Latest / The Bubble Lounge (Highland Park & University Park Texas) / Red, White, and Community: Inside the Park Cities 4th of July Parade with Park Cities Rotary Club

Transcript

Red, White, and Community: Inside the Park Cities 4th of July Parade with Park Cities Rotary Club · The Bubble Lounge (Highland Park & University Park Texas)

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: I wanted to give a personal thank you to our good friend and show sponsor, kathy Elwall State Farm Agency.
• 0:05
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• 0:12
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• 0:24
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• 0:27
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• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bubble Lounge.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: I'm Martha Jackson.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but there's just something magical about the 4th of July parade in the park cities.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: From kids decorating bikes to neighbors lining the street with lawn chairs and coffee in hand, it's the kind of tradition that reminds you why this community is so special.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: This year feels extra special for me personally because I've been named Citizen of the Year by the City of University Park, something I'm incredibly honored and honestly still wrapping my head around.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: I'll be riding in the parade this year, which is both exciting and slightly nerve-wracking, so if you see me awkwardly waving and sweating in a convertible.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Just smile and wave back.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Today we're going behind the scenes with the amazing people who make the magic happen the Park City's Rotary Club.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: Not only do they organize one of the biggest and most beloved parades in Texas, but they give back to our community in meaningful ways all year long.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: We're talking about the history of the parade, what it takes to put it on, how it brings people together and how this year's event is raising money for the North Texas Food Bank.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: So, whether you've lived here forever or just moved in, get ready for the fun and festive episode that'll have you feeling all the red, white and blue vibes.
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: Joining us today is Park City's Rotary Club President, sarah Ollier, and Parade Co-Chair, jill Jordan.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Ladies, welcome to the show, thank you, thank you.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: Could you each introduce yourselves and tell us what you do with the Rotary Club?
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: I'm Jill Jordan and I am the parade co-chair for this year.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: I am Sarah Ollier and I am the president of the Rotary Club of Park Cities for the 2025 to 2026 year.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: Well, I am so excited to have you guys on the show.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: The only time we've ever talked to you was during COVID, and we had to do it remotely, and so this is a pleasure having you here in person.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: So we're going to talk a lot about the parade, also about the Rotary Club in general, but for those that might be tuning in for this first time and haven't gone to the parade, can you tell us about this year's parade and the theme?
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: The theme of this year's parade is America the Beautiful, and the parade is going to be on the actual 4th.
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: We get that question.
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so it is on the 4th in the morning and the parade starts at 9 o'clock and it takes about an hour for the parade, to you know, go past wherever you are, and then after the parade, there's the festival at Centennial Park, formerly known as Gore Park.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: So we're all getting used to the new name, so it'll be a great event.
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: Well, walk us through the history of it.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: How did the parade start and how has it evolved to what it is today?
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: Well, it started off back in the 50s as kind of local parades that happened in the two cities independently of each other, and then in the 1960s the Jaycees pulled it together and started a combined parade.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: But there were still other parades still in the neighborhoods.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: At some point then the Jaycees no longer did it and it was a whole series of couples of little, literally residents of the park cities who would put the parade on um, which would been quite an undertaking, um, and it ended up um with um, uh, kirk dooley and his wife charlotte, um, I, I went to highland park high school, so I, you know, I him, and so a lot of Highland Park people knew him.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: He and his wife did it for four years and by that time there was the festival in Gore Park at the time now Centennial Park.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: Charlotte was in charge of that and it was just basically a picnic.
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: But Ellen, terry Realtors came up to them and said hey, could we serve lemonade?
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: And they said yes, as long as it's free.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: And that started the tradition now of having the tents at the park with giveaways and companies coming to promote and celebrate, and the face painting and the rock wall climbing and all of that kind of stuff.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: So that started back in the late 90s with Kirk and Charlotte.
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: It got to be such a big thing that they turned it over to another service organization to run and then they did it for only four years before they turned it over to us.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: So the Rotary Club has been doing this since 2003.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: Oh, wow.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: So I mean, that's not really that long, long ago.
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: Not for us, but the parade has been going on for 50 years, right, right.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Well, I absolutely love it.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: I remember taking my kids when they were young to it, and it was just always such a special community event.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: It's definitely one of my favorites that we do in the neighborhood.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: It ranks right up there with the Christmas tree lighting, right.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: So let's talk about what it takes to put on a parade like this, because I'm sure there's a lot more to it than just lining up all these cars that ride in it.
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: Well, at this point, the parade is a year-round preparation.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: I would imagine so yeah, so you know, we start in August with applying for grant money because this parade is a charity event.
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: We're raising money for the North Texas Food Bank, so we're out soliciting grant monies, sponsors for the parade and that kind of thing through the fall, doing the budgeting kind of initial prep work.
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: Then in January we have a contest within the Rotary Club for the theme and we start vetting potential Grand Marshals and we select the theme and the Grand Marshal in the first quarter of the year and by that time the parade prep is going full swing and we have a large committee of people within the club that are planning things.
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: And now that it's close to the event we had a huge Grand Marshal event at luncheon at the beginning of June to honor him and now we're in the full swing of putting the parade together.
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: So it's all these little tiny details and the flurry of emails is just overwhelming at this point.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: I could only imagine.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: Right and getting all the publicity and the coordination done and working with the two cities and they're fabulous to work with, so everybody's doing their job to put it together.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it takes a lot of people to do it.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: I know that for sure.
• 7:12
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• 7:53
  Speaker 1: Martha from the Bubble Lounge sent you.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: Well, I was going to ask you if you had any interesting stories, and I think you've got a really good one that ties in with this year's Grand Marshal.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: Will you tell us all about him?
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: You've got a really good one that ties in with this year's Grand Marshal Will you tell us all about him.
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: He's got quite the history he does.
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: Jim Wharton and probably most people in the community don't know his name, but I think everybody who's been to the parade knows Jim.
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: He's the man who has for the last 50 years ridden what I called his antique high-wheeler bike, ridden what I called his antique high wheeler bike.
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: So it's like five feet.
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: The front wheel is five feet off the ground with the little tiny wheel on the back.
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: He's actually riding a replica of a bike made in the 1880s.
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: So it's that dangerous looking thing that you're like how do they get going?
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: And apparently it's very difficult to get the bike going.
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: Like how do they get going?
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: And apparently it's very difficult to get the bike going.
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: And he's been a great sport.
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: He always comes.
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: This will be his 50th year in the parade Last year and he's I think he's like 89 years old and so last year he was riding his bike and he got to the corner of University and Preston and he wiped out and luckily he had a grandson with him and the grandson rode the bike the rest of the way and Jim walked it and he came up to us at the end in the park and said this is my last year, I am not doing this again.
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: And we're like, yeah, probably that would be a good idea to you know, not do it again.
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: So we got the little idea at that time of he'd be a great Grand Marshal and we didn't know anything about him other than he was in the parade.
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: But it turns out he's a fabulous guy and you'll see it this year in the parade guy, he and you'll see it this year in the parade.
• 9:46
  Speaker 3: He was an assistant scout what do you call them?
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: Scout master for Troop 70.
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: And so the Troop 70 boys are going to walk around the Grand Marsh car and Jim will be in his usual outfit.
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: Um, but um, you know, he was a fixture in the parade.
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: I'm sure if you watched the parade with your kids I know I did, sarah did, we all saw jim on the bike.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: I mean, that was like the key.
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: You know the parade is here when you saw jim on that bike and so this is a way of honoring him.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: Oh, I, I love that that's such a great story.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: I mean, I literally can see him and his outfit, the bike, I can see his hat.
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: I can just visualize the whole thing because, like you said, he's just been a fixture of the parade for so long.
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: Absolutely.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: And when you talk to him about the parade, he loves the parade.
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: I would think so.
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: I mean, 15 years is quite a time lane to do anything, but I mean 15 years is quite a timeline to do anything.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: But he has such a heart for the community and just the spirit of the day of the parade.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: It's really heartwarming to hear how he feels about it.
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: Oh wow.
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: And he and his whole family are very patriotic.
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: He was a Marine.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: He's got a son who's a chaplain I think the Army his grandson is a Marine married another service person this year.
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: So you know a very patriotic family and a very fun family.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: Okay, I absolutely love getting to know his background.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: This is so great.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: I love that you shared that.
• 11:19
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• 11:40
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• 11:41
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• 11:45
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• 12:01
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• 12:11
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• 12:38
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• 12:42
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• 12:46
  Speaker 1: Well, let's get back to you.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: We're talking about how this is actually a philanthropy and I'll be honest, as many years as I've gone to the parade, I didn't realize that, and I think that is just amazing and I want to hear more about that.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: You were talking about the grants and raising money.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: Tell us more about that.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: Well, sarah, which is fighting hunger.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: The North Texas Food Bank has been the beneficiary of all funds raised from the parade for years now, probably about 10 years, I think.
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: Years now, probably about 10 years, I think and so we raise money with corporate sponsors, individual Rotarians who donate, and their money, their donations, go directly to the North Texas Food Bank.
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: So for those they're called patrons and the patron money goes directly to the North Texas Food Bank and oftentimes the North Texas Food Bank and oftentimes the North Texas Food Bank then brings in a matching partner, which is fun, because then every money and we're good at trying to hit the matching partners at a triple match or at least a double match.
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: In fact, we work very closely with the patrons to make sure they bring their checks to the North Texas Food Bank at those matching dollars, but the North Texas Food Bank at those matching dollars.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: But the North Texas Food Bank kind of language is love, is meals, they always want to talk about meals.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: And so several years ago we looked at how many meals have we raised on behalf of the North Texas Food Bank over the year, and at that time we were about 800,000 meals and we thought could we hit 1 million meals, and we did, and so now we've been tracking it.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: We set a goals to hit a meal marker every year, and this year's meal marker is it's around 400,000 meals, and so what's our total then?
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: So, at this point, though, we did better than what we thought.
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: So we're at just under 2.3 million meals, and, under Sarah's leadership, we have a strategic plan for the club and we have set a goal to be at 3 million meals at three parades out.
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: So we are on target to hit that 3 million meal mark in a couple of years from now.
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Well, you guys ought to be extremely proud of yourselves.
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: I mean, that is making a huge impact.
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: And it's so necessary right now.
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: I think many people are aware that local food banks are struggling a little bit with the cuts and the funding that they received, and so you have a greater level of need and you have less resources coming in from traditional governmental grants and funding and things like that, and so, this year more than ever, the impact of the funds that we're raising on behalf of North Texas Food Bank I know is very much appreciated by their CEO.
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: Well, let's talk more about the Rotary Club in general.
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: I was telling you before we started recording I've only been to one of your meetings so far, so I kind of have a visual of what that looks like.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: But walk us through how we can join and then, after we join, what happens.
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: Okay, so we meet at Maggiano's at North Park Mall on the second floor every Friday at noon.
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: Okay, there are a couple of days of the year that we're off, like, obviously we're all volunteering on the 4th of July, so we'll be there and then we're taking the following Friday off because we're recovering from the 4th of July, but we're back on schedule July 18th.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: So if anybody wanted to come and check out the Rotary Club of Park Cities, the next meeting would be on July 18th and then pretty much every Friday after that and we have weekly speakers.
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: So it's always an opportunity to come to just learn something new about your greater community, and not just the park cities but Dallas and North Texas, and it's anyone from nonprofits.
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: Every once in a while there's a politician, business leaders, I think, coming up.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: We have someone talking about the Texas Stock Exchange, which you know may be coming.
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: We sometimes have someone from the Federal Reserve come and give a report, and so it's speakers from all different occupations and nonprofits.
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: And so when I first joined, it was one of my favorite things.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: I just came and learned something new about our greater community every week.
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: In fact, my kids would always ask me who spoke at Rotary today.
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: But you know, as you become more involved as a Rotarian, rotary is an international service organization.
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: I just came back from the art club.
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: I always send the incoming president to the international convention, and this year it was in Calgary, and so I went and there were 16,000 Rotarians from around the world, reflecting 120 different countries.
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: And so I went and there were 16,000 Rotarians from around the world reflecting 120 different countries, and you know, it's really very impactful.
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: You see the work that Rotary is doing.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: We see it in our own community, but then you see what Rotary is doing on an international level, and you know, for health issues, developing leaders and sometimes just providing basic necessities for individuals in countries that are really struggling, whether it's because of the political situation or war or natural disasters, or natural disasters, and so that was really a very affirming, you know, conference to attend.
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: But our club has three strategic priorities it's finding hunger, the health and wellness and leadership development, and we have partners locally that we work with in each of those.
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: So, for example, the North Texas Food Bank is who we work with to fight hunger.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: Not only do we volunteer and pack on some days, but we also obviously raise money for them Health and wellness.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: We work with Austin Street Center, which is a homeless shelter in downtown Dallas.
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: We have a foot care clinic which we provide new shoes, and we bring in nursing students to evaluate the feet and sometimes, if they need, referrals for extra care.
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: And then leadership development program is one within our club, and then we offer a scholarship as well.
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: And so that is our three areas of focus and so we have a lot of service opportunities throughout the year.
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: That our club participates in the parade is obviously it's a service opportunity for the community right, but we also it's a service opportunity in that we are supporting one of our community partners, which is the North Texas Food Bank.
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: But we also do things like a dentistry program at Agape Clinic, who's another one of our partners.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: Bonton Clinic.
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: We've recently paid for their new dental suite.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: I don't know if you've ever been down to Bantan.
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: They've really done tremendous things in the greater community there and they've built a health center and so and it's.
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: I guess they had their grand opening already, but we outfitted their dental suite so that they would be able to provide dental care for individuals who are attending the clinic, and so, and we're also providing the legacy wall.
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: Bantan has kind of a long history in that community, and so we're paying for a legacy board to be created which outlines the history of the community and why it's so important for the people who live there, right, we also did a fun project this last year.
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: It was a little project, but have you ever heard of a book vending machine?
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: Oh, yes, oh, yes, yes.
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: So I guess it was Atmos Energy that kind of came up with this idea.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: Well, it was actually our Legacy of Leadership class that year.
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: But it's instead of getting a Coke or you know a candy bar out of a machine, you get a book and they're in DISD schools and if the kids have done a good job with their schoolwork and you know that kind of thing, then they can get a token and they can pick a book that they get to keep.
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: So we participate or we join Voices with Atmos Energy to pay for the vending machine, and then our club, from its foundation, stocks the book vending machine annually.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: And so we do that, partly because that's a way we say thank you to our speakers.
• 21:13
  Speaker 2: Whenever someone comes, we say a book is being placed in your honor in an elementary school.
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: So we worked with DISD's foundation to find a school that was in an underserved community where book ownership is quite low.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: I mean, if you think about the number of books your kids had growing up in your own home, I mean you know all of our kids were probably very blessed to have a lot of books that they could read at any time.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: There are students who have no books at home, and so the DISD recommended the placement of the vending machine in Jack Lowe Senior Elementary School, which is really almost across from North Park.
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: It's in the Vickery Meadows, which serves a large refugee community, immigrant community.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: There's students from all over the world that come there and speak many different languages, and it's an area that suffers economically, and so their book ownership was quite low.
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: So when they're a good student or they get positive reinforcement, they get a token, they go get a book out of the vending machine and it's their book to have at home.
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: I love that.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: I mean this has been so wonderful getting to know everything that you do, because I mean, the print is just one of many things that you guys are doing out there and, wow, I mean I'm so impressed, I'm so excited to learn about it.
• 22:27
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• 23:23
  Speaker 1: How is the best way, if somebody would like to join the Rotary Club, for them to get involved, attend a meeting.
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: They will be very much welcome and they'll be greeted by multiple Rotarians and if they have an interest in joining, they can just tell any Rotarian and they will connect them with the right person.
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: Perfect.
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: And Maggiano's does a really nice job for us.
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: I joined the club in 2018 and the cost of a lunch was $20.
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: It's still $20.
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: And so you're getting good Maggiano's food for $20 on a Friday and you're hearing a great speaker too.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: Yes, the one meeting I went to, the food was amazing and I just happened to be there when all of our PTA presidents were there speaking about the elementary schools, and so it's very informative.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: Very yummy lunch, a good way to spend your Friday afternoon.
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: Well, so you guys have told me so many wonderful things.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: I want to know what it's been like for you personally to be involved in the Rotary Club.
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: How do you feel like it has fulfilled you?
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: You want to go first.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: Jill, I'll go first.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: How do you feel like it has fulfilled you?
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: You want to go first, jill, I'll go first.
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: My grandmother lived on University Boulevard and the parade went right by her house and she always had an annual party where she would invite her friends and the family and we would put out the lawn chairs watch the parade go down to the park.
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: I did that with my kids and so when I retired from my job, I knew of the club.
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: I am not a morning person.
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: I knew the club met at noontime and I wanted to give back for all of the great memories that I had of the parade going by, and I wanted to do volunteer work with a group of people that I knew and it makes it more fun if you're with a consistent group of people.
• 25:13
  Speaker 3: So I did it for the camaraderie and giving back to the community.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: Initially I joined I had a mentor, so I'm an attorney, and I had a mentor who was also an estate planning attorney and he said you should join Rotary.
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: And he had been a lifelong Rotarian.
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: And he said attorneys should give back to their community.
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: Clients will want to know that you are participating and giving back to your community.
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: And he said so join a Rotary club.
• 25:40
  Speaker 2: He said you don't have to join my club, go visit different clubs.
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: And I live in the Park Cities.
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: And so I did attend his club once and it was check out my home community club.
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: And so I went to Maggiano's, walked in, just did the cold walk in, was immediately greeted, welcomed in and I and I and I honestly at that time this was 10 years ago I did not know that much about Rotary.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: I had a niece who'd done a study abroad program via Rotary in high school.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: She'd studied abroad in Brazil and that was really my frame of reference for Rotary at the time but joined and just loved the weekly speakers.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: Philip Bankhead at that time Highland Park resident, was chairing the Park Cities and said hey, sarah, let's get you in into the parade.
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: And so from there it was a couple of years of just planning alongside him and then eventually I became the chair of the parade and then I passed it on to Jill and Alan.
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: And Tom Rhodes also a local Park Cities resident also handles the Centennial Park celebration aspect of it and he's done that for about 14 years.
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: Stan Wright is now deceased but he handled it for a couple of years but I think Tom has done it for 14 years at least, and the Park Cities is pretty substantial chapter, wouldn't you say?
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: Like when I walked in the room was full.
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: We have, as of the new Rotary year, July 1st, we have 130 members.
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: Oh wow, and so at any given Friday luncheon, you know, I'd say there's 50 to 60.
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: Some speakers draw more than some.
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: You know times of the year you have a little bit less attending depending on vacation schedules, but we are 130 members.
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: And we tend to vie with the downtown one.
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: So which club is bigger?
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: We go back.
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: The Downtown Dallas Club and the Park Cities Club are the two, I believe, largest in our district, our Rotary District.
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that makes sense.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: We were founded, I believe, in 1948.
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: District, our Rotary District.
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that makes sense.
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: We were founded, I believe, in 1948.
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: I am the 77th president.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: Oh, wow.
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: And so we've been around for a while, for a bit, yeah, doing good work.
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I love everything you're telling me.
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: Well, let's end with tips for the parade, because I haven't been a spectator in many years out there, but there's definitely do's and don'ts and good tips to share, so can you guys share with people what they should do?
• 28:10
  Speaker 2: Well, if you live along the parade route, put your chairs out right, but you can watch it anywhere along the route.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: We just ask that you be respectful of the property owners along the way, but you can sit along the curb anywhere along the route.
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: We just ask that you be respectful of the property owners along the way, but you can sit along the curb anywhere along the route.
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: You know there's people who watch it from the Highland Park Village.
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: That's where we used to camp out and you know, if you want to have a preferred spot, get there early because the shady spots will be taken.
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, they get taken very quickly because the shady spots will be taken.
• 28:42
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, they get taken very quickly.
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: But I think the biggest message is just come, have fun, be festive, and we do throw candy.
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: So have a bag, bring that so that you and your kiddos can catch the candy.
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: But also remember to keep an eye on your kids, because the tendency is especially for little kids, is they take a step out to catch candy, they take another step out and you have to remember there's trucks and things all driving down the parade route.
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: So just remember to kind of keep an eye on the kiddos.
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: Try to keep them at the curb to catch their candy for safety reasons.
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: Right, I think that's good advice.
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: Well, just tying in with the shade.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: Also, maybe bring an umbrella.
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: Water, wear your sunscreen, definitely yes, a blanket, maybe some chairs.
• 29:24
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: All of those things, so to have a great parade experience.
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: But then the festival afterwards is so fun as well.
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: You just really feel like you're in a small town when you go to the gazebo.
• 29:39
  Speaker 3: Well, and you get your free watermelon, and you know there's the lemonade, and even more candy and more treats to eat.
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: Well, and you have the students there.
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: You know the football team's often there.
• 29:51
  Speaker 3: And they're signing autographs and the baseball team will be there this year and they are super excited about that the lads and lassies sing the national anthem from the gazebo program.
• 30:04
  Speaker 2: that starts.
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: There's about a half an hour gazebo program.
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: And you can also participate in the parade, and there's no cost.
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: And so lineup for general entry is at 730, and it starts on westbound Euclid, at St John's, and the line goes back up to Byron, and if there's people still wanting to get in line, it's southbound Byron, so you can do that.
• 30:30
  Speaker 3: And then, don't forget, there's the bicycle decorating contest.
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: So if you want to ride your bike, we are partnering with Trek Bicycles this year and that's at the YMCA, and again there's contests there for the best bikes, and so the bicyclists don't have to ride the whole parade route.
• 30:51
  Speaker 3: They start at the Y and they end at Centennial Park, and if you want to be in the bike contest, get there about 8.30, and the YMCA will have it all organized.
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: And the bike decorating contest is by age group and boy and girl, and so when we announce the winners of that at the Gazebo program, at Centennial Park.
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: When you say age group, is there one for middle age?
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: That would be a tall team.
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: I've got big ideas for my bike.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: Well, ladies, thank you so much for taking the time to come by today.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: I am so excited for the parade and I just think everyone in our community, no matter what your age is, they need to come out and support it.
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: How can people find more information about the Rotary Club and details of the parade?
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: It's on our website, so go to Google.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: The Rotary Club of Park City, yep parkcitiesrotaryorg that's it Come up and you'll find there's a tab for the parade and all of the information, the maps on there, what to do, what to watch for and inclement weather and where that information would be posted, and general safety messages as well.
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: Perfect.
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: Well, that's been another episode of the Bubble Lounge.
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: I'm Martha Jackson and I'll see you next time.