Our Ambassadors with the Best Flat buyers John Poppell and Wish Farms, Chuck Hollenkamp and Andy Gutierrez.
2013 proved to be another successful year in raising scholarship money through the Florida Strawberry Best Flat Competition at the 78th Annual Florida Strawberry Festival. A total of $15,500 was raised over three days of competition. This year’s competition raised almost twice the $8,100 that was raised in 2012.
The judges once again had a difficult time determining this year’s winners. The competition was fierce and being recognized as a winner in this contest is a big deal in our industry! The Jay Taylor Band acted as our judges on the final day of the competition.
The Florida Strawberry Growers Association has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships since 1983. Scholarship applications are ready for pick up or download beginning in June each year and are usually due by the middle of September that same year.
The Florida Strawberry Growers Association offers scholarships to encourage young men and women to continue their education beyond high school. The committee will determine the amount of the scholarship, but none will be less than $500.00.
Eligible students must be an enrolled college undergraduate or a high school graduate and submit a letter of intent to attend college. You can find more information on our scholarship program here.
March 1, 2013 – Swine Sale |
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| 1st Place | Grower – E. W. Simmons Farm | |
| Handler – Wish Farms | ||
| Buyer – Wish Farms |
$1,100
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Total
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$1,100
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| 2nd Place | Grower – Mike Lott Farms | |
| Handler – C & D Fruit & Vegetable | ||
| Buyer – C & D Fruit & Vegetable |
$1,000
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Total
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$1,000
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| 3rd Place | Grower – Southern Farm Alliance & Colson Rd Farm | |
| Handler – Colorful Harvest | ||
| Buyer – Colorful Harvest |
$1,000
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Total
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$1,000
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Total Swine Sale
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$3,100
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March 3, 2013 – Plant Sale |
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| 1st Place | Grower – E. W. Simmons Farm | |
| Handler – Wish Farms | ||
| Buyer – Poppell Insurance |
$1,000
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| Buyer-Matched by Wish Farms |
$1,000
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Total
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$2,000
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| 2nd Place | Grower – Fancy Farms | |
| Handler – Wish Farms | ||
| Buyer – Wish Farms |
$600
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Total
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$600
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| 3rd Place | Grower – D & K Farms | |
| Handler – Colorful Harvest | ||
| Buyer – Colorful Harvest |
$650
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Total
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$650
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Total Plant Sale
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$3,250
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March 9, 2013 – Steer Sale |
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| 1st Place | Grower – Mike Lott Farms | |
| Handler – C & D Fruit & Vegetable | ||
| Buyer – Wish Farms, and |
$1,600
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| Buyer-Matched by Crop Protection Services, and |
$1,600
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| Buyer-C & D Fruit & Vegetable Donated |
$1,000
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| Buyer-Matched by Oaks Farm |
$1,000
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Total
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$5,200
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| 2nd Place | Grower – Sewell Farms, LLC | |
| Handler – Westlake Produce | ||
| Buyer – Wish Farms |
$1,500
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| Buyer-Matched by Colorful Harvest |
$1,500
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Total
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$3,000
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| 3rd Place | Grower – Sam Williamson Farm | |
| Handler – Driscolls | ||
| Buyer – Driscolls |
$1,000
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| Total |
$1,000
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Total Steer Sale
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$9,200
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2013 Best Flat Competition |
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Total Scholarship Money Raised
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$15,550
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