Corbett ceremony will have local flair
One local business will be providing some color at Gov.-elect Tom Corbett’s inauguration today.
Neubauer’s Flowers Inc. of Uniontown will be creating floral arrangements for the inaugural ball, which will be held at the farm show complex in Harrisburg.
Owner Steve Neubauer said the assignment came about when Sue Corbett, the state’s incoming first lady, became familiar with Neubauer’s work at another state event.
“We actually had the good fortune to provide floral arrangements when they dedicated the new Gettysburg (National Battlefield) visitors center. Sue Corbett was in charge of the Gettysburg Foundation. I guess our work made an impression on her.
“When Tom Corbett was elected, Mrs. Corbett called and asked if we would be interested in doing floral arrangements for the ball and if we were available,” Neubauer said.
Although he was in Atlanta, Ga., Monday attending a gift show where he buys supplies for Neubauer’s Flowers and Neubauer’s Markethouse, Neubauer was preparing to board a plane to fly to Harrisburg.
“I have two trucks and three people on their way to Harrisburg right now,” Neubauer said in a telephone call from Atlanta on Monday afternoon.
He planned on working through the night and today preparing flowers for the ball.
“They wanted a simple and elegant evening. I think they were concerned about the budget, as well, so they wanted something pretty but not ostentatious,” Neubauer said.
He added the job calls for about 400 table arrangements and 10 large displays.
He estimates he will use about 2,500 red and yellow tulips and about 2,500 red roses. He had to buy tulips from Holland and roses from Colombia because neither is in season in the U.S.
Although this is the first gubernatorial inauguration Neubauer’s has done, it’s not the first government event.
“We did floral designs for President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration and for President George Bush’s second inauguration,” Neubauer said.
Founded in 1921, Neubauer’s is a three-generation operation that has retail stores in Uniontown and Waynesburg and in Moundsville, W.Va. Neubauer’s also has its own greenhouse in Cameron, W.Va.
Neubauer also is active in the community and has been honored for his work.
The Fayette Chamber of Commerce named him its Herman M. Buck Award winner for 2002.
Neubauer serves as chairman of Fay-Penn Economic Development Council. He is a past national director of FTD and served on the marketing, executive and by-laws committees, as well as a representative to American Floral Marketing Council and Society of American Florists.
Neubauer is also a member of the Fayette Chamber of Commerce and a board member and past chairman of the Uniontown Downtown Business District Authority. He served as the community chairman of the Uniontown Hospital Capital Campaign.
All of Neubauer’s businesses can be reached by calling 724-437-5500.