Maple Grove Man To Be Honored In New Year's Day Parade

Five
 Minnesotans
 are 
being
 honored 
as 
part 
of
 the
 11th 
annual
 Donate
 Life
 float
in 
the
 Tournament 
of 
Roses
 Parade
 on
 New 
Year’s 
Day 
for 
their 
gifts 
of 
organ, 
eye
or 
tissue 
donation, including a man from Maple Grove.

Four
 Minnesotans
 are 
among
 81 
memorial 
floragraphs,
 or 
floral 
portraits, 
that 
will
adorn
 the 
float. 
Each
 floragraph 
represents 
a 
generous
 donor 
who 
gave
 the
 gift 
of

donation 
upon 
their 
death.

 The 
fifth
 Minnesotan
 will 
walk
 alongside 
the
 float 
as
part 
of 
12 
living 
donors
 who
 were
 inspired 
to
 donate 
their
 kidney 
to 
a 
family
member, 
friend
 or 
stranger.

Anthony 
“AJ” 
Salisbury, 
from 
Maple 
Grove, will be represented by a 
floragraph. 
AJ lived 
a 
life 
full 
of 
music. 
He 
mastered 
nearly 
every
 instrument, 
often 
teaching
 himself 
how
 to 
play.
 At 
the
 age 
of 
24, 
he 
died
 from
 a 
rare
 cancer 
only 
11 
months
 after 
first 
being 
diagnosed.


Because
 his 
father 
was 
a 
cornea
 recipient, 
AJ 
was
 familiar 
with 
donation 
and
 transplantation. 
AJ 
was 
able 
to 
give 
the 
precious 
gift 
of 
sight. 

AJ 
is 
being 
honored 
by
 Minnesota
 Lions
 Eye
 Bank.
 

The 
float
 walker 
is
 Kevin 
Lucien 
Noyes,
 from
 North 
Branch. 
In 
March
 2011,
 the
need
 for 
donation
 became
 personal
 when
 he 
learned 
that 
Marlin, 
his 
high 
school
math 
teacher 
and 
father 
of 
a 
close 
friend,
 needed
 a 
kidney 
transplant. 
Kevin
underwent 
testing
 and
 was 
found 
to 
be
 a 
match 
for 
Marlin.



Since 
its
 debut 
on 
New
 Year's 
Day in 
2004,
 the 
Donate 
Life 
Rose
 Parade
 float 
has become
 a
 visible 
campaign 
to 
inspire 
people
 to
 become
 organ,
 eye 
and
 tissue
 donors.
 Minnesotans 
can 
register 
as 
a 
donor 
by 
checking
 the
 box
 on 
their 
driver’s
 license 
or 
state 
ID 
card 
application, 
or 
online
 at 
www.DonateLifeMN.org.

 

The Rose Parade, officially the Tournament of Roses Parade, is hosted each New Year's Day in Pasadena, CA. It is a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and the Rose Bowl college football game.