AFE Paul Thomas Floriculture Production Intern of the Year Award

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) has announced the Paul Thomas Floriculture Production Intern of the Year award. Designed to recognize an outstanding student who has participated in the Vic & Margaret Ball Internship program, this award pays special tribute to the late Dr. Paul Thomas, retired professor at the University of Georgia, who passed away in 2019.The Vic & Margaret Ball Internship program was established in 1992 to provide students the opportunity to gain practical experience while training at a commercial production greenhouse or nursery. Students intern away from home/school for a period of 3-6 months and receive a scholarship upon completion – up to $6,000!All students who successfully complete a Vic & Margaret Ball Internship will automatically qualify for this annual recognition, which includes paid…

My SNA and MANTS Experiences

By YPC Member, Mary LewisOn occasion, graduate students are released from their offices and classrooms and allowed to attend events with people from our industry. For me, the first event of the year is the SNA/MANTS conference and trade show.SNA, or the Southern Nursery Association, is an intimate event that takes place two days before MANTS (Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show) starts. SNA’s purpose is to provide a space and time to provide training, presentation of research, predict economic forecasts for the new year, highlight the new and unusual plant material, and build community amongst nurserymen and related industry leaders.After those two days, things begin to get hectic. Fun little fact, MANTS celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, and crowds reflected…

Ball Internship Scholarship: Why It’s Important

By Christopher J. Currey and Kimberly A. WilliamsThey say Christmas comes but once a year, but undergraduate students interested in floriculture crop production have two opportunities each year to apply for a paid internship with a leading greenhouse operation and gain valuable hands-on experience in our industry. Applications for the American Floral Endowment’s Vic and Margaret Ball Internship Scholarship Program are due March 1 and October 1 each year. This program follows through on Vic and Margaret Ball’s vision to support opportunities for floriculture production students to learn directly from growers. The Balls wanted to give students access to opportunities they may not otherwise have, providing first-rate experiences in nationally renowned production facilities that may not be possible without financial…

Student Scholarship Fundraising Campaign to Honor Dr. Terry Ferriss

Fundraising EffortA fundraising effort is underway to raise $50,000 to establish a new scholarship fund to honor Dr. Terry Ferriss. Dr. Ferriss retired in 2015 from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (UWRF), after 36 years of teaching. She was the first tenured female faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UWRF. She was also the first woman to serve as the Plant and Earth Sciences Department chair, and the first woman to serve as an associate dean for the college.Terry Ferriss, Professor of Horticulture, in the Greenhouse.Kathy M Helgeson/UWRF CommunicationsTerry and her husband Ron, currently reside in Southeastern Minnesota. During their retirement, they have been enjoying more opportunities in their free time. They spend time gardening,…

AFE Awards More than $42,000 in 2019 Scholarships

Contact: Debi Chedester(703) 838-5211dechedester@afeendowment.org AFE Awarded $42,300 in Scholarships in 2019. ALEXANDRIA, VA – August 21, 2019 – The American Floral Endowment (AFE) has awarded 15 students with scholarships totaling $42,300. Seventy-four applications were received for this 2019 scholarship cycle. “We had many outstanding students apply for scholarships this year, which is why some scholarships were awarded to two recipients,” said Greg Royer, AFE Education Committee Chair. “I’m excited to see the high quality of students each year and the AFE Board is pleased that AFE is able to award financial assistance to these well-deserved students to help them continue their education and become passionate industry leaders.” AFE awards scholarships annually and applications are due by May 1 of each…

Scholar Ignite Competition at ASHS 2019 Annual Conference

By Yiyun Lin, YPC Member This July, at the annual conference of American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS), 60 graduate students participated at the Scholar Ignite Competition. This competition was a great opportunity for graduate students to talk about their research to a general audience that shared an interest in horticulture. In the competition, the students were given three minutes to present with a single slide. The students were judged by five different judges based on their communication styles, the comprehension of their talks, their inspiration/engagement/outreach ability, the impact of their research, and the slide content. The competition presented us with a collection of current horticulture research and was hosted on a nice evening in Las Vegas. As much as…

My Internship Experience with AFE

By Shanley King, AFE Communications Intern Flowers. I thought I knew all there was to know about them. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Some make me sneeze. They can be arranged together or alone, and people buy them for apologies, decoration, well-wishes, romance, congratulations or no reason at all. However, there’s a lot more to flowers than an occasion, a few hometown florists, or a store-bought bouquet. AFE opened my eyes to this, and the entire floral industry. My name is Shanley and I’m a rising senior majoring in Communication Design at Elon University. My expertise in flowers and flower-growing goes about as far as the next non-gardener. What’s the opposite of a green thumb?…

AFE announces the winner of the 2019 Paul Ecke, Jr. Scholarship!

Established in 2002, the Paul Ecke, Jr. fund offers $5,000 a year for two years to one graduate student who demonstrates the skills and passion to become a leading floricultural scientist and educator. The scholarship honors the late Paul Ecke, Jr., who made significant contributions to the floriculture industry and believed strongly in research and education.This year’s winner of the Paul Ecke, Jr. Scholarship is Mary Lewis.A member of AFE’s Young Professionals Council, Mary is currently working toward a master’s degree in horticulture at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. She graduated from the same institution two years ago with an already impressive C.V. Among other activities, she interned at Walt Disney World Resort’s Epcot theme park (supported by an AFE Vic…

AFE 2019 Altman Family Scholars

AFE’s 2019 Altman Family Scholars: Paul Cockson, Yiyun Lin, and David TorkThe Altman Family Scholarship was created in 2015 by Ken and Deena Altman—owners of Altman Plants—as one of the numerous efforts supported by the couple to improve education and research for the industry. The scholarship provides $5,000 to assist in funding the education of full-time graduate students (MS or Ph.D.) who will become leading floricultural scientists and educators. Ken Altman has been actively involved in AFE’s Education and Scholarship Committees and has served on the AFE Board for more than a decade, currently in an Emeritus status.This year, the Altman Fund is supporting three graduate students currently enrolled in masters programs at leading institutions. All three not only are already engaged in…

Internships Making a Difference!

For students and the industry In the last year alone, AFE has awarded and placed over 20 students in paid internships at leading floral industry organizations. Internships provide a hands-on learning experience to further classroom experience and create lasting connections in the industry while discovering interests. Students can decide what size, type, and location they are looking for in employment post-graduation. While there is no guarantee, many of our interns receive a full-time position as a result of their internship. As an organization who acts as an internship host, you will be doing your part to ensure the future of the floral industry. By attracting young professionals, you will be addressing a dire need in the industry. Additionally, you will…

Get Involved with AFE

Make an Impact

Ways to Give

Volunteer With Us

Opportunities