Fred Poland, floral wire service founder   1945-1994
By Tillie Fong/ Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

Fred L. Poland got into the floral business by accident.
He was looking for a job in 1975 when he answered an ad for a sales
representative for a floral wire service, Florafax International in San
Francisco.
He never left the industry. "It was like it was meant for him," said
his wife, Carleen Poland of Cherry Hills village. "He just loved being in
it."
Mr. Poland, the founder of Carik Services Inc. and a noted
philanthropist, died Aug 12 at Rose Medical Center. He was 48.
No services were held. His body was cremated and remains will be
scattered over the Rocky Mountains.
Born Dec. 13, 1945, in Florence Kan., he graduated from high school in
1962 and attended Brown Mackey College for one year.
He was produce manager at Dillon market in Salina and later at Safeway
in Roseburg, Ore. Mr. Poland also owned a Dairy-O restaurant in Roseburg,
which he sold in 1965 to join the Army.
He served in Germany and was discharged in 1971 as a corporal.
Mr. Poland married Carleen Carney on Dec. 28, 1968, in Burlingame, Calif.
After the military, he was a traveling salesman for educational
materials before joining Florafax International.
Mr. Poland moved to Tulsa, Okla., in 1977, where he was the national
sales manager for Florafax. One year later, he was hired by American Floral
Services in Oklahoma City.
Mr. Poland moved to Denver three years later to found Carik Services
Inc., and international flowers by wire service.
"He was the most giving person you would every meet," said his wife.
Among the organizations that benefited from his generosity were
Make-A-Wish Foundation, Children's Hospital, The American Heart Association,
the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the American Cancer Society, the
Elway Foundation and Kent, Denver School.
One month before his death, he started a fund-raising program in the
floral industry called "AIDS will not be forever" to benefit AIDS research.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Vanessa Poland,
and a son, Trevor Poland, both of Cherry Hills Village.
No contributions are requested by the family, but flowers are welcomed.
source: Rocky Mountain News, Aug 24, 1994, p.61A. Denver CO
His parents are Frederick Alfred & Doris Purdue Poland.