“The Fabulous Five”

Bea Frambach AIFD was our second President serving from 1966 – 68. Bea was an accomplished designer with a design and fashion illustration background. Frambach, a gift buyer for the prestigious Biltmore Hotel among others, developed and ran six flower shops. Bea created the position of National Secretary and became the very first member of the “College of Fellows” of AIFD.

Arthur Ito AIFD followed Bea, our third President from 1968 -1970. As a young boy of 16, Arthur worked in a nursery flower shop. Arthur served in World War II, and upon his return he and his family opened Flower View Gardens in Los Angeles, the most modern flower shop at the time. Arthur serviced TV sets for My Fair Lady and The Jefferson’s. He was very involved with FTD and won the Sylvia Cup. Arthur helped to form the Gordon Student Chapter at Cal Poly.

Rocky Pollitz AIFD, President from 1976 -1978 was a driving force for AIFD to move our symposium from Los Angeles and become more international. Rocky has taught all over the world and has been published in numerous magazines. She represented the United States in the International Design Show in Mexico City. As Teleflora International Relations VP, she was instrumental in developing their bridal selection guides. “Ask Rocky” was a favorite column in Flowers & Magazine. Rocky was very active with SAIFD students during her presidency. In 1988 the Rocky Pollitz Scholarship Foundation was established.

Herb Mitchell AIFD, 1978 -1980 President. Herb graduated from Iowa State College in Floriculture. Upon selling his floral shop, Mitchell became Director of Product Development for the John Henry Company and President of Marketing for Teleflora. Herb was the editor-in-chief for industry trade magazines Professional Floral Designer (PFD), Design for Profit, and Design with Flowers. In1984 Herb became an AIFD Fellow and was inducted into the Floriculture Hall of Fame.

Jackie Lacey AIFD, President from 2019 – current, has been an enormous leader during the year of COVID-19 and its challenges for the floral industry. The year of change; cancellation of AIFD Symposium 2020 and the virtual induction ceremony have all been milestones Jackie has had to manage.  Jackie has over thirty years of experience as an owner of many flower shops. Currently the Director of Education and Industry Relations for Floriology, BloomNet and Napco, Jackie has been published in numerous magazines; SAF, Modern Bride, Inside Weddings, and Flowers &. He has worked with many celebrities such as; Drew Barrymore, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, Richard Gere, and Leonardo DiCaprio, creating floral designs on motion picture sets. Hats off to Jackie for his dedication to AIFD!