About Our Float
For the thirteenth consecutive year, Shriners Children’s will participate in the 135th Rose Parade, presented by Honda. Nine representatives will ride on the float, entitled Believe in Tomorrow. The float expresses how Shriners Children’s helps our patients have the confidence and hope to believe in tomorrow and be what they aspire to be in the future.
How to Watch the Parade
Float Concept Description/Why Our Theme was Chosen
For over 100 years, Shriners Children’s has provided highly skilled, transformational care to children with complex medical conditions and injuries. Families facing these challenges often worry that their child will not have a typical childhood and may be unable to fulfill their hopes and dreams. Our float theme, Believe in Tomorrow, speaks to the hope that Shriners Children’s gives to families. With our experienced medical teams and compassionate, family-centered care, our patients can believe in a bright, joyful future – a happy and healthy tomorrow.
Many Shriners Children’s patients have medical needs that require care throughout their childhoods. With trademark interdisciplinary, wrap-around care, Shriners Children’s clinical teams provide a foundation of support for families throughout this often long journey. Whether fitting a child for a prosthesis and providing the therapeutic support to get them walking again, or empowering a child to return to school or home after a significant burn injury, patients are given the hope and healing to believe in tomorrow. In addition, Shriners Children’s recognizes that many patients require care into adulthood and works to provide tools and resources to help teenage patients and their families step from our pediatric system into the adult healthcare world.
Our float is set in a beautiful, colorful garden that is alive with music in the air. A young girl is depicted playing the cello – a dream she thought would be impossible as she is missing part of one arm. The pediatric orthotic and prosthetic team at Shriners Children’s designed a custom prosthetic device for her arm so she can joyfully play her beloved instrument. Shriners Children’s mascot Fezzy smiles at our young patient, as he joins in the melody on his violin in this garden of hope.
Riding the float is Danna, a 17-year-old violinist and Shriners Children’s patient. Danna was born with a congenital malformation called Poland syndrome and did not have functioning fingers in her right hand. Life-changing toe-to-hand surgeries at Shriners Children’s gave Danna the function to pursue her passion for music. Danna will proudly display her cherished violin along the parade route. Rounding out the float riders are International Patient Ambassadors Gianna and Juan Diego, two resilient and inspirational patients who also received transformative care from Shriners Children’s. They are joined by James E. “Ed” Stolze Jr., the CEO of Shriners Children’s and head of the Shriners International fraternity, Shriners International’s First Lady JoLynn Dickins, and honored guests.
How Our Float’s Theme Relates to the Rose Parade Theme
Shriners Children’s treats children from across the globe and from over 130 countries. Music is the universal language, crossing all cultures and providing comfort and joy to children receiving care for a difficult medical condition or injury. Music therapy is routinely incorporated in the care plan at Shriners Children’s as part of the healing process. Music can offer comfort during a procedure, help reduce anxiety and provide a way to communicate beyond any language barrier.
Shriners Children’s helps our patients have the confidence and hope to believe in tomorrow and be what they aspire to be in the future. For many children, that means being able to return to activities they love such as playing the instruments they have such a passion for. Shriners Children’s prosthetic and orthotic specialists design custom devices for patients like our young cellist and International Patient Ambassador Juan Diego, whose custom splints enabled him to return to his passion for playing the drums again after a devastating burn injury. Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language reflects a central component of a Shriners Children’s patient’s journey, as they are embraced in the care that gives them the hope to Believe in Tomorrow.
Float Rider Profiles
Gianna
International Patient Ambassador, Shriners Children's
Gianna, 15, was born with a rare condition called proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD), which caused her to be missing part of her left femur. Her parents knew they had to find the right specialized care for their daughter, and were grateful to learn that the orthopedic team at Shriners Children’s Southern California had the expertise to treat PFFD.
Gianna’s left leg was shorter than her right one, and she faced hip malformations and other congenital left extremity limb deficiencies, said Robert Cho, M.D., pediatric orthopedic surgeon and chief of staff at Shriners Children’s Southern California. “Gianna did not have a functional knee joint, and she had a non-functioning foot that was pointed inward. It would have been essentially impossible for her to walk without amputating that and giving her a prosthesis,” Dr. Cho said.
Gianna had her first visit at Shriners Children’s when she was 3 months old, and at 9 months, she received her first prosthesis. As Gianna grew older, she became aware of her physical differences and at times struggled with her self-image. With the unwavering love and support of her family and her care team at Shriners Children’s, she developed the confidence to embrace life. The prosthetics and rehabilitation teams worked with Gianna to teach her how to adapt and build the skills to meet her physical challenges.
Juan Diego
International Patient Ambassador, Shriners Children's
Juan Diego, 19, was burned in an electrical accident when he was 13, leaving his hands seriously disfigured. He spent more than a month in the hospital in his home country of Honduras. When he returned home, he was completely dependent on others for even the most basic tasks. He could not take care of himself, go to school, or draw or play music, two of his passions.
The Ruth Paz Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Honduras devoted to providing quality medical services to children, learned about Juan Diego’s burn injury and connected him with Shriners Children’s Boston. Four months after his injury, he arrived at the hospital in Boston. Some of his burn wounds were still open, requiring immediate attention from the acute burn team. Juan Diego knew the road ahead was going to be challenging, but he approached every day, every treatment and every obstacle with a positive attitude.
During his two and a half months in Boston in 2018, much of Juan Diego’s treatment involved intensive physical therapy and occupational therapy. He worked with therapists at least five days a week, sometimes multiple times a day. Occupational therapist Courtney Updegrove fabricated customized splints for his hands, enabling Juan Diego to relearn how to care for himself. He was even able to draw and play the drums again.
James E. “Ed” Stolze Jr., Imperial Potentate, Shriners International
JoLynn Dickins, First Lady, Shriners International
Ed Stolze is the Imperial Potentate, or CEO, of Shriners International, the fraternity that founded Shriners Children’s. He also serves as the chairman of the Board of Directors for Shriners Children’s. JoLynn Dickins is serving as First Lady of Shriners International. In her role, JoLynn leads a fundraising program called Believe in Tomorrow that focuses on Shriners Children’s efforts to help teenage patients with life-long conditions transition into adulthood and adult healthcare.
To Ed, family is everything. This includes his Arizona family, where 289 residents of Phoenix are not only his neighbors, but also his blood relatives – as well as his Shrine family, where the bonds are tight. Ed met his late wife, Cheryl, in 1985, and they married in 1987. Both were in the military, and they moved often. Their two children were born in Virginia, and the family lived in places including Iceland; Hawaii; Phoenix; Biloxi, Mississippi; and San Diego, California.
Ed retired from the Navy in 2002 as Lieutenant Commander, while serving as the Electronics Maintenance Officer for the Pacific Fleet. For his second act, Ed served as Chief Technology Officer for a large school district in Phoenix, retiring in 2017. In addition, he is a senior leadership consultant for a family-owned consulting company.
Ed is grateful to everyone who has supported him over the years, including his late wife Cheryl, his children, Josh and Joey, and his best friend and partner, JoLynn Dickins.
Danna
Patient, Shriners Children’s Southern California
Danna, 17, and her family recently moved to Ensenada, Baja California, from Sonora, Mexico. She is in her senior year of high school and has a passion for music. She has two older brothers and is the youngest and only girl in the family.
Danna first visited Shriners Children’s in 2008, when she was 18 months old. She has a congenital malformation in her right hand called Poland syndrome. Her right arm was not the same length as her left, and she did not have functioning fingers. At age 3, Danna had her first transplant surgery, a toe-to-hand procedure, and a second surgery a year later. With two toes transferred to her right hand, she was able to develop many skills that have made her self-sufficient. Danna can comb her hair and get dressed. When she was 9 she learned how to read music and play the violin. She belongs to a symphony orchestra. Danna is interested in taking courses to study international relations after high school.
Danna has a really big heart. She enjoys helping and caring for others. Her talent in music goes beyond reading and playing the violin – she also has a beautiful voice.
“Shriners Children’s brought light and hope into my life with everything they have done for me since I was a little girl, and now as a teenager. In my heart, I carry each person and doctor who was part of my journey.”
Jerry G. Gantt
Chairman, Board of Trustees, Shriners Children’s, and Lisa Gantt
Jerry Gantt is the President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Shriners Children’s. Jerry is serving his 19th year as a member of the Board of Directors for Shriners Children’s. He served as Imperial Potentate (CEO) of Shriners International in 2015-2016. He and his wife, Lisa, live in Lincolnton, North Carolina.
Jerry became a Mason in 1971 in response to the organization’s compassion and concern for others, especially orphaned children. He became a Shriner in 1972 and served as leader of his local chapter in Houston, Texas, in 2002. He has served in many roles in the Shriners organizations including Chairman of the Board of Shriners Children’s Texas, liaison to seven Shriners Children’s locations, and committees including marketing and communications; strategic planning; budget, building and equipment and many more.
Born in Gastonia, North Carolina, Jerry served as an air traffic controller in the United States Marine Corps. He is now a retired commercial general contractor. Jerry and his wife, Lisa, enjoy NASCAR and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, where they are life members, and Gantt is an active committee member.
Brad T. Koehn
Imperial Treasurer, Shriners International and Shriners Children’s, and Cheryl Koehn
Brad Koehn is serving in his seventh year as Imperial Treasurer on the Board of Directors for Shriners International and Shriners Children’s. He and his wife, Cheryl, reside in Topeka, Kansas.
Brad is a third generation Shrine-Mason, becoming a Shriner in 1981. He served as the leader of his local chapter in Topeka in 2015, a role that his father also held. He has served in many roles in the Shriners organizations including as auditor and chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee, and a member of the Membership, Golf, Capital Evaluation, Investment and Oversight Committees.
Brad is retired from the accounting firm of Berberich Trahan & Co., P.A., where he worked for more than 37 years, the last 22 serving as director/owner. He continues to practice part time for a CPA firm in Topeka. He is a member of the Kansas Society of CPAs. Brad’s work experience includes providing audit, tax and accounting assistance for many Shriners International chapters for more than 30 years.
Brad and Cheryl have two sons, Tyler and Brett, who are also Shriners, and a daughter, Courtney.
Artist rendering of Shriners Children's Rose Parade float, Hope Shines On.