Heroes, or 'she-roes,' of the Rose Parade: volunteers who scoop (horse) poop

It takes more than 80,000 hours of volunteer work from more than 900 people to pull off the Rose Parade each year, organizers say.

Some of those roles sound familiar: event organizing, float decorating, crowd wrangling.

But what about — poop scooping?

Volunteers Kelley Bernal and Sarah Meleka ran a stretch of Colorado Boulevard during the Rose Parade this year cleaning up after the horses to make sure the way was safe and sanitary for people on the route.

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They worked as a small team: one armed with a shovel and the other with a brush and trash bag.

 ”You have to follow the horses and watch the ground. You run out as fast as you can, make sure you don't get run over by a float, and pick up the poop,” Bernal told LAist Wednesday morning while the parade was underway.

And over the years, the two have developed a technique.

 ”You don't want to push it too hard, because then it'll unravel and it'll be harder to pick up,” Meleka said of the poop. “The balls need to stay intact.”

Five years ago, they reached out to the Tournament of Roses and asked for the job. They got an interview, but there were no spots available. The interviewer turned out to be Meleka’s sixth grade home economics teacher, so she made a spot available for them.

The rest of the year, Bernal works as a vice president in an insurance company. Meleka works in pharmaceutical sales after being a teacher for 23 years.

They manage to keep a sense of humor about their Rose Parade responsibilities. During the parade they each wore crowns of yellow flowers as they performed their shoveling duties. The shovels were decorated with flowers as well.

“ We do it just for the glory, though, we have to be honest,” Meleka said, a cheeky smile on her face. She noted that she had tried out to be a member of the Rose Court 30 years ago, but was cut in the first round.

 ”This is my way of being a princess in the parade,” she said.

Jokes aside, it's probably safe to say their services were very much appreciated during this year's event. There were 16 equestrian teams in the parade.

Each time Meleka and Bernal ran out to the route to scoop poop, the crowd cheered them on, calling them “sheroes” and the real “MVPs.” Some asked them to pose for photographs.

“It's the one time a year the people cheer for us,” Bernal said.