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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#2E7028" vlink="#2E7028"><div class=WordSection1><p align=center style='text-align:center'><em>Having trouble seeing this message?</em><i><br></i><a href="http://www.mmsend56.com/link.cfm?r=1402479947&sid=35668260&m=3887986&u=SAFlorists&j=17751594&s=http://www.magnetmail.net/actions/email_web_version.cfm?recipient_id=1402479947&message_id=3887986&user_id=SAFlorists&group_id=1150886&jobid=17751594"><em><u><span style='color:blue'>Click here</span></u></em></a><em> to view it on the web.</em><o:p></o:p></p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="100%" style='width:100.0%'><tr><td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><div align=center><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=650 style='width:487.5pt'><tr><td width=650 style='width:487.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=650 style='width:487.5pt'><tr><td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=650 height=105 id="_x0000_i1025" src="http://templates.commpartners.com/SAF/news-release/images/masthead-nr-2012.gif" alt="American Floral Endowment: News Release"><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=650 style='width:487.5pt'><tr><td style='border:none;border-bottom:solid #2E7028 1.0pt;padding:7.5pt 0in 7.5pt 3.25in'><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=left width="100%" style='width:100.0%'><tr><td valign=top style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Contact:<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td valign=top style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Suzanna McCloskey<br>(703) 838-5202 <br><a href="mailto:smccloskey@afeendowment.org">smccloskey@afeendowment.org</a><o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td width=650 valign=top style='width:487.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=650 style='width:487.5pt'><tr><td style='padding:15.0pt 15.0pt 15.0pt 15.0pt'><p align=center style='text-align:center'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Too Good to Pass Up! Two Students Awarded $10,000 AFE Ecke Scholarships</span></b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=5 cellpadding=0 align=right width=183 style='width:137.25pt'><tr><td style='padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt'><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=174 height=236 id="_x0000_i1026" src="http://images.magnetmail.net/images/clients/SAFlorists/AFE/JoshuaCraver.jpg" alt="Joshua Craver"><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><strong><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Joshua Craver</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></table><p><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>ALEXANDRIA, VA – March 31, 2014 –</span></b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> Not one, but two promising students have been awarded a 2014 </span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.mmsend56.com/link.cfm?r=1402479947&sid=35668261&m=3887986&u=SAFlorists&j=17751594&s=http://www.endowment.org/floriculture-scholarshipsinternships/58-scholarship-news/48-paul-ecke-jr-scholarship-program.html" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Paul Ecke Jr. Scholarship</span></b></a></span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> through the </span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.mmsend56.com/link.cfm?r=1402479947&sid=35668262&m=3887986&u=SAFlorists&j=17751594&s=http://www.endowment.org" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>American Floral Endowment</span></b></a></span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> (AFE). The merit-based scholarship honors the late floriculture pioneer and is awarded to M.S. or Ph.D. students who are on track to become exceptional researchers or educators.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Joshua Craver</span></b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>, who will soon earn a graduate degree at Kansas State University and begin a doctoral program at Purdue University, and <b>Emma Lookabaugh</b>, a doctoral student at North Carolina State University, were both awarded the $10,000 scholarship.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>“Generally only one Paul Ecke Jr. Scholarship is awarded each year, but this year AFE made an exception to award a scholarship to two remarkable candidates,” said Dwight Larimer, AFE Education Committee chairman and DESIGN MASTER color tool, inc. president. “These students show great promise and will be strong assets to the industry. We couldn’t pass them up.”</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Craver will soon begin pursuing a Ph.D. in horticulture at Purdue University under Roberto G. Lopez, Ph.D. His doctoral research will explore the potential applications for using LED lighting in horticulture.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=5 cellpadding=0 align=left width=185 style='width:138.75pt'><tr><td style='padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt'><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=216 height=201 id="_x0000_i1027" src="http://images.magnetmail.net/images/clients/SAFlorists/AFE/e_lookabaugh_crop.jpg" alt="Emma Lookabaugh"><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><strong><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Emma Lookabaugh</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></table><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>“Early on in my college education, I uncovered my passion for teaching and research within academia. I have since been chasing this dream, and AFE has been a valuable resource in supporting my efforts,” Craver said. “This scholarship motivates me more than ever to strive for excellence in my schooling and research, in the aims of ultimately giving back more to this industry I have become passionate about."</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Craver, who said he is deeply honored and grateful to receive the scholarship, is currently working with KSU Professor Kimberly Williams, Ph.D., as a teaching assistant. This work has further solidified his desire to teach.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>“Josh's enthusiasm for teaching and research with crops produced in greenhouses is sure to have an impact on our industry as his career progresses,” Williams said. “His teaching efforts will contribute to the education of the next generation of growers, and his research will provide solutions to help these growers address production challenges.”</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=5 cellpadding=0 align=right width=200 style='width:150.0pt'><tr><td style='padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt'><p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=207 height=240 id="_x0000_i1028" src="http://images.magnetmail.net/images/clients/SAFlorists/AFE/ecke.jpg" alt="Paul Ecke Jr."><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td style='padding:3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><strong><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Paul Ecke Jr.</span></strong><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr></table><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Ecke recipient Emma Lookabaugh, a doctoral student at NCSU, has extensive experience in floriculture extension work and outreach activities, including more than five years experience at a diagnostic clinic. Her doctoral research focuses on Pythium and aims to combine sound floriculture research with disease management strategies.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>“Not only will this scholarship help me financially, but it will also help me professionally,” Lookabaugh said. “I believe in sharing knowledge and taking information from the laboratory to the field, or in this case, to the greenhouse! Ultimately, this scholarship will broaden my audience beyond the realm of plant pathology and give me the opportunity to share my disease research with the floriculture industry as a whole."</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Her ultimate goal is to work as an extension professor specializing in floriculture diseases while continuing research in applied plant pathology that immediately impacts the floriculture industry.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>“Emma is an outstanding student, but she also is an exceptional leader who helps growers and the public understand plant disease problems through her extension and outreach activities,” said Barbara Shew, Ph.D., NCSU research assistant professor/extension specialist and Lookabaugh’s advisor. “Emma's research promises to give growers new insights into managing Pythium root rot in poinsettia and other floricultural crops.”</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>This prestigious scholarship, established in 2010, is funded by contributions to AFE from the floral industry, the Ecke family and other sources.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times","serif"'> </span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Awardees will receive $5,000 for two consecutive years, provided they continue meeting scholarship requirements.<br><br>AFE annually awards </span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.mmsend56.com/link.cfm?r=1402479947&sid=35668263&m=3887986&u=SAFlorists&j=17751594&s=http://www.endowment.org/floriculture-scholarshipsinternships/floriculture-scholarships.html" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>more than 20 additional scholarships</span></b></a></span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> to undergraduate through graduate level students.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:green'>About AFE<br></span></b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.mmsend56.com/link.cfm?r=1402479947&sid=35668264&m=3887986&u=SAFlorists&j=17751594&s=http://www.endowment.org/awareness" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:red'>Watch AFE’s new Murder, Sex, Greed Awareness Video!</span></b><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><br></span></b></a></span><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:green'><br></span></b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>The American Floral Endowment is dedicated to advancing the industry through funding floriculture research, educational grants and scholarships. More than $15 million has been funded toward research projects benefiting the entire industry, and more than $500,000 has been funded in scholarships designed to attract and retain the future leaders of the industry. To learn more about AFE visit </span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.mmsend56.com/link.cfm?r=1402479947&sid=35668265&m=3887986&u=SAFlorists&j=17751594&s=http://www.endowment.org" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:green'>www.endowment.org</span></b></a></span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'> or </span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.mmsend56.com/link.cfm?r=1402479947&sid=35668266&m=3887986&u=SAFlorists&j=17751594&s=http://www.fb.com/americanfloralendowment" target="_blank"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:green'>www.fb.com/americanfloralendowment</span></b></a></span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>.</span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><div align=center><table 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<o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td width=650 style='width:487.5pt;border:none;border-top:solid #2E7028 3.0pt;padding:7.5pt 0in 0in 0in'><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=650 style='width:487.5pt'><tr><td width=312 valign=top style='width:3.25in;padding:0in 0in 0in 15.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:10.5pt'><b><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>American Floral Endowment</span></b><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <br>1601 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=338 valign=top style='width:253.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:10.5pt'><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Phone: (703) 838-5211 • Fax: (703) 838-5212 <br><a href="mailto:afe@afeendowment.org">afe@afeendowment.org</a> • <a 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