(Baltimore, MD) - Considering her surname, it should be no surprise that Jolanda Arts won top honors in the American Institute of Floral Designers' (AIFD) 2005 Student Floral Design Competition. Held in conjunction with the Institute's 2005 National Symposium, "BALANCE," in Seattle (July 2-8) the competition featured nearly 100 of the nation's top students in the floral industry.

Arts, a student at Ohio State University, also garnered first place in the "Flowers to Carry" category and second place in the "Flowers to Wear" category. Her work in the latter category was also selected by Symposium attendees for the People's Choice Award.

Georgia Stauropoulos, of Triton College in River Grove, Ill., finished second overall, followed by Layci Gragnani of Cal Poly State University (CPSU) receiving the third place award. Stauropoulos also placed second, and Gragnani first, in the "Sympathy Tribute" category.

Joining Stauropoulos and Gragnani as winners in the "Sympathy Tribute" category was second-place finisher Tiffany Burdick of Kishwaukee College in Sparta, Ill. Aisha Booker of Mississippi State and Susan Brown of City College of San Francisco (CCSF) joined Arts as winners in the "Flowers to Carry" category, finishing second and third respectively. Joining Arts in the "Flowers to Wear" category Mary Lynn Tyler of Joliet Junior College in Joliet, Ill. finished first and Kiyon Om of CCSF placed third.

Winners in the "Holiday" category were first-place finisher Relli Siegel of College of San Mateo (Calif.), second-place finisher Gragnoni, and third-place finisher Carol Williams of Community College of Southern Nevada.

Winners in the "Special Dried Materials" category sponsored by Knud Nielson were Jean Nolan of Harper College in Palatine, Ill. in first place, Booker in second, and Elizabeth Borchers of Texas A&M University in third.

AIFD was established in 1965 and is dedicated to recognizing and promoting the art of floral design as a professional career. It is the floral industry's leading non-profit organization committed to establishing and maintaining higher standards in professional floral design. With nearly 1,300 members worldwide AIFD and its members are in the forefront of the industry in presenting educational and design programs.

Student AIFD (SAIFD) maintains chapters from 15 colleges and universities throughout the U.S. SAIFD Chapters not only compete in the Annual Student Design Competition during AIFD's National Symposium but also host Artist in Residence Programs throughout the year, and their students also receive sponsorships to attend the National Symposium from AIFD Members and Industry Partners through the AIFD Foundation.

Open to all florists, the 2006 National Symposium, "Phenomenon," will be held in Washington, DC, July 4-8.

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