Contact: Sammy McDavid
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Three floral management majors at Mississippi State University are top winners in the American Institute of Floral Design's 2008 regional challenge.
Christina M. "Christy" Babin, Maria R. Baird and Elizabeth M. "Liz" Sloan took first-, second- and third-place awards, respectively, in the 2008 Southern Symposium and Student Design Competition held recently in Pensacola, Fla.
By virtue of her top honor, Babin is receiving a scholarship valued at more than $700 to cover registration costs to the National AIFD Symposium this summer in Chicago.
Babin is a junior from Collierville, Tenn., while Baird and Sloan are Starkville seniors. Baird, who also will compete in Chicago, is a double-major in landscape architecture.
"By working with professionals at these events, our students gain 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.
McDougald and Jim DelPrince, an associate professor of plant and soil sciences, accompanied the students to the Florida meeting. McDougald is a member of the regional AIFD's board of directors, while DelPrince is a past president of the organization.
The national floral design professional organization, of which SAIFD is a part, was founded in 1965 and is considered the floral industry's leading professional organization.
Mississippi State's unique floral management program was established more than two decades ago to help meet the needs of America's multibillion dollar retail floristry industry. The four-year program is the only one of its kind in the Southeast.
LOCAL EDITORS: Babin is the daughter of Paul and Pam Babin; Baird, the daughter of Richard and Sonya Baird; and Sloan, the daughter of Jimmy and Denise Sloan.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.