The suggestions on what to do with a dozen long-stemmed roses come fast and furious.

Tuesday, September 14, 1999

The suggestions on what to do with a dozen long-stemmed roses come fast and furious.

"You could give six each to two people or four to three," Belita Schindler said.

"You could give them as a Happy Tuesday present," Alice Holst said.

"Women could give them to their husbands," Joan Finnegan said.

Schindler, Holst and Finnegan are among those responsible for making the Rotary Rose Days a reality.

The event is an Austin Rotary Club fundraiser aimed at raising money to help support local youth programs. Rose Days kicked off Monday, with roses available through Oct. 5 for $15 a dozen.

"A lot of us felt this club should be able to do more," Finnegan said. Rose Days is now the third major Rotary fundraiser, joining the D.A.R.E. Bike-a-thon and the Rotary’s chicken and corn feed.

Schindler said Rose Days has been a successful fundraiser for other Rotary outposts, but has never been done in Austin.

Roses can be purchased from any Rotary member, or from Nemitz’s in downtown Austin or the Little Professor Book Center in the Sterling Shopping Center.

Those who purchase roses will be given a ticket, which they must use to redeem their roses on Oct. 8-9 at the Austin Public Library. The roses will be packaged per dozen with free baby’s breath.

All of the local flower shops are participating in the fundraiser by providing the roses and other parts of the floral arrangements.