LILY ANN’S FLORAL DESIGN HOLDS RIBBON CUTTING FRIDAY

Lily Anne’s Floral Design

618-918-2127

303 E. Broadway, Centralia, IL

Lily Ann’s Floral Design, in partnership with the Centralia Chamber of Commerce, hosted a ribbon cutting Friday, in honor of the new florist’s opening.

The widely attended ceremony included chamber members, city officials, and numerous friends and family of Stephanie Dunbar, owner of Lily Ann’s.

A South Carolina native who spent decades in Centralia before relocating to Missouri for a five-year period, Dunbar said she felt called to return to Centralia this last August and open her own business.

“I worked with the Canadian National Railroad for quite a few years and then I went into healthcare. I was with SSM for eighteen wonderful years. Then I started praying about this and decided to move back to Centralia,” Dunbar explained. “Coming back home has been such a great feeling. Getting back with our friends and church - we go to City Hope Church - has been wonderful. We also want to honor the florists that have been in Centralia for a long time.”

Dunbar said the business wasn’t originally planned to open until next spring, but with good fortune and help from Tyler Fleeman, owner of The Commonwealth, she was able to open Lily Ann’s before the New Year.

The Fleeman’s are amazing. They have been so wonderful and so accommodating. They have done so much for us,” Dunbar said, “This wasn’t supposed to happen until spring or summer of next year, and then God just started opening doors, and we’re grateful for that.”

The business - a full-service florist which takes its name from Dunbar’s firstborn granddaughter, Lily, and her mother, Jo Ann, who introduced Dunbar to floral - offers wedding and funeral arrangements, everyday floral needs, faux flowers, fresh flowers, gifts, woodwork and cutting boards from South Carolina-based vendors, organic skin care products, and more.

“We’re not in the business for money. We’re in the business to bless people. That’s what we want to do. We want to show people that there are still great and pretty things out in the world, and we are just really excited to be able to have the opportunity to serve the surrouding area and be able to bless people. We are believers in this business.”