WEST COVINA - Robert Bryant loves to
make customers smile.
And the 46-year-old Chino Hills resident
generated plenty of smiles Wednesday when his West Covina
floral shop gave away free roses.
Every customer who entered Flowers
By Robert Taylor was given a dozen free roses. The patrons
were then encouraged to keep one and give the remaining
11 flowers to 11 different people.
The giveaway marked Bryant's 12th
year of participating in "Good Neighbor Day," an event
that's celebrated throughout the United States and Canada
as a day of goodwill.
"It seems like a good way to give
back to the community," Bryant said. "I think it's kind
of a neat little thing to do. And the stories I've been
told about people who have handed out flowers have been
heartwarming."
Zemi Bertonneau, a representative
of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care in Covina, was one of
several hundred customers who stopped by the flower shop
on Wednesday.
"I was invited by some of the community
people I work with and I wanted to show my support," said
Bertonneau, 40, of Azusa. "I think Robert's very generous.
I'm going to give some of my flowers to hospice patients.
We do our best to make our patients comfortable and make
sure they are cared for and loved."
Wednesday's event also included a health
and disaster preparedness fair, showcasing the resources
of area businesses and organizations.
Representatives were on hand to promote
Doctors Hospital of West Covina; Make a Senior Smile,
a Los Angeles-based organization that grants "smiles" to
elderly people; Haven of Life, a West Covina residential
care facility; Accent Care, an agency that provides caregiving
services that enable seniors to live independently at
home; and EmbroidMe, a Chino Hills company that offers
custom embroidery services for clothing, uniforms and
hats, as well as screen printing and promotional products.
Art Brice, a member of the board of directors
for Make a Senior Smile, knew exactly where his flowers
were going.
"I'm going to give them to the nursing
staff at the hospitals," he said.
Friday's flower giveaway kicked off
at 5 a.m. and Bryant said nearly 600 customers attended
Wednesday's event.
"We ran out of roses around two o'clock,
then we gave out about 1,000 carnations," he said.
Bryant said the best part of his
giveaway is hearing the stories his customers tell.
"One of the best stories I ever heard was
about this lady who had been riding the same bus for four
years," he said. "She saw the same gentleman on there every
time. And one day she gave him a rose. He started to cry.
He said he had never been given a flower in his life. From
that day on, they began speaking every day and now have
a great friendship." |
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