1998
Like symbols for the colorful, unique floats his company has spent more than 40 years creating, Bill Lofthouse expressed his gratitude for being chosen for the IFEA Hall of Fame with a variety of words; "great, wonderful, happy, pleased, humble, honored and satisfied!"
Lofthouse is President of Phoenix Decorating Co., the largest builder of floats for the Tournament of Roses Parade, and has been named "Builder of the Year" five times by the Tournament of Roses Association. "The 1999 parade was the 43rd consecutive Rose Parade I've had the honor of working on," he said.
Lofthouse has also worked closely with a number of other world-class events including the Orange Bowl Parade, Kentucky Derby Festival, Indianapolis 500 Festival, National Day Celebration in Singapore and the Pre-Olympic Parade in Seoul, Korea.
Dedicated to serving community and industry, IFEA's 1995-1996 Chair, and founding member of Calfest, has witnessed many changes.
"I remember when there were less than 100 IFEA members, now we're more than 2,500 strong. I also recall years ago when I first used the term 'networking,' it brought a quizzical look - now the concept is one of the most common elements of IFEA membership."
The most important change he has seen is the formation of the IFEA Foundation.
"We are only as good as the people that we make up in our industry. From my experience, it means that we're in very good hands," he said. "With the skill of the people in IFEA and their ability to avail themselves of ever-improving technology, the future of the industry is truly unlimited."