(Baltimore, MD) - It was a clean sweep for the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) at the American Institute of Floral Designers' (AIFD) 2008 Student Floral Design Competition. Kokoro Okaya, a student at CCSF won top honors in the competition held in conjunction with AIFD's 2008 National Symposium in Chicago, Ill. (July 3-7). Donovan Schinkel and Margaret Buxton, both of CCSF, placed second and third overall, respectively.

The competition consists of five categories. Okaya also garnered first place in the "Sweetheart Table Design" category. Stacey Bal of Triton College garnered first place in the "Buffet/Food Table Design" category. Luz Cardenas, also of Triton College, garnered first place in the "Napkin Flower Décor" category. Nicollette Lynch of California Polytechnic State University placed first in "Flowers to Carry - Bouquet Design" category.
Bal also won the People's Choice Award for best design as voted on by the general public. View the entire list of winners below.

Student AIFD (SAIFD) maintains chapters at 15 colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. 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. Chapter members also receive sponsorships to attend the National Symposium from AIFD members and Industry Partners through the AIFD Foundation.

Open to the public, the 2009 National Symposium will be held in Kansas City, Mo. (July 11-16, 2009).

Overall 1st - Kokoro Okaya - CCSF 2nd - Donovan Schinkel - CCSF 3rd - Margaret Buxton - CCSF

People's Choice Stacey Bal - Triton

Buffet/Food Table Design 1st - Stacy Bal - Triton 2nd - Donovan Schinkel - CCSF 3rd - Jamie Chae - CCSF

Napkin Flower Decor 1st - Luz Cardenas - Triton 2nd - Kokoro Okaya - CCSF 3rd - Donovan Schinkel - CCSF

Flowers to Carry - Bouquet Design 1st - Nicollette Lynch - Cal Poly 2nd - Megan Rudloff - Texas A&M 3rd - Margaret Buxton - CCSF

Sweetheart Table Design 1st - Kokoro Okaya - CCSF 2nd - Margaret Buxton - CCSF 3rd - Kristine Evanson - University of Illinois