ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Oriental Lily 'Tabledance' won the Best in Show title in the Outstanding Varieties Competition during the Society of American Florists' 132nd Annual Convention in Maui, Hawaii on Sept. 22.
The entry was among the 184 different varieties from 20 growers from Florida, California, Oregon, Hawaii, Idaho, and Tennessee as well as Colombia and Ecuador. Judges scored each entry based on color and commercial appeal, stem and foliage, bloom form and size, and overall presentation. The judging panel, which included three retailers, three growers and three wholesalers, evaluated specific categories of flowers, and the highest scored entry of each won "Best in Class."
Special thanks to the judges for the 2016 Outstanding Varieties Competition:
Retailer Judges:
- Rakini Chinery, AAF, AzMF, of Allan's Flowers in Prescott, Arizona
- Susie Palazzo of City Line Florist, Inc., in Trumbull, Connecticut
- Annette La Rocque of Murrieta V.I.P. Florist in Murrieta, California
Wholesaler Judges:
- Joost J. Bongaerts of Florabundance, Inc., in Carpinteria, California
- Lani Callister of Ensign Wholesale Floral in Salt Lake City, Utah
- Jon Tamada of Mt. Eden Wholesale in San Jose, California
Grower Judges:
- Peter Van Antwerpen of Virgin Farms Inc. in Miami
- Leo Roozen, AAF, of Washington Bulb Company, Inc., in Mount Vernon, Washington
- Ben Dobbe of Holland America Flowers, LLC in Arroyo Grande, California
In addition, SAF would like to extend a thanks to Chrysal USA for supplying the plant food, Syndicate Sales for the hundreds of vases used for the entrants, and Dave and Megan Mitchell of Mitchell's Flowers & Events in Orland Park, Illinois, and their team for coordinating the Outstanding Varieties Competition.
Click here for a complete list of winners.
About SAF
The Society of American Florists is the leading organization representing all segments of the floral industry. SAF is proud to provide marketing, business and government services to its members, including growers, wholesalers, retailers, suppliers, importers, educators, designers and allied organizations. The association was chartered by an act of Congress in 1884. To learn more about SAF or to join, visit safnow.org.
Source: Society of American Florists
