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2007 Floriculture Hall of Fame |
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Thursday, 27 September 2007 |
 | | SAF Awards Committee Chairperson Wanda Weder, AAF (left) of Highland Supply Corporation presents the Hall of Fame crystal vase to Rocky Pollitz. |
SAF Names Rocky Pollitz, AAF, AIFD, PFCI to Floriculture Hall of Fame.
Rocky Pollitz opened her own shop, Ana’s Florist, in Riverside, Calif., in 1965. She was appointed by Teleflora as director of industry relations in 1980, and later promoted to vice president in 1986.
“She saw a real need for education that needed to be taken to florists on a local level,” says Tim Farrell, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of Farrell’s Florist in Drexel Hill, Pa. Responsible for founding Teleflora’s education department, Rocky revamped the Teleflora Units program to place a greater emphasis on education. She started the tradition of bringing a team of floral designers to the Units to teach workshops on floral design and business. Her department at Teleflora was responsible for hundreds of programs a year.
She always keeps retail florists’ best interests at heart, and is willing to share her considerable knowledge in order to help advance the professionalism of the industry. “Rocky Pollitz has dedicated a lifetime to helping the floral industry’s ‘little guy’ – retail florists,” says Phil Rulloda AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of the Southern California School of Floral Design in Anaheim. Pollitz has given countless presentations and seminars, and has commentated at various state and national conventions and shows.
She has received many industry honors, including: AIFD’s Award of Distinguished Service to the Floral Industry in 1992 and Distinguished Service to AIFD in 1993, and SAF’s Golden Bouquet (Paul Ecke, Jr.) Award and PFCI’s Tommy Bright Award (both in 1995). Pollitz served as a member of SAF’s Government Relations Committee (from 1999-2002) and PFCI Committee (from 1991–1994). Thought she retired from Teleflora in 2003, she still remains an active participant in the floral industry as a consultant, designer and commentator.
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