The reason? Sept. 14 was Good Neighbor Day, a recent but growing tradition for thousands of florists across the country.
"The community has been very enthusiastic," said Ray Raia, owner of Terranova. "There's a lot of good will."
This year marked the sixth time that Terranova Florist has taken part in Good Neighbor Day, and it received a citation from the Town of Hempstead for its efforts. "I've already got about 10 calls," said Raia. "People are saying, 'My co-worker gave me a rose. It's so nice!'"
The roses were given to spouses, family, friends, neighbors, strangers, and the infirm. If every person who took a dozen flowers gave one to 11 different people, more than 4,500 people in Baldwin and neighboring towns received a Good Neighbor Day rose.
"[I'll give them] to my wife, my daughter, my mother-in-law, my secretary at work, and sister," said Rich Treanor of Rockville Centre.
According to Florists' Transworld Delivery, a florists' association that sponsors the event, Good Neighbor Day began with a Jackson, Miss., florist named Brook Jacobs, who gave away more than 15,000 roses one day in September 1994.
Raia learned about Good Neighbor Day at an FTD convention, and brought the idea to Baldwin. He estimates that his shop has given away 30,000 roses over the years. This year, however, was the first time that Kiwanis got involved. "They needed a sponsor, so what better [people] than the Kiwanis club," said JoAnn Giretti, vice president of the Baldwin chapter and a Terranova employee for 22 years. Raia is also a member of the club.
The thousands of roses were made into 400 bouquets by a group of Kiwanis members who arrived at 6:30 a.m., an hour before the store opened. They set up a small breakfast buffet for early customers, and wrapped the flowers to allow Terranova's staff to continue with its regular business despite the steady stream of people coming in to pick up their roses.
Comments about this story? MSeaman@liherald.com or 516-569-400 ext. 282
