Irvine, CA – The Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIASC) has announced the final riders and walkers selected for BIASC’s Rose Parade® float “Building For the Future,” taking place on January 2, 2023, in Pasadena, California. This commemorative float was designed by participants of BIASC’s Junior Builder program, a program formed in 2019 that engages with 10-15-year-old future builders. The design celebrates the BIASC’s 100th year by depicting the past, present, and future of homes.
Float riders will include participants nominated from the South Pasadena San Marino Family YMCA and STEAM: CODERS, an organization that inspires underrepresented and underserved students and their families through Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM), in preparation for academic and career opportunities. One rider nominated by the YMCA is Ashlee Rivera, a 6th grader attending Park Elementary School in Alhambra. Ashlee joined the South Pasadena San Marino YMCA early this year to learn to swim, and she has notably accomplished her goal by becoming a very strong swimmer, according to her aquatics instructor. Ashlee plays flag football in a YMCA organized team, practices swimming at the Y and trains in Hapkido Karate. She is an artist and athlete. Ashlee says she plans on studying to become an architect because, “I like to build and design and draw. I also love to make things with different materials.”
Additional float riders include Mia and Maddie Montejano, the concept creators of the Junior Builder program. This program began as an annual summer camp designed to give children the opportunity to learn more about the building industry with online home design contests and interaction with industry leaders. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program remained dormant until BIASC leadership presented the opportunity to the Junior Builder alumni to reconvene, and assist with the BIASC’s float for the 2023 Rose Parade presented by Honda.
“Our Rose Parade float is a design concept by the Junior Builders. It’s about honoring our past and it’s about honoring our future, while being environmentally sensitive, as we plan and build livable communities,” says BIASC CEO Jeff Montejano. “We let the kids decide what the float should look like, so you’ll see a heavy nature component. Water and water conversation play a big role it that.”
The float design will feature three homes, one from the past, the present, and the future to demonstrate BIASC’s leadership in the transition to the next generation of home building. The home representing the “present” will be a first-of-its-kind in the U.S. demonstration Hydrogen Home equipped with rooftop solar panels, a battery, an electrolyzer to convert solar energy to hydrogen, and a fuel cell to supply electricity for the home. The demonstration model that will appear on the float is inspired by SoCalGas’ [H2] Hydrogen Innovation Experience in Downey which will be the first home in the country to showcase how carbon-free gas made from renewable electricity can be used in pure form or as a blend to fuel clean energy systems of the future.
“Homebuilding is the American Dream,” adds BIASC EVP Craig Foster, “And we’re focused on our children being able to capture that through imagination and innovation.”
For more information on the event or to sign up to volunteer as a float decorator or sponsor, please visit biasc.org/roseparade.
About BIASC
The Building Industry Association of Southern California is the voice of the region’s building industry, with four chapters offering localized services to building professionals from Ventura to the southern tip of Orange County. Throughout its 99-year history, the association has served its builder and associate members by anticipating, protecting, and promoting their common interests through its many programs, services, councils and committees. For more information on the Building Industry Association of Southern California, visit biasc.org.