National Recognition!

Floral Design Team members from left to right:  Amanda Lemm, treasurer,
Danielle Ruais, vice-President, Melinda Lynch, faculty advisor,
Beth Hall, secretary, and Lisa Baray, President.

Cal Poly’s Floral Design Team took second place in the student competition held at the American Institute of Floral Designers National Symposium in July.

The symposium was held July 11-16 in Kansas City, Mo., and featured programs and presentations featuring national and international AIFD designers, in addition to the student competition.

Cal Poly’s Floral Design team included Horticulture and Crop Science students Danielle Ruais, Lisa Baray, Beth Hall and Amanda Lemm. The team members, coached by Melinda Lynch, competed against 32 other students from eight schools in the U.S. and Canada.

As well, Cal Poly team members earned high individual placements in the following categories:

* Bridal Bouquet: Ruais placed third, and Baray placed seventh;

* Sweetheart Table Arrangement: Lemm placed third, and Hall placed eighth;

* Napkin Ring design: Lemm placed second;

* Buffet Table Arrangement: Hall placed fifth; and

* Overall awards: Lemm placed seventh, Hall placed 11th, and Baray placed 13th.

Each team’s individual scores are added and the total divided by the number of students, to determine final scores. The Cal Poly team missed first place by a narrow 2.1 points.

The team’s second-place showing this year followed a third-place finish in the 2008 competition.

“Our students’ performances were wonderful, especially considering that this was their first national competition,” Lynch said. “Our students were given the opportunity to work with and see some of the best floral designers in the world.”

The Cal Poly students also helped with designs for a luncheon and a presentation at the conference and made arrangements and wrapped bouquets for the “Blooms across Kansas City Project” which donates and delivers flowers to local hospitals in Kansas City.