'Great Daffodil' delivers

by Shari Bogen '01

"The Great Daffodil" has struck again.

Barsel

ressed head-to-toe as the spring-blooming yellow flower, Deborah Barsel annually sells and delivers orders of daffodils to raise money for the American Cancer Society.

And to spread cheer.

"If I'm going to ask them for money, I hope in return to help lighten their day," says Barsel, who, when not in costume, is a database administrator for Information Technology Services (ITS). "And if you want to laugh as well, I'll dress up in a costume."

For the past 12 years, Barsel has delivered daffodils to fellow employees as part of the American Cancer Society's annual Daffodil Festival, a national fundraising program.

Daffodil Days is supported throughout Monroe County and other surrounding areas during a weeklong event in late March.

This year, Barsel raised $1,228 and made her deliveries March 29.

Barsel is the only one of about 50 local Daffodil Days volunteers to wear her devotion on her sleeve, so to speak.

The costume, which began as a yellow satin daffodil head crown and petals adorning Barsel's neck, has evolved into a full-body costume, complete with a green felt dress and leaves and a stamen-and-pistil headpiece.

She also has added jewelry "insects" to the costume, including butterflies on her headpiece, ladybug earrings, and honeybee pins on her stem. Barsel finishes off her daffodil look with a green wig.

Though not a cancer survivor herself, Barsel says that "everybody, at one point or another, knows someone who's died of cancer and it really affects you."

Her motivation to continue the tradition of daffodil deliveries comes from her wish to bring pleasure to people. Most people to whom she delivers are used to her costume, she says, and "they look forward to it."

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