By By ERIN VER BERKMOES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - When you sit down to watch the Rose Bowl Parade on Monday, Jan. 2, many Niles residents may see a familiar face going by on the screen.
Niles resident, Dr. Michel Listenberger, was named president of Optimist international in October and one of the honors of this position is being able to ride on the organization's float in the Rose Bowl Parade.
This year's float will feature a frog prince sitting on a throne, looking into a mirror, which goes along with the parade's theme which is “It's Magical.” Listenberger helped to choose the float's theme. The float will feature the saying “Anything's Possible, which is something Listenberger himself believes.
Listenberger's daughter, Corrie Ann Listenberger Bair, a Niles High School graduate, died at age 33 on Oct. 29 of this year.
Listenberger and his wife Judy have already traveled to California and will get the chance to help decorate the frog float today.
This year's Rose Bowl is the National Championship game which will feature the University of Southern California who will be going for its third straight national championship against the University of Texas.
Listenberger said it's an exciting event to attend and the whole thing is quite a spectacle.
Listenberger said the current weather was a bit misty and over-cast, but hopefully it will be better by Monday.
Listenberger said he enjoys being in the Optimist organization because it's a group of people who are positive and they have a great passion about themselves and the children the group works with.
The Optimist organization has 3,300 chapters in 30 countries and a total membership of about 124,000 people. Their motto is “Bringing Out the Best in Kids.”
The parade, featuring floats decorated in flowers and foliage, can be seen on ABC, NBC, Univision, HGTV, the Travel Channel and Discovery HD. The parade begins at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 2.