Southeast Community College

[Photo: This is a tropical composition using two pincushion protea from Hawaii and other materials from the home garden. This shows a blend of exotic and traditional flowers.]

Kevin Smith, who has taught for Southeast Community College's
Continuing Education Division since 1982, has been recognized by the American Institute of Floral Designers as a charter recipient of its new Certified Floral Designer designation.

Smith, who also holds the AIFD and Nebraska Academy of Floral Designers credentials, developed the horticulture/floriculture non-credit classes for SCC through its Floral Design program. He said the latest designation lends additional credibility to SCC's floral classes.

[Photo: This is a floral composition created in the Advanced Techniques class showing the framing technique using the red aspen sticks. This creation gives an old-world, oriental feel, with the pine and the choice of floral materials. ]


"There aren't many AIFD designers in the world who teach for a school," Smith said. "When you involve a community college, it lends credibility and merit to the program that's being established."

Smith said he's always used a hands-on approach to teaching floral design classes.

"It added meat to the core classes and established SCC as having one of the most intensive floral design programs in the U.S.," Smith said. "By far, we offer more classes for well-rounded adult learners than anyone in the public sector."

The floral industry's leading non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the art of floral design through education, AIFD created its CFD program, in part, to provide a tool for consumers to use when selecting a professional florist. CFD recognition is granted only after a floral designer has demonstrated their understanding of the concepts of design through educational pathways and a written design-knowledge assessment. They must then present their floral design work to a vigorous peer evaluation as conducted by an international panel.

[ Photo: Using a clear glass vase, this lovely centerpiece was created using two pincushion protea and other traditional materials. The container gives the tropical composition a bit of summery festivity and fun. ]

Smith, originally from Paola, Kan., got his start in the industry after taking a couple of horticulture classes in high school.

"It was my love, my passion," he said. "I did my first wedding my sophomore year of high school. It was for one of my teachers."

Smith went on to a floral trade school in Kansas and later earned a bachelor of science degree from Concordia University. While working at a flower shop in Seward, he approached SCC about teaching a floral class.

"The first floral design class I taught for SCC was in the library at the Milford Campus," he said.
Smith went on to teach for SCC at its Beatrice Campus as well as in many of the 15 counties that comprises the College. In 1984, he moved to Lincoln. A year later, he helped establish a floral design curriculum. SCC's Continuing Education Division offers a non-credit certificate in floral design. Eleven classes are being offered during the Fall Quarter, which begins Oct. 5.

"My focus has always been teaching," Smith said. "That's my love and my passion. It shows in the classes and in the students who graduate. We have students who compete on the state level against other flower shops and win awards. When you have students who win against other florists, that tells you that you’re doing something right."

[ Photo: This inspired design shows the unique repetition of line with the flax leaves and calla lilies. Basing is a technique that is used in the advanced classes and is learned in the Advanced Technique class. This composition was created in the Linear Design class. ]

Smith said the certificate program has inspired students to pursue careers in floral design. His classes have become so popular that students from other states have temporarily relocated to Lincoln.

"I've had people from Chicago and Wyoming come to Lincoln and stay with relatives while they take the class," Smith said. "That says a lot about our program." And he's received inquiries from people living in Hawaii, California and Colorado.

Smith, a floral designer at FLOWERWORKS in Meridian Park in Lincoln, said 90 percent of his students were adult learners.

"Some are doing it to decorate their churches, some for vocational reasons to get jobs in flower shops, and some do it for therapy," he said. "They enjoy taking classes, and it's fun."

Carrying on his great-grandfather's tradition of giving flowers to visitors, Smith said students also take home flowers from their classes.

"Everybody should have flowers because they enhance our lives so much," he said.

Smith is so proud of his students' work that he's posted photographs on a Web site: http://www.absolutefloralartistry.com

"I want everybody on the planet to know that these students have talent, and this program is a very respected program," Smith said. "It's given a whole new dimension to the classes because they have to score 95 percent to get their work on the Web site."

Within the floral industry, AIFD has long recognized the most advanced of the floral design artists through membership and accreditation. Having already achieved the coveted level of AIFD, Smith was granted the CFD charter status.

For many other excellent floral designers who are not at the same level of artistry as is Smith, the new CFD program will still allow them to demonstrate that they are most capable of providing beautiful floral designs to consumers on a daily basis.

Florists who achieve the CFD recognition will be required to hone their artistry through continuing education in the field of floral design.

[Photo: This is a New Convention design. The concept for this design is European in nature and German in origin. Students learn design styles and techniques from all parts of the world. This is clean-cut, different and very architectural. ]

Smith encourages his students to seek unique design they can call their own.

"I believe in a one-of-a-kind design," Smith said. "Search your heart and soul and find your venue, your palate, your canvas."

For more information, contact:
Stu Osterthun
Administrative Director of Public Information and Marketing
(402) 323-3401
sosterthun@southeast.edu