On Friday August 25, 2023 the Arkansas Florists Association hosted the prestigious Mid-America Cup floral design competition as part of their "Revolution 23" annual convention in Little Rock.
The competition was organized by AFA President Kay Schlaefli AIFD, CFD, AMF of Expressions Flowers in Fort Smith, and featured twenty-one elite designers, each representing a different US state or country, preparing three different pieces, all in keeping with the 70's/disco theme of the convention.
Each of these three designs were then evaluated by three highly respected judges using the FloristWare scoring system.
Ken Senter • Shane Cranford • Chris Norwood
The results appear below:
Theme 1 | Wedding
Modern interpretation of a 70’s inspired bridal bouquet.
Bertha Canedo
Abby Thornton
Renee Potter
Theme 2 | Arrangement
Arrangement suitable to send to Andy Warhol.
Jeremy Rettger
Bridget Habetler
Renee Potter
(tie)
Varito Vasquez
Theme 3 | Flowers To Wear
Shoulder piece, suitable to wear to a Studio 54 themed gala.
Kari Gaudet
Varito Vasquez
Abby Thornton
Renee Potter
(tie)
Overall Standings
Renee Potter
Bridget Habetler
Abby Thornton
The 2023 Mid America Cup was one of two floral design competitions that took place at the 2023 AFA Annual Convention, the other was the Arkansas Cup. Results for the 2023 Arkansas Cup can be found here.