The Plant City Christmas Parade’s Board of Directors decided on the theme, “Celebrate the Season” for 2014, and the man to lead the festivities is Bruce Rodwell.
“I consider it a great honor, and I’m looking forward to it,” Rodwell said.
Rodwell, who spent more than 40 years working in the produce industry, came to Plant City in 1996 to take on a role as a strawberry broker. He has been very active around Plant City and the Tampa Bay area since retiring in 2001. He has worked with the United Way Board of Tampa Bay, Toastmasters and the YMCA Board of Plant City, but left to pursue even more ventures.
“Bruce is a class act,” Marsha Passmore, last year’s Grand Marshal, said. “Since he came to Plant City, he has brought so much to the community. He’s been good to all of us. Plant City is a better place because he’s here.”
He’s still bringing positivity to the community, particularly in the field of health care. Rodwell is currently serving on the Board of St. Joseph’s Hospital, in Tampa, the BayCare Health System Board, the Catholic Health East Trinity Monitoring Committee, and the Foundation Board of South Florida Baptist Hospital. More locally, he’s on the Planning Board of Plant City, the United Food Bank of Plant City Board and the Walden Lake Community Association Board.
Rodwell is a member of the Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, Daybreak Rotary Club and the Elks Club, and attends services at First United Methodist Church.
He and his wife, Margaret, moved to Walden Lake in 1996 and have been a part of the Diamonds and Denim Committee for 16 years. Anyone who has attended the Diamonds and Denim gala will recognize Bruce, or at least his distinct voice, as the emcee of the event.
The icing on the cake? Rodwell was named Plant City’s Citizen of the Year in 2009, and it seems like he’s still highly regarded around town.
“He was a unanimous selection this year,” Passmore says. “There were several names tossed around, but Bruce was the only one that we actually voted on. Everyone was on board once his name was brought up.”
As is the case with most people in the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World, Rodwell loves Christmas and getting into the holiday spirit. Living here, he said, makes the season even more enjoyable.
“Everybody is so cheerful and friendly, looking forward to the big holiday and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ,” he said. “The lights that the city puts up in McCall Park are very beautiful. And, of course, the Lights of Love — that’s a wonderful event.”
Rodwell is eagerly awaiting his chance to lead the Christmas Parade, which will travel from the corner of Collins and Alsobrook streets to the courthouse on Reynolds Street. Once the parade’s over, he’ll be checking out the Christmas trees and keeping his holiday spirit high.
“I urge people to visit the local merchants for the (Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce’s) Christmas Tree contest,” Rodwell says. “It gets you in the Christmas spirit. Some of those trees are absolutely gorgeous.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
IF YOU GO
The Plant City Christmas Parade
When: 7 p.m., Friday, Dec. 5.
Route: The parade will travel from the corner of Collins and Alsobrook streets to the courthouse on Reynolds Street.