David and Leanne Kesler, co-owners of Floral Design Institute in Portland, Ore., are pleased to announce that they will be offering student scholarships to state and allied floral organizations throughout the United States in 2017.
“As we approach the 50th anniversary of Floral Design Institute, we wanted to make a significant and lasting contribution to floral design education,” said David Kesler.
“The community of floral organizations and their support of floral design education in America has been critical to the success of the floral industry,” states Leanne Kesler. “Through the creation of this scholarship program, we seek to support floral organizations in their offerings of educational opportunities for their members and their member employees.”
Floral Design Institute was founded in 1969. In 1986, Leanne began teaching at the school, and she purchased the school in 1988. Her husband, David, joined her in the business in 1994, and together they have built Floral Design Institute into one of the most respected floral design schools in the world. Through their classroom and online certification programs plus advanced seminars and workshops, they now train hundreds of students each year. Their online floral design training videos are viewed by over 1.5 million viewers each year.
“It is so wonderful to be able to do this,” Leanne said. “Like so many floral designers, my career path hasn’t always been easy, and I know how hard it is for some students to come up with the tuition for school. When I bought the school, I was training only 45 students a year. I had to supplement my income with freelance design work and odd jobs. I lived in a single-wide trailer, ate a lot of ramen noodles and did all of my shopping at thrift shops. When times were hard, I used to tell myself, ‘At least I’m doing something I love’, a phrase that I still use today.”
Education has been a cornerstone in Leanne’s life. Her mother was an elementary school teacher for 53 years. Leanne discovered her love for floral design in a high school horticulture class and was encouraged to excel by an inspirational teacher, Dave Lambert. ”Throughout my career, his example has driven me to be the best teacher possible, to help students set and achieve their highest goals.”
Each selected state and allied floral organization will be given a $1,000 scholarship to be awarded to a member or member’s employee of the organization’s choosing. The scholarship may be applied to any Floral Design Institute class, seminar or workshop including certification programs and online programs. For more information, contact Leanne Kesler at leanne@floraldesigninstitute or David Kesler at david@floraldesigninstitute.com.
