A huge bouquet of punch pink roses beautified the counter of the Post Falls Food Bank Friday morning.

But the real beauty came when guests checked out and volunteer Rebecca Cook surprised them with a lovely floral parting gift.

"Can you imagine going about your day, and someone hands you a beautiful rose?" said Leslie Orth, Post Falls Food Bank executive director. "It puts such a positive spin on your day."

Days were brightened across Kootenai County as 1,425 dozen Coeur d'Alene Rotary Rose Sale roses went out into the community. The amount broke last year's record by 45 dozen roses, bringing in $49,000 for college scholarships, youth development, crisis services, senior services, community projects and civic improvements.

"That means Kootenai County will be blanketed with 17,100 roses in a single day," Rotary member Caryl Johnston said.

Since it began, the rose sale has raised more than $910,000 and is on track to hit the $1 million mark in the next few years.

Rotary members split into teams each fall and enjoy a friendly rivalry as they compete to see which team can sell the most roses. The sale always begins with a theme and a fun theatrical event that gets everyone in a petal peddling mood.

"I am so proud of the members in our Rotary Club," said Rotary member and Rose Sale Chairwoman Lucinda Ade. "They have put so much enthusiasm and effort into making this the most successful sale the Coeur d'Alene Rotary Club has ever had."