An Iranian-American woman with more than 25 years of experience in the flower industry is the new White House head florist.
\nMichelle Obama announced the appointment of Hedieh \u201cRoshan\u201d Ghaffarian on Thursday, a week before President Barack Obama and the first lady honor China\u2019s leader with a lavish state dinner.
\nMrs. Obama said Ghaffarian\u2019s life story is a reminder that the American Dream lives on.
\n\u201cThe president and I look forward to seeing her creativity flourish for White House guests to enjoy year-round,\u201d the first lady said.
\nBorn in Tehran, Iran, Ghaffarian was raised in the Northern California city of Los Altos after immigrating with her family as a child following the 1979 Iranian revolution.
\nIn her twenties, she started her business, Flower Affairs, in her parents\u2019 garage. She has more than a quarter-century of experience envisioning, planning and executing large-scale events, the White House said.
\nGhaffarian, 46, trained with florists based in the United Kingdom and her work has been featured by several publications, including The Knot, Ceremony and Today\u2019s Bride.
\nGhaffarian said she is \u201chumbled\u201d by the opportunity to serve and \u201cwill dedicate myself to advancing the tradition of excellent and elegance in the White House.\u201d
\nShe will be \u201con hand\u201d for next week\u2019s state dinner and will join the White House full time in mid-October after completing a move to Washington.
\nGhaffarian succeeds Laura Dowling, who resigned the head florist job earlier this year. -YAHOO! News<\/p>\n