When the 130th Rose Parade® wows Pasadena on New Year’s Day 2019, it’s going to include 40 floats.

Among those will be an especially poignant one: the Donate Life float, “Rhythm of the Heart”.

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On Saturday, volunteers were hard at work at Fiesta Floats’ Irwindale facility.  And one of the floats receiving painstaking attention, during the decoration process, was “Rhythm of the Heart”.

During a lunch break, we caught up with Tom Mone, who is both Donate Life’s Rose Parade Float Chairman and the CEO of nonprofit One Legacy.

Tom not only shared the story of how Donate Life first began entering floats in the Rose Parade®–he also took the time to explain what you’ll see on the 2019 float.

Since they first began entering a float in the parade, 501c3 nonprofit Donate Life has had their float serve as both a remembrance, and a reminder that organ and tissue donations save lives.

And “Rhythm of the Heart” accomplishes both these goals in an imaginative and beautiful way.

With an African theme, the float uses the subject of music, in keeping with the 2019 parade theme, “The Melody of Life”.

These Senegalese drums are called djembe.  An even-taller one behind them is a kuba, and is from the Congo.  Traditionally, drums in Africa have been used for communication.

Meanwhile, the stringed instrument is a five-string harp called a kundi, and is from Central Africa.

And the mask is a senufo double kypeliye’e mask, from the Ivory Coast.  During our conversation, Tom explained its meaning.

A special tribute

But there’s one story you won’t hear on this current episode of our podcast.  The story of this hat! 

And it’s one to be shared.

After we finished recording, Tom explained that the hat had belonged to Gary Foxen, who first proposed that Donate Life have a float in the Rose Parade®.

Gary passed away three years ago.

“We made it a point to have his hat watching over the floats on (the) actual Parade Day,” Tom explained.  “Someone’s either wearing it or carrying it…so it goes down the parade route every time.”

Be watching for Gary’s hat as “Rhythm of the Heart” goes by on New Year’s Day–and maybe consider applauding the “outwalkers” and riders?  They’re all transplant recipients or donor family members.

Happy New Year–and thank you for listening to Over Coffee®!

On this edition of Over Coffee®, you’ll hear:

• How Donate Life first decided to put a float in the Rose Parade®;

• An exciting and lifesaving record which Donate Life has set;

• A first-ever connection between the Donate Life float and the 2019 Rose Parade®;

• The meaning of some of the elements on the float;

• How the elements of science, technology, engineering, art and math are all a part of the float’s creation;

• What the journey is like, for the float from its barn to the parade route;

• Tom’s early experiences, decorating the float when Donate Life first joined the parade;

One of the most important moments, for him, in decorating the 2019 float.

Pasadena’s 130th Rose Parade, themed “The Melody of Life” begins at 8 am, PST, on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.