Cedar Rapids float-maker continues award-winning tradition

Tim Pfeifer is carrying on the legacy of his father.st joe tim

The Czech Heritage Foundation float decorated by Pfeifer won the Jerry Harrington award at this year's SAPADAPASO Parade on St. Patrick's Day in Cedar Rapids. The traveling trophy is given to the "Most Wholesome/Heartfelt" private entry in the parade.

irish floatThis year's float included scenery with geese - a nod to Czech farming heritage - with an Irish flair in green. The float was reworked in red for the St. Joseph's Parade just days later in Czech Village and New Bohemia.

Pfeifer assumed the float-making duties from his late father, Leonard Pfeifer, a past president of the Czech Heritage Foundation, who became the organization's award-winning float-maker in 1989.

st joe floatLeonard Pfeifer died in 2011, just before his final float was entered in the Holiday Parade in Cedar Rapids.

The Cedar Rapids Freedom Festival has named the Leonard Pfeifer Award for Best Original Float in his honor.