. Rotary has worked with,
challenged and stimulated world leaders to work together to
eradicate this devastating disease.”
John and his wife
Mary have three grown daughters and five grandchildren. |
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Rotary
District 5320 |
Orange
County, Southern Los Angeles County
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Herb Trumpoldt, a
47-year member of Rotary, is Past President of the Rotary Club
of Placentia and Past District Governor of Rotary District 5320.
A retired sales manager from a major manufacturer of industrial
rubber products, he has a son, a daughter and three
grandchildren.
Since 1994 Herb has been a member of the
Rotary Rose Parade Float Committee, serving as Chairman for our
award-winning float in the 1999 Tournament of Roses.
In
February 2011, Herb participated on an NID team to India. Since
his return, he has been making presentations to Rotary Clubs
describing his amazing experiences. Stories like Herb’s help
inspire Rotarians and our many partners to stay focused on “the
final inch” toward the worldwide eradication of polio.
“Though it was exciting to be in the trenches delivering those
two drops of polio vaccine to little Indian children” Herb says,
“our other purpose was to encourage those great Indian Rotarians
to stay the course. As our Rotary Float illustrates, we are this
close.” |
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Terry Geiling is a
past president of the Rotary Club of Long Beach, CA. and
currently serves as Chief of Staff for the District Governor
District 5320. He is president of the American Gold Star Manor,
an affordable, senior housing facility established for women who
lost sons and daughters in the military. As club president,
Terry directed the efforts of Rotary Club of Long Beach club to
become one of the largest 100% Paul Harris Fellow clubs in the
Rotary family. He organized and led two international projects
that provided library books, computers and clean water systems
to small schools in rural Mexican villages. In February,
Terry will be administering polio vaccine to the children of
farm workers on his 3rd NID trip to the agricultural areas
surrounding Caborca, Mexico. Terry is heartened by the
parents who eagerly turn to Rotarians for their children’s
lifesaving vaccine and is personally fulfilled by the
opportunity to give back to the world community. |
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Rotary Float Outwalker Brian
Russell is a member of the Rotary Club of Long
Beach where he is 2011-2012 Assistant to the President. He is
Rotary District 5320 New Generations Director which oversees all
of the youth programs Rotaract, Interact, RYLA and Youth
Exchange. He was Director for the Multi District Interact
Symposium that served over 160 high school aged leaders, Faculty
Advisors and Rotarian Liaisons at a weekend leadership camp at
the Outdoor Education Center.
He is developing a New
Generations Advisory Group comprised of the Executive Directors
of the YMCAs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boys & Girls Clubs, and
Camp Fire clubs in District 5320 to discuss the challenges of
our youth today and how we can serve them better.
Brian
is Vice President for Field Operations for the Long Beach Area
Council Boy Scouts of America. He is also on the Board of the
Long Beach Day Nursery, which started in partnership with the
Rotary Club of Long Beach almost of a century ago. He is also on
the Board of Managers for the Los Altos YMCA Branch and the
Early Childhood Education Board.
Brian and his wife Anna
have been married 23 years and have 2 teenage sons. |
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Rotary
District 5330 |
Riverside
and Imperial Counties
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Vicky Wallace is
the immediate past president of the Rotary Club of Lake
Elsinore, California in District 5330. Her classification is
manufacturing. She and her Rotarian husband Steve have two
daughters.
As an Outwalker with the 2012 Rotary Rose
Parade Float she will be wearing the “Team Nigeria” jacket worn
while participating in the polio eradication National
Immunization Day (NID) in Nigeria.
Vicky’s NID experience
was life-changing. After returning home from Nigeria she and her
husband Steve decided ‘Service Above Self’ would be their life.
Two years later, in 2007, on another NID trip to Nigeria the
youngest daughter Crissy traveled along. Oldest daughter, Kelly
-- also a Rotarian and living in Ireland -- is planning her NID
participation to India in Feb. 2012. ‘Service Above Self’ are
three words that represent what Rotary is and does; it defines
the Wallace family too! |
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Rotary
District 5340 |
San Diego
County
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Linda Stouffer is
a 25 year member of the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club in
San Diego California. She is a Past President having served in
2008-2009.
She has been to Bolivia on a Rotary water
project and most recently attended her first NID with the
support of the rotary Club of Agra Taj City in District 3110 in
India. This NID went into predominantly Muslim communities in
Agra where the cooperation between Rotarians and the community
leaders was inspiring. Parents recognized that the quality of
their children's lives depended on Rotarians reaching out with
the critical polio vaccine that will prevent this crippling
disease from affecting their loved ones. Rotary’s global network
has brought hope to these families and allowed volunteers from
nations far apart to touch each other in a significant way.
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The Rotary Rose Parade Float is
not an official Rotary International program.
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