One of South Africa’s youngest and most active ambassadors for the deaf community, DTV presenter Candice Morgan, has been honoured by the naming of a rose after her. The rose comes from the well known rose grower Ludwig Taschner who felt that this graceful rose, with its deep perfume and warm colours epitomised the vibrant, outgoing nature of Candice and the way she touches other people’s lives. Candice, who was crowned Miss Deaf South Africa in 2004 and subsequently Miss Deaf World in Prague, is the first deaf person to be honoured with a rose. She regards the ‘Candice’ rose as an ambassador for women in general as well as having the specific purpose of creating awareness around hearing-loss. Candice will be planting her rose at schools for the Deaf around the country as reminder to each pupil – ‘follow your DREAM. Dare to reach, encourage and motivate not only yourself, but also those around you.’ “The ‘Candice’ rose will also be an ambassador of triumph over adversity during the WFD (World Federation of the Deaf) Congress in South Africa in 2011.” The presentation takes place at Ludwig’s Roses Egoli, Linbro Park, on Wednesday October 8 at 10am. Candice is aware of another dimension to roses. Besides the beauty, and ability to bring joy, the rose also has the element of ‘deafness. ‘Roses feel, they aren’t compelled to hear,’ she says. Candice particularly identifies with the ‘Candice’ rose. “Its intricateness shows the true heart of a woman. This rose is multi-dimensional, very much like me. Its colour reminds me of the sunrise, the dawn of hope, which I aspire to give to people. The rose’s inner core is surely the most beautiful, which is living proof of my philosophy. Let your inner beauty become your exterior beauty.” Ludwig Taschner describes the rose as an Antico Moderno variety with a flower shape and perfume typical of the romantic yesteryear roses. The colour is a blend of deep cream mingled with pink and a faint striping and the fragrance is distinct. The bush is graceful and reaches between hip and chest height. Candice became a presenter for DTV, the only TV programme for the Deaf in South Africa, at the age of 14. After finishing school and successfully completing an IT course at college, she struggled to find employment because companies in South Africa lacked deaf awareness and were not ready for an employee with a hearing disability. She approached DTV and started as a production assistant, working her way up to assistant director; learning how edit, direct, and how to write a script. She was an anchor presenter at the same time. At the end of 2007 she became Executive Producer for DTV and as a director has travelled the world extensively for DTV and went to Canada, Paris, Prague, Swaziland, USA, London, Greece and Spain. In 2007 she covered the WFD congress in Spain and captured the magic moment when South Africa won the bid to stage the next WFD in 2011.