Porterfield’s Florist held a reception Friday, June 13, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. to celebrate their designation by Wholesale Florists and Florist Suppliers Association of America and “Florists’ Review Magazine” as the National 2014 Retail Florist of the Year. To show appreciation to their customers for helping make this possible, they offered their usual Friday $5 flowers as well as a 20 percent discount on most merchandise.

Porterfield’s, which is located at Huntoon and Oakley in the Westboro neighborhood, has been a family owned and operated floral business since 1965. David Porterfield, the owner of Porterfield’s, took over the business from his parents, Brooke and Virginia Porterfield, in 1981.

“It is a pleasure and an honor to serve this community with beautiful floral designs in times of celebration, congratulation and loss,” said Porterfield. “We are proud of our commitment to customer service and quality, and believe that this distinct honor is a reflection of a nearly 50-year tradition of a business built on loyalty, trust and friendship.”

Mark Lamantia, vice president of Porterfield’s, said they found out about the award a couple of weeks ago. He said that this award is an annual event and Porterfields is the 27th recipient.

“To put it into sporting terms, this is like winning the Super Bowl or the Indy 500,” said Lamantia. “It’s a very large, prestigious award and we’re very pleased to have won.”

Porterfield’s became eligible to win this award by way of entry and sponsorship. The contest is put on by two national organizations, the Wholesale Florist Association and the Floral Supply Association. A company has to submit entries that detail every facet of its business, pictures and commentary. There is much paper work involved before it is voted on.

“You don’t even know whom you’re competing against,” said Lamantia.

Lamantia attributes their longevity and success to both staff and clients. He said Porterfield’s staff is a wonderful group of people who really enjoy what they do but attributes much of the success to customers who have remained loyal and true.

“We have a lot of wonderful people that have been dealing with us since the day we opened in 1965. They’ve been with us for a very long time and we’re always trying to bring more people into the fold,” said Lamantia. “Our loyal customer base has been instrumental in keeping us going all these years. We’re really appreciative about that.”

Next year Porterfield’s will be celebrating 50 years in business and is already planning a big celebration for the occasion.

“I want to reiterate how appreciative we are of our customers,” said Lamantia. “They’ve made this all possible.”

The “Florist Review Magazine” published an article about Porterfield’s that described the store, provided pictures and mentioned everything leading up to the event held today.

To read the article from the Florist Review visit: www.floristsreview.com/issues/2014