Tournament President Drops By Rose Bowl Testing Site to Deliver Lunch and Roses to Front Line Health Care Workers

Tournament of Roses President Bob Miller surprises a nurse at the Covid-19 testing site, with a bouquet of roses and lunch, and with a message "that we're all in this together" at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

Tim Sell the Battalion chief for the Pasadena Fire Department looks over the Covid-19 testing site at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

Bob Miller the Tournament of Roses President extends a heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for the nurses as he surprises them with roses and lunch at the Covid-19 testing site at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

A nurse with a bouquet of roses is surprised by Tournament of Roses President Bob Miller at the Covid-19 testing site at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

Bob Miller the Tournament of Roses President uses his elbow to greet a nurse as he extends a heartfelt gratitude and appreciation with a bouquet of roses and lunch at the Covid-19 testing site at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

The Covid-19 testing site taking place at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

Nurses hard at work testing patients for Covid-19 at the testing site at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

A nurse is emotional as Bob Miller the Tournament of Roses President extends a heartfelt gratitude and appreciation with roses and lunch at the Covid-19 testing site at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

A nurse poses with a bouquet of roses surprised by Tournament of Roses President Bob Miller at the Covid-19 testing site at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

A nurse walks to a patient at the Covid-19 testing site at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

A nurse walks with a bouquet of roses surprised by Tournament of Roses President Bob Miller at the Covid-19 testing site at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

Lisa Derderian, Public Relations Officer for the city of Pasadena, left, and Candy Carlson and Mandy Denaux, both from the Tournament of Roses, arrange flowers donated from Passion Roses for the nurses at the Covid-19 testing site at Pasadena's Rose Bowl on Thursday, April 30, 2020. (photo by James Carbone)

As part of continuous local and nationwide efforts to honor and support front line health care workers, The Pasadena Tournament of Roses teamed up with Vons and Passion Roses Thursday to provide roses and lunch to health care workers at the Rose Bowl.

Workers have been testing patients for COVID-19 at the Rose Bowl site five days a week for nearly three weeks now.

Tournament of Roses President Bob Miller delivered the roses and lunches to the site personally. Nurse representatives accepted the gifts for the workers, who were literally too busy to stop their testing.

“It’s an absolute honor and privilege to be here today, representing our association,” said Miller, a Pasadena native, who added, ‘To be able to be here today means a great deal to me and my wife more than you will ever now. To give thanks to these people, and to give thanks to this community for all that it has given me and my family over the years is incredible.”

The Tournament of Roses has also committed to provide lunches to nurses and essential employees working the COVID-19 testing center for 5 – 7 weeks or as needed, according to a tournament press release. Each employee will also receive a dozen roses each week.