BY LEW MOORES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HARRISON -- The response proved so satisfying last year that Matt Hiatt has added 1,000 roses this year, offering 6,000 in bunches of a dozen free to people who show up Wednesday at his floral shop on Stone Drive. The idea is to foster community spirit and camaraderie among neighbors.
"The only catch is that we ask that you keep one for yourself and hand out the other 11," said Mr. Hiatt, who with his family runs Hiatt's Florist at 1106 Stone Drive. "The idea is to make new friends, renew old acquaintances and just be a good neighbor."
This is the second year that Hiatt's has participated in Good Neighbor Day, as one of about 1,500 florists nationwide and in Canada participating in the FTD Association-inspired event, said Mr. Hiatt.
Good Neighbor Day was begun in 1994 by an FTD florist in Jackson, Miss., who thought that handing out free roses and encouraging people to share the dozen flowers was a way to foster community spirit and neighborliness.
Last year, hundreds of people showed up at the store for the rose giveaway, with a line stretching outside the store. A random sampling of people waiting and walking away with roses last year indicated they intended to hand out 11.
"We got an overwhelming response last year," said Mr. Hiatt. "It took 3 1/2 hours to hand everything out."
This year he's handing out 6,000 roses -- 500 bunches of a dozen each.
The rose giveaway begins at 9 a.m.
Mr. Hiatt is counting on help from the Harrison senior citizens and their center. Last year, they came in early and helped him and his staff organize the flowers.
Even if he took an extreme pessimist's view, Mr. Hiatt reasoned, more than 400 people last year received free roses in all shades of red, yellow, pink, white and peach.
But he knows people actually shared their roses because of the feedback. People would tell him they couldn't make it, but received a rose anyway.
