Jul 1, 2010

AFE Awards Scholarship, Honors Former TrusteeSource: AFE

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) has awarded its 2010 Paul Ecke Scholarship to Daedre Craig, a doctoral student at Michigan State University (MSU).

Craig is a MSU Plant Science Fellowship recipient and the head grower for the MSU Horticulture Organization of Graduate Students. Her current research focuses on the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on greenhouse crops.

The scholarship honors the contributions of the late Paul Ecke Jr. to the global floriculture industry, and comes with $8,000 for financial assistance.

The AFE has also created a tribute in its endowment to honor Ernesto Velez, an AFE trustee who died in March. Velez passionately believed in protecting the land where plants grow and the people who grow them, and worked hard to create better communication between Colombian growers and the U.S. floral industry.

Velez had been an AFE trustee since 2004, and also served on the AFE’s production and post-harvest research, and public relations committees. Contributions to the Ernesto Velez Memorial Tribute can be sent to the American Floral Endowment, c/o Ernesto Velez Memorial Tribute, 1601 Duke St., Alexandria, Va., 22314.