The annual Rocky Mountain Cup was held at Amato Wholesale Florist this past April.   The contestants were given the same materials and asked to design 3 floral pieces.  The first was a piece to include vintage purses that were given to them.  The second piece was for a chair or pew appropriate for use in a historical chapel.  The last piece was to be designed for the entrance to the chapel; whether it be hung on the doors or set on the ground.

We again had two divisions--the regular Rocky Mountain Cup and the Rookie division.

The winner of the RMC was Tricia Fillingam AIFD
2nd place went to Gloria Guerrero, Ed Moore Florist
3rd place went to Thomas Carpenter, Catering by Design

The winner of the Rookie division was Kaitlyn Vigil, Abloom
2nd place went to Stephanie Wearne, De'Angelic Rose
3rd Place went to Autumn McMurren, Bouquets

The RMC winner Tricia Fillingam AIFD, will go on to compete in the NAFA competition this fall to represent the state of Colorado.

See more pictures from the 2014 RMC on the Gallery page.

The Open House at DWF in conjunction with FAR was a great success, with a large turnout and a busy schedule of events! With hands on design stations, floral stage programs and a bevy of vendors, there was something for all to see and spend time enjoying.
As always everyone at DWF were gracious hosts providing supply specials and numerous cut flower prebook specials. It was an opportunity to meet new people and gain some wonderful updates and new techniques. A huge thank you to all the wonderful FAR volunteers who manned all stations, check in etc. to bring our community education!
THANK YOU DWF for providing so much... (food) hospitality and your continued commitment to this incredible floral community.

The Expo was a huge success! Over 260 floral businesses came, plus many people attended as guests of the Floral Association. We renewed long time friendships and started new ones. 25 booths of exhibitors created wonderful displays to energize our creativity. And speaking of energy – according to the Mart, the Floral Expo was the high energy of the whole Gift Show!

So many people worked together to make the 2014 Expo fabulous! Lots of “thanks” are in order.

As we entered the Expo, the Bridal Bouquet Contest showed many new design techniques, flower combinations and unique looks. Thank you to Tricia Fillingim AIFD, CFD for chairing the competition and for bringing together the most designers to compete in many years. Thank you, also, to the three great judges who took on the difficult task of evaluating what was presented to them.
Bridal Bouquet Contest Winners:
Professional Division
1st Place- Amber Schroeder
2nd Place- Kari Smith
3rd Place- Charles Martinez

Masters Division
1st Place- Marcy Kennedy
2nd Place- BJ Dyer
3rd Place- Amy Santee

Our Iron Fist Contest was again MC’ed by Brian Wheat AAF, PFCI. What Fun! Thank you to Brian and our three contestants. And, thank you to Denise Fuller CPF for putting the contest together.

Julie Poeltler AIFD, CFD, PFCI was our morning guest designer sent to us by Teleflora. She showed so many design ideas to jazz up our daily designs. Thank you to Sandi Sniff AAF, AIFD, CPF for putting Julie’s coordinating.

Tom Bowling AIFD, CFD, PFCI came to us from Syndicate Sales. What an amazing number of designs he shared. The new Syndicate Sales products, the styles and the flowers were all luscious.

Our program and décor flowers were provided by Amato Wholesale, Associated Wholesale, DWF and Red Mountain Wholesale Florists. Thank you for your wonderful product for the Expo and all year long.

Thank you to Debbie Grauberger CPF for organizing and working the FAR table. And, thanks to Sandi Sniff for providing an exciting design for the AIFD table.

Our volunteers were coordinated by Michele Gustin CPF. Lots of people said “where can I help” and wow they sure helped. Thank you to David Woods, Brie McPherren CPF (newly inducted), Sherrilyn Roundy, and of course to our Mme President Gia Vasey to name a few.

We inducted 3 new Certified Professional Florists (CPFs) at the Expo. Congratulations!!!!! And thank you to Sandi Sniff AAF, AIFD, CPF for creating and managing the Association’s CPF program.

The FAR President, Wholesale and Cherrie award winners for 2013 and 2014 were:

2013 President Award Cindy Hertz
2014 President Award Denise Fuller CPF
2013 Cherrie Award Amanda Caudill
2014 Cherrie Award Ken Zutz
2013 Wholesale Award Calabrese Greenhouse
2014 Wholesale Award Syndicate Sales

Special recognition award went to Denise Fuller CPF for taking over the Presidency in 2013 after Mary Ann Blood passed away, and for all her hard work and dedication that she has given over the past few years.

You have probably noticed lots of letters after people’s names. Addendum initials show your experience, your professionalism and your commitment to the industry. You can get your CPF through the Floral Association of the Rockies. We offer classes to prepare you for evaluation. Classes are held several times each year. Come join us for “Steps to Certification Classes” and become a CPF. We would love to CELEBRATE YOU!

Lots more pictures in the FAR Picasa Album.

During the morning session Frank and Sherrilyn showed us Halloween, Fall and Christmas décor. Frank gave tips on decorating houses and events for the holiday seasons. Sherrilyn showed us quick and easy designs to make for our customers for the holiday season.

The afternoon session was a hands-on class were you could either make a Thanksgiving or Christmas wreaths with succulents.

Thank you to Red Mountain for hosting this event.