Well, not just roses for the THS students.

Chieftain Floral is the new student-run business at THS through the FFA program

Alicia Hendron, who is in her first year teaching at THS, offers horticulture classes to students.

The group, which currently is about 15 strong, have collaborated with 3 Sisters Coffee to make floral arrangements and created additional arrangements for the recent THS FFA Open House auction.

Tonganoxie students in Hendron’s class also recently competed at a floral design challenge at Blue Valley High School in Randolph north of Manhattan. Students also had to take budgets into consideration as part of the competition.

“I’m really proud of all that the kids of done so far,” Hendron said.

Originally from Illinois, Herndon did floral design in high school. That partly inspired her to get Chieftain Floral going in Tonganoxie.

THS had done similar classes in the past, and Herndon said there was a push to bring the floral component back.

“It’s community and student-driven,” Hendron explained. “I have the skills, but have never run it like a business.”

Chieftain Floral orders its product and then sells arrangements. Herndon also has a greenhouse class and students grow other plants in the school’s greenhouse on campus. A plant sale featuring items grown in that space will be offered April 24 and 25.

“We’re continuing to build on it,” Herndon said about the business. “The kids get better every time we do it. I get better every time we do it.”

Herndon said the business will continue to look for collaborations in the community. The group is looking at offering a monthly subscription for flowers as well.

“It’s student-run and student-driven,”Hendron explained. “It’s as big or as small as kids try to make it. It’s on them.”

The THS teacher said the flowers are up to industry standards and the student-run business and classes provide skills in the students’ tool boxes to become florists if that’s a career path they want to take.