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Welcome

Dear Industry Friends,

I am honored to be appointed the 29th Chairman of the American Floral Endowment. AFE has a tremendous history of serving our industry, having funded over $18,000,000 in research, internships, scholarships, and education to advance the floriculture industry over the past 60 years.

AFE has not been immune to the challenges every organization has faced over the past few years. Thanks to our dedicated staff and Board of Trustees, AFE remained focused on our mission and continued to provide critical funding for research and scholarships during the most challenging period we have faced in my ten years of service as a Trustee.

Recently, AFE’s staff and Trustees completed a strategic planning project spanning eight months that included four intense meetings. Input from over four hundred industry members allowed us to review our strengths, weaknesses, how we could grow, and how we can better serve the industry. The result was the development of AFE’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, which updated our Vision and Mission statements and developed five core goals for AFE’s direction, which are:

  • Expand Fundraising to increase internal capacity and further support the industry
  • Increase Engagement with Young and Next-Generation Professionals
  • Improve Brand Awareness and Communications with existing stakeholders
  • Expand the Reach of AFE to new stakeholders to grow our market
  • Increase Participation in AFE Core Programs

Much of my focus during my tenure as Chairman will be to ensure that AFE remains focused on implementing these key goals so that AFE continues as the organization dedicated to Funding the Future of Floriculture.

One new initiative to help us attain these goals is AFE’s recently announced Sustainability Project. This exciting project aims to create usable assets, identify new research needed, and close the gap in making sustainability accessible for all segments of the industry. Industry leaders Altman Plants, Armellini Logistics, Ball Horticultural Company, Kennicott Brothers Company, Mayesh Wholesale Florist, Smithers-Oasis, and Tagawa Greenhouses have committed as the major sponsors of this project, and we are actively looking for additional supporting sponsors of this important project at various levels.

This year we will deliver important research from our $1,500,000 Botrytis and Thrips Program. We will also continue the development of our Young Professionals Council, Internship Programs, and AFE Career Center, which are among the many core programs offered by AFE.

Finally, I hope we can continue to expand an important group of new grants established at AFE over the past few years. Specifically, in 2017 AFE established the Arizona Retail Florist Travel Grant, which was AFE’s first grant focused on retail florists. Since then, AFE has added the Retail Florist Continuing Education Grant and the Meinders Retail Florist Education Grant both supporting retail florists. These new grants are important steps in increasing educational opportunities for individuals working in the retail floral industry.

Details regarding the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, Sustainability Project, Retail Florist Educational Grants, Botrytis and Thrips Program, and much more can be found here on AFE’s site. I encourage you to explore the site and see all of the resources that are available to the industry. While here, be sure to sign up for the newsletters and bulletins that are of specific interest to you.

As you can see, we have many new initiatives and goals for AFE over the next few years, and we need your input, comments, participation in utilizing the resources we create, and, most importantly, your honest assessment of how we are doing.

A sincere thank you to all who support AFE’s work; we simply cannot accomplish our goals without your generous contributions. If you are not currently supporting the Endowment, I encourage you to become more familiar with AFE’s work and consider contributing. Every dollar makes a difference and helps AFE provide critical funding to support the future of the floriculture industry. We can only move forward if all segments of the industry work together with the Endowment.

Again, thank you for your support of the American Floral Endowment. I am truly humbled to be entrusted to help navigate the focus of AFE during this exciting period as AFE continues to Fund the Future of Floriculture. 

 

Sincerely,

Ken Young, AAF
Owner, Phoenix Flower Shops
Chairman, American Floral Endowment