Florist decorates float for Tournament of Roses Parade

By Cindy Card Buchholz, Journal correspondent | Friday, December 05, 2008

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The Tournament of Roses Parade will no longer simply commemorate the annual Rose Bowl college football game for one local floral designer. For Jami Goss, a Keystone woman who was selected to work on one of the floats, it will be a dream come true.

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was very young,” Goss said. “I watch the parade every year, and it has been a personal goal of mine to work on one of the floats.”

Goss is a master designer for Flowers by Le Roy in Rapid City, where she has worked for 15 years. She started her career as a florist when she was a sophomore in high school.

Goss will be joining hundreds of others who will make the trek to Pasadena, Calif. There is a selection process for the highly sought-after openings. Those wishing to work on a float are advised to apply 12 to nine months in advance. The manpower to finish the floats is on a volunteer basis, which means the workers need to pay their own expenses. Many are turned down every year.

While most of the people will be from the California area, Goss said there are plenty of others who travel from other states and even other countries for the rare opportunity.

“It’s quite an expensive trip, and travel expenses are my own responsibility,” she said.

She applied in January and found out in June via an e-mail that she had just barely made the list. She and her husband, Shorty Goss, will leave early Christmas morning and return the day after the parade on Jan. 2.

As a mother of five, the timetable is not exactly ideal, but she said her children are all old enough to appreciate what the trip means to her.

Her 13-year-old son, Wyatt Huntley, said he is very happy for his mother.

“It will be different not having Mom here on Christmas, but I’m really happy she gets to go and make her dream. She’s wanted to do this for a long time,” he said.

Goss is scheduled to work two full shifts on Dec. 26 and 27. Decorators are scheduled to work in five-hour sessions. Groups of 20 to 40 people from various community organizations are scheduled at a time per slot. Since she is volunteering as an individual and not as part of a large group, she said she can work the entire week if she wants to. She said her husband will relax and sight-see while she works.

“My whole family has been very supportive, and my co-workers have been very supportive,” she said.

Diana Holloway, owner of Flowers by Le Roy, said the whole staff is thrilled for her.

“We’re ecstatic that she’ll have this opportunity and experience. She can bring back to South Dakota some of the designs with roses. She’ll get to talk to people from all over the country and to network. We are all excited for her. We wish we could go,” she said.

The theme for this year’s Rose parade theme is “Hats off to Entertainment. It will feature nearly 50 stunning floral floats that are entered by corporations, community organizations or cities. All of the floats are constructed by professional float builders. The average cost per float is around $200,000.

Goss’ float is sponsored by the Rotary Club and has been designed by Charisma Floats and Designs. Its title is “Make Dreams Real” and features delicate flowers, fairies and butterflies. Goss has been following the float’s progress online.

“I can’t wait to see what it will look like when it is complete,” she said.

Work on the floats takes nearly a year, and work on the initial artwork and design for next year’s floats begins soon after the parade ends. Once the design is fashioned, construction begins on the chassis and framework, followed by the screening and a road test before the flowers and other natural products are attached.

She said Charisma Floats and Designs also creates floral arrangements for the Emmys and the Oscars. “I’m hoping maybe this will give me a foot in the door to do some other neat things like that,” she said.

As a designer with Flowers by Le Roy, Goss said she has been fortunate to work on floral arrangements for dignitaries brought to Rapid City by the John T. Vucurevich Foundation Speaker Series, including Margaret Thatcher, Carol Burnett and Jane Goodall.

She said one of her wholesaler contacts from Minnesota has motivated her to keep her dreams blossoming for future endeavors.

“She has inspired me is look at pursuing doing flower arrangements for the presidential inauguration,” Goss said. “It won’t be this one, but perhaps in 2012. Everything is pretty much volunteer for that, too. It helps if you know people who have done it before.”

Float construction

To follow the float construction, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/rotaryfloat/2009ConstructionPhotos#

The Tournament of Roses Parade will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 1, and will be broadcast on ABC, NBC, Univision, HGTV, Travel Channel and Discovery HD.