Major Fair

Today there was a campus-wide Major Fair, held in the Hart Gym. The fair was held primarily for students that have not declared their major yet and for high-school seniors from the surrounding area. We had a beautiful display set up, showing a just small range of the capabilities that the Horticulture department has available.

We were, after all, the only department to bring in our own turf.

Our display was quite the cozy little corner.

Valerie, a student emphasizing in production, couldn't resist the comfort of the Adirondack chair on display. If you missed the major fair, no worries! Our helpful faculty is always willing to help you pick out a great major . . . Horticulture, of course!

Scenemakers

This week in Horticulture Seminar, we heard from Doug Smith and Danny Setjo from Scenemakers, an event planning company based in Salt Lake City. Scenemakers does both corporate and private events, 70% in Utah, and 30% elsewhere.


Doug and Danny established Scenemakers in 1996, and in the last 13 years they have recieved 10 Best of State metals, which "recognise outstanding individuals, organizations and businesses in Utah. By recognizing excellence in our community . . . we hope we will all be inspired to reach a little higher, to try a little harder, and to work a little longer for our dreams and goals."


From their presentation, Scenemakers made it clear that they are deserving of the Best of State metals, and allowed us to take a few shots of their concept boards used for making presentations to clients for events. Here are a few:

Scenemakers offers services for event management, purchasing, scheduling, site decor, delivery and installation, stage design, and vendor coordination. Scenemakers provides full themed event environments.

As you can see, the presentation media is beautiful and professional. It was delightful to have Doug and Danny come visit with us from Scenemakers. For more information about Scememakers, check out their website at http://www.scenemakers.com/.

Our Sucessful Alumni

Jared Ricks, a spring 2003 BYU-Idaho graduate, has recently become a Certified Landscape Technician (CLT), and was awarded his Softscape and Hardscape Certificates in September [2008]. As quoted from the January/February 2009 edition of The Taproot, A Publication of the Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association, Jared decided to become a CLT because, "I feel that it is important to continue my education and my prospect for the future . . . Also, I can back up my recommendations and work with this certification." Of the certification program, Jared also remarked that "It helps you understand and be aware of the safety issues you face in the field."

Jared has been working in the industry for eight years, and has been working for The Lawn Company in Treasure Valley for the last five years. His employer paid for his certification. We are happy to see our alumni out in the workforce continuing their education, and congratulate Jared for all his hard work in becoming a CLT!

Rose Bowl Parade

Over the Christmas holiday, Sister Bass and three students, Christa Beaty, Tyanna Jones, and newly graduated Crystal Lyman, spent part of their vacation in sunny southern California. After doing such a great job last summer in Portland decorating a few floats for the Rose Parade, they had been invited to decorate a float for the Rose Bowl Parade on New Years Day.

This is what the float looked like when they arried. All the prep work had been done, as far as gluing seeds and such to it, but all of the floral elements had to be designed, secured, and it all had to have unity as an entire design.

A large portion of the flowers used were tropicals and roses, which created some pokey situations for those designing. Aside from occasionally cutting their thumbs with knifes, their hands and arms came in close contact with thorns and jagged leaves.

According to the Rose Parade website, the theme for the float the ladies worked on, "reflects NAMM's [The International Music Products Association] efforts to promote the fun and benefits of music making for people of all ages, especially children and young people who need music education opportunities in school . . . [the] theme builds on "Hats Off To Entertainment" with emphasis on music making and music education. NAMM actively supports and promotes the benefits and importance of music making for people of all ages; NAMM and it's partners, including Music for All Honor Band, work so that every child can have music education in their schools."

Here's the float nearing it's completion.

The float out on the road!

Tyanna, Crystal, Sister Bass, and Christa.



What an incredible float!


The float was a huge undertaking, and took three days to complete, but it was a great success winning the Presidential Award!