Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Four senior Mississippi State majors in retail floristry management are winners of the four honors in the American Institute of Floral Design's recent regional challenge.
Crystal N. Sizemore of West Point, Amber M. Adsit of Riceville, Tenn., Kathryn C. "Katie" Stephens of Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Tressa L. Presley of Baton Rouge, La., hold first through fourth place awards, respectively, in AIFD's 2005 Southern Symposium and Student Design Competition.
The meeting was held earlier this month at the Grand Casino Resort in Tunica.
The first-, second- and third-place winners--Sizemore, Adsit and Stephens--each received scholarships valued at more than $700 each to cover individual registration costs to the National AIFD Symposium this summer in Seattle, Wash. Presley will attend as an alternate.
At last year's national meet, MSU students won overall first- and second-place honors.
During the Tunica regional, the four winners and five other members of the MSU team also assisted symposium designers as they crafted display arrangements for the four-day event.
"By working with the professionals, each student gained valuable insights into the latest design techniques, as well as the opportunity to network with leaders in the floral design industry," said team adviser Lynette McDougald. In addition to managing the student-staffed MSU Florist, McDougald is an award-winning designer in her own right.
AIFD, which was founded in 1965, is considered the floral industry's leading non-profit professional organization.
Mississippi State's unique retail floristry management program was established more than two decades ago to help meet the needs of America's multimillion dollar retail floristry industry. The four-year program is the only one of its kind in the Southeast.
LOCAL EDITORS
Parents of the students include:
--Mr. and Mrs. Gary Sizemore of West Point;
--Mr. and Mrs. William Adsit of Riceville;
--Mr. and Mrs. John Stephens of Tuscaloosa; and
--Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Presley of Baton Rouge, formerly of Columbus.