Northwest Chapter

President’s Message

Cheers, Flower friends!

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge our Regional Board, as well as National for their unwavering support and encouragement as I took the unusual route of arriving in the role of Chapter President midway into this term. This has me ready and even more excited to continue working with the upcoming 2023 -2024 slate of Officers and Directors:

• Sharrai Morgan-Faulkner AIFD PFCI – Past President/Regional Rep to NationalPoppy Parsons AIFD EMC – President-Elect
• Victor Castillo AIFD – Vice President
• Shamay Andrich AIFD – Secretary
• Michelle Headrick AIFD PFCI – Treasurer
• Lynde Dysomma AIFD, Irasema Carranza AIFD & Andrea Strachan AIFD – Directors 2024
• Kim Oldis AIFD, Bertha Canedo AIFD & Susan Ishkanian AIFD– Directors 2025
• Lily Chan AIFD, Lindsey Peterson AIFD & Jeanne Davis AIFD – Directors 2026

I thank each and every person for their commitment to our region and AIFD!! You can expect to find some exciting educational opportunities on our agenda, as well as some fantastic botanical art events happening up in our corner of the map!

Northwest Members! Reminding you all that your kind donations to AIFD FOUNDATION are always most welcome! Currently, there is a “Friends of Foundation” Campaign which has a couple of $1000 prizes for the region who can either accumulate the most “friends”, as well as the most funds for their chapter!! This money is intended for scholarships towards education, a very worthy cause. Please click the link to donate, no matter how large or small the amount – participation matters! Thanks, Everyone!

https://aifdfoundation.org/friends-competition

This past Mother’s Day holiday kept many florists busy, leading into wedding season pretty much getting into full swing as our Pacific NW climate enters warmer, sunnier days!

Just recently, the 2nd Burnaby Blooms event had the Vancouver suburb collaborating with Hitomi Gilliam AIFD once again to bring marvelous and whimsical floral design to the public eye. This year included a band of floral frog eco sculptures alongside wild, botanical arches that lead guests to a spectacular carriage, surrounded by fairies and more frogs! It was a weekend for families and all others to enjoy the beauty and ephemeral nature of flowers. At the end are some wonderful photos from this event, shot by Colin Gilliam, that I also had the privilege of participating in!

A quick mention to look out for the Organization of Floral Art Designers (OFAD) 4-day event coming up in August, now open for registration. This group is led by dedicated, longtime NW members Steven Brown AIFD & Lily Chan AIFD.

Again, keep a lookout on our pages for more inspiring events that are on the horizon. Hope to see many of you in Chicago!

Brenna Quan AIFD
NW AIFD Chapter President 2023-24