(Baltimore, MD) - Rafael Aguirre, a student with Triton College in River Grove, Ill., won top honors in the 2006 Student Floral Design Competition held in conjunction with the American Institute of Floral Designers' (AIFD) 2006 National Symposium in Washington, D.C. (July 4-8).

Noreen Chew of City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and Sonny Pulido of Cal Poly State University (CPSU) placed second and third overall, respectively.

The competition consists of five categories. Aguirre also garnered first place in the "Funeral Tribute" category. Jaimie Packard of Ohio State University (OSU) placed first in the "Flowers to Carry" and "Flowers to Wear" categories. Rebecca Petersen of OSU finished first in the "Hospital Design" category, while Ayako Ichihara of CCSF placed first in the "Special Dried Materials" category sponsored by Knud Nielson.

Stacey Bal of Triton College won the People's Choice Award for best design as voted on by the general public.

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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