Gronich Leads the Palisades Parade

The Pacific Palisades Fourth of July Parade was awarded another badge on its proverbial patriotic sash this year when Daphne Gronich agreed to serve as president of its governing committee, the Palisades Americanism Parade Association.

Gronich’s father, S. Frederick, was a decorated Army lieutenant colonel who served during World War II. After the war, he was put in charge of researching German documents for evidence of war crimes, which set the stage for the “Hill Project” investigations conducted by the Western Allied governments of the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, according to military documents published in the Journal of Contemporary History.

Born in New York, but raised in Europe, Gronich remembers spending several Thanksgivings at American Legion Post 1 in Paris, France.

“It was like a little American enclave overseas because Thanksgiving is not celebrated in France,” Gronich said. “At the time there were many American WWII veterans in attendance.”

After graduating from the American School of Paris for international affairs, Gronich moved to New York and earned a juris doctorate from Hofstra University School of Law and later a master of laws degree from New York University. Gronich worked at an intellectual property firm in New York, then moved to Los Angeles, where she worked in various legal positions at Fox before becoming the head of intellectual property there.

Gronich took a year off when her 11-year-old son, Eli, was born and then worked as general counsel for toy company MGA Entertainment. She left the company in 2007 to care for her mother, Raquel, after a hip injury left her unable to care for herself.

“I took care of my mother and also kept busy doing volunteer work,” Gronich said. For the past 5 years, she has been active at Palisades Elementary, where Eli will graduate from fifth grade in June. Gronich has contributed to the school since he was in first grade, co-chairing the booster club and sitting on the governing council. She is also the current president of the Palisades Charter School Foundation, an organization that provides support to local charter schools. 

Gronich and her husband, Paul Nagle—a longtime television executive and faculty member in the UCLA Department of Film, Television and Digital Media—moved to the Palisades on Memorial Day in 1997. “It was the year of El Niño and the construction on our house had been delayed, I remember, because of rain,” Gronich said. 

The Parade

With the Pacific Palisades parade just two months away, the organizing committee is in full gear to get everything in order.

Though fundraising efforts hit a minor speed bump after the Buerge Ford Motor Car Company—a major yearly sponsor—closed its doors at the end of February, Gronich is confident that PAPA will secure enough of the $120,000 required to put on an Independence Day event with the same (or more) gusto than in previous years.

Buerge Ford owner Jim Buerge “indicated he might provide some sponsorship,” Gronich said. “At this point, we’re ahead of where we were last year.”

Some 55 percent of the money raised for the event comes from ticket sales, Gronich said. The rest comes from big sponsors like American Legion Post 283, whose commander, Scott Wagenseller, presented PAPA with a check for $10,000 at its April 21 meeting, making it the lead sponsor. UCLA Health Systems and Occidental Petroleum contributed $5,000 each and are presenting sponsors.

“A lot goes into making this event happen,” said Gronich, noting that some of the costs include the fireworks show, Palisades High School stadium rental, parade grandstands, insurance, bands and transportation for musicians, security, street barricades and Department of Transportation street closure fees.

Gronich has been involved with the parade organization for about six years. She managed PAPA’s finances after becoming the group’s treasurer in 2011.

For more information about the Pacific Palisades Fourth of July Parade, visit palisadesparade.org. Donations can be made here through PayPal.