Little Izzy’s face lit up early Thursday as City officials, residents and float riders sang “Happy Birthday” to the 2-year-old who received cake and a fluffy stuffed animal to the delight and surprise of her mom, Olympian Julie Foudy.

The celebration on New Year’s Day took place just hours before Izzy (Isabel) and her baby brother watched their mom wave to adoring fans as she traveled on the City of Mission Viejo’s “Making a Splash” float in the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade.

Foudy a silver and two-time Olympic gold medalist in soccer joined Olympians Greg Louganis; Brian Goodell; and Chloe Sutton on the flower-bedecked float along with residents and members of the Mission Viejo Nadadores who spent the morning diving, somersaulting and cannon-balling into roughly 10 tons of “heated” water as the glorious City float made its way down the 5 ½-mile parade route.

The City’s float won the Judges Special Award for “Most Spectacular in Showmanship and Dramatic Impact.”

In the stands high above the parade route, the City’s float certainly made an impact – as “ooohs and aaahs” roared from the large crowd to the sight of the Nadadores splashing into the pool, which represented the City’s iconic Lake Mission Viejo.

“Wow mom look at the people jumping in the water,” said Kayden Phillips, 8, of Costa Mesa. “That is the neatest thing ever … why don’t we have one of those?”

Several others agreed with Phillips – complimenting the float’s impressive design and formation that took about 13,000 hours of volunteer time to construct. But the admiration for the City’s float extended far beyond its unique design. The float was designed to build and embrace community and was a celebration of the City’s heritage, history and future.

“It is the greatest thing to happen … best advertisement we can get worldwide,” said longtime community volunteer Mark “Ziggy” Wilczynski, who rode on the float. “I am very proud to be a part of the camaraderie, friendship and pride that this float represents.”

Greg Louganis, who is known as the “world’s greatest diver” spent the early days of his illustrious diving career training with the Mission Viejo Nadadores. With his dog Nipper in tow, Louganis said he was honored to take part in creating history in the town he loves.

“I am really excited to be here,” he said. “I think this is a wonderful thing for the community.”

Foudy, who graduated from Mission Viejo High School in 1989 and was proclaimed the City’s “Home Town Hero” seven years later could not contain her excitement before, during and after the parade.

“I am proud and very honored to represent the City of Mission Viejo,” she said.

When a group of young ladies grow up, they’ll have a great story to tell to their children and grandchildren. Well, actually, the 14- and 15-year-old Girl Scouts won’t even have to wait that long to recount their experiences of helping to build the City of Mission Viejo’s 2009 Rose Parade float.

On Dec. 28, members from Girl Scout Troop 1662 along with three adults will travel by bus from Mission Viejo to Irwindale and help put the final floral touches on the City’s “Making a Splash” float.

The gals, who will work the 3 to 11 p.m. shift, are as happy as clams for this unique opportunity and for the chance to be together, said Troop Leader Felicia Berschauer.

“They know it will be a lot of fun, but I also think they are doing this to be together,” Felicia said. “Most of the girls have been together since kindergarten, so they are just so happy to be able to experience this together.

Felicia is a float-decorating alumnus – having decorated a Rose Parade float in college. The excitement and thrill of taking part in such a wonderful event has stayed with her ever since, and she is looking forward to reliving the memory and creating new memories with her Girl Scouts decorating the City’s float.

When 30 young volunteers head to Irwindale on Dec. 28, they will be traveling to leave their mark on Mission Viejo’s history. The 13- to 16-year-old group of volunteers will spend 8 hours putting the finishing touches on the City’s Tournament of Roses Parade float, “Making a Splash.”

The volunteers are from Lion’s Heart and the National Charity League. Lion’s Heart is a charity organization consisting of 7th to 12th grade students who volunteer their time to different local charities. Members of the National Charity League devote their time to community service activities and giving back. The volunteers are among several others who will swarm over the float in the days after Christmas leading up to the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade.

Mari Belko, whose two children are active volunteers, is leading the charge of volunteers who will travel by bus from the City’s Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center to Irwindale where the float is being built. When the kids learned about the opportunity to help decorate the City’s flower-bedecked float, they jumped at it.

“Some of these kids, especially the older ones, put in about 100 volunteer hours a year for different organizations,” Mari said. “The thing that is so neat for the kids is that they get to support their community, spend hours with their friends and see the fruits of their labor on national TV the day of the Rose Parade.”

The volunteers will leave Mission Viejo at 3 p.m. and return by 11 p.m. It will be a labor of love for the group – which also volunteered during “Dry Flowering Days” in town – as every inch of the float must be covered with flowers or other natural materials, such as leaves, seeds or bark. The most delicate flowers are placed in individual vials of water, which are set into the float one by one.

Mari said the kids are extremely thankful for the opportunity and to the City.

“It is so exciting for the kids to take part in this, but they are also so grateful for being treated so well by the City,” Mari said. “They are being transported, fed and are getting a trinket and T-shirt … they do not expect anything in return and that doesn’t ever happen. The City’s treatment has made a huge impact on the kids, and they love it!”

Members of Girl Scout Troop 2440 really have no idea what they are in for when they venture to Irwindale Saturday to join thousands of other volunteers in putting the final touches on the City’s 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade float.

“Many have never seen the parade in person and do not know what to expect but are really looking forward to it,” said troop leader Julie Schouten, noting that two girls have an uncle who lives along the parade route and have been fortunate to witness the majestic beauty and splendor of the parade. “They are so excited.”

Julie certainly is, as float decorating runs in her family. Julie’s mom grew up in Pasadena and spent years working on floats – enjoying every little detail, every fragrant smell and the sheer excitement of it all. Julie has always wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

The longtime Mission Viejo resident will get that opportunity to live vicariously through her Girl Scouts who will work the day shift Saturday and night shift Tuesday. Their efforts will culminate in an exciting day viewing the parade along the parade route and seeing the fruits of their labor on New Year’s Day.

“We are all driving up together to watch the parade and are so thrilled to see the City’s float when it is all decorated,” Julie said.

For as long as she can remember, Jean Ingoglia has dreamt of having the opportunity to decorate a Rose Parade float. The energetic gal, who just celebrated her 90th birthday, became enamored with the idea after first seeing the magnificent floral floats up close and personal with her son and daughter nearly two decades ago.

“My goodness, when I saw the gorgeous floats and how they created them, I thought I would never have the chance to do this, and wondered how it could ever be possible,” Jean said.

Jean’s dream will come true on Saturday when she travels by bus to Irwindale and volunteer from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. – carefully placing fresh fragrant flowers and other detailed fixtures onto the City’s “Making a Splash” float. She will be part of a celebration that is more than a century old – a festival of flowers, music and sports unequaled anywhere in the world.

Jean moved to Mission Viejo from the East Coast about 18 years ago to be near her children after her husband passed away. Wanting to give back to the beautiful community she quickly grew to love, Jean got involved with the City’s Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center. She spent years arranging flowers and bouquets for those who were ill or homebound. She made it her mission to volunteer as much as she could by helping with the seniors’ nutrition program, Meals On Wheels and anything else she could do to bring a bit of joy to those who needed it most.

When the City celebrated its 20th anniversary in March and decided to have a float in the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade as a tribute to the community, its past and future, Jean knew this was her chance to fulfill her longtime dream.

“I watched the parade with such joy, did the flower program and all of a sudden with our 20th anniversary came this wonderful idea for a float …I signed up immediately to volunteer and said ‘please do not turn me down because of my age,’” she said. “Now my dream has come true, and I did not even think I would be around at 90.”

Jean is certainly up for the once-in-a-lifetime task, regardless of her age.

“I don’t think about the number; I just think about my body and what it can do,” she said. “I have been honored to have done all that I have and will still continue to do as much as I can in less of a capacity. I will continue to give back and volunteer as long as God gives me the strength.”

Jean is certainly not short on strength, stamina or spunk. The longtime volunteer will join her daughter and friend in Irwindale Saturday, and she has told her sisters on the East Coast to watch the parade New Year’s Day to see Mission Viejo’s float.

“I think this is so wonderful the City is doing this for its residents. Mission Viejo is a gorgeous City and I am blessed to be a part of it,” she said.

Working the night shift Friday decorating the City’s Rose Parade float in Irwindale will be a breeze for the 11- and 12-year-old Girl Scouts from Troop 689 who are considered “night owls.”

“We’ve done sleepovers and they have stayed up until 2 p.m., so finishing by 11 p.m. is early for them,” said troop leader Vickie Dostis. “They have more energy than you can imagine.”

The girls’ energy is certainly needed as the City heads into the final stretch of building its “Making a Splash” float for the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade.

The scouts are eager to join thousands of others who have come together to help decorate the City’s float that will feature four Olympians, residents and members of the Mission Viejo Nadadores, who will dive into 10 tons of water as the float makes its way down the 5 ½ mile parade route.

Vickie said, as expected, the girls are elated and cannot wait to get to work. Their enthusiasm is contagious.

“I think us adults are even more excited about being there than the girls are,” Vickie said, adding that she has only seen the parade on TV.

Vickie said they are grateful to the City for providing this wonderful opportunity to the community.

Photos from the decorating session can beviewed here:
http://cityofmissionviejo.org/roseparade/photos/20081226/

The City has added a new photo gallery to its Web site chronicling the making of its “Making a Splash” Rose Parade float and a live webcam capturing the float’s floral transformation leading up to the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade.

Thousands of community volunteers have been helping to build the City’s float with seeds, dry flowers and live flowers at Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale. The webcam in Irwindale will record every step of the community’s float-building efforts beginning Dec. 26 for the public to enjoy.

To see view the photo gallery and watch the making of Mission Viejo’s flower-bedecked float, visit www.cityofmissionviejo.org.

Sporting grubby clothes and good-sturdy shoes rather than their official scout attire, members from Girl Scout Troop #384 are ready for duty. Their assignment: Help decorate the City’s Rose Parade float, “Making a Splash,” the day after Christmas.

The Mission Viejo 13-year-olds will be joined by two adults as they spend an 8-hour shift in Irwindale decorating the City’s magnificent Rose Parade floral float. The process is fun – and could get a bit messy with all that glue and petals.

“They don’t know exactly what they are in for, but they are so excited and looking forward to heading to Irwindale,” said Troop Leader Kathy Bruce, noting that she’d miss Black Friday any day to accompany the girls for this “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.

The Girl Scouts’ participation stemmed from a meeting where they learned of the City’s call for volunteers to help build its community float. The scouts devote their time to community-service projects during the year and thought this particular project took the grand prize.

“A grandma of one of the girls helped decorate a float in the Rose Parade several years ago and said it was one of the best experiences of her life,” Kathy said. “The girls are really excited to get to work!”

Thousands of individuals have contributed about 7,000 hours of volunteer time so far – with an additional 6,000 hours anticipated – helping build the City’s 2009 Rose Parade float entitled “Making a Splash.” The volunteer support has illustrated passion for the community float-decorating activities leading up to the 120th Tournament of Roses Parade.

With New Year’s Day quickly approaching, volunteers have been busy cutting strawflowers and purple-statice confetti; crushing coconut; constructing tree vials; and cleaning rice at the Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center in town and Fiesta Parade Floats in Irwindale, where the float is being built. Volunteers will spend the week of Dec. 26-31 in Irwindale putting the finishing touches on the community’s flower-bedecked float.

Building the float is a labor of love, requiring thousands of donated man-hours and support from the entire community. City officials are grateful for the heartfelt support and are elated by the volunteers’ enthusiasm for building this community’s float that will make a splash with its 5-foot-deep, 20-foot-long “lake” feature representing Lake Mission Viejo.

The public is encouraged to visit the City’s blog at http://missionviejolife.org and signup for its E-news at www.cityofmissionviejo.org to stay apprised of upcoming activities and news leading up to the Rose Parade.

Since the City began selling its official Tournament of Roses Parade souvenir merchandise for the holidays, the items have been selling like hotcakes.

The merchandise, which range from $2 to $15, include Rose Parade T-shirts and sweatshirts; commemorative pins; a float patch; and the official souvenir Rose Parade Program.

The items, which have been available since November, make perfect stocking stuffers and affordable holiday gifts. The merchandise also commemorates the City’s float entry in this year’s Tournament of Roses Parade. Proceeds from the sales will help offset the costs of transporting volunteer float decorators to Irwindale later this month.

The public can purchase the souvenir items at the Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center at 24932 Veterans Way and the Montanoso Recreation Center at 25800 Montanoso Drive.

For more information about the centers’ hours of operation, call 949-470-3062 or visit the City’s web-site at www.cityofmissionviejo.org.