AFE Strengthens Bonds with Floral Funding Government Agencies

AFE Shares the Size, Complexity, and Importance of the Miami Import Cut Flower Businesses with USDA-ARSBy Dr. Terril Nell, AFE Research CoordinatorFloral and Nursery Research InitiativeUSDA-ARS coordinates funding for the Floral and Nursery Research Initiative (FNRI), a federally funded program dedicated to floriculture, nursery and landscape research. Recently, AFE took the lead on the FNRI initiative providing recommendations and identifying priorities. To further strengthen the importance of this funding, we headed down to Miami to show USDA-ARS National Program Leader, Tim Reinhardt what we’re all about!AFE spent the day showing Dr.Reinhardt the size, complexity, and importance of fresh cut flowers to the entire floral industry. AFE, in coordination with SAF, works with Dr. Reinhardt by identifying the research needs and…

Thank you, Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE® and Our Donors!

Thank you, Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE® for teaming up with AFE for a third year-end matching gift challenge.Due to their generosity, year-end donations made to the Endowment by December 31, 2019, were matched dollar-for-dollar up to $20,000.Industry members jumped at the chance to support floriculture and as a result, the goal was exceeded! Thanks to the support from the industry and Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE®.Thank you again to Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE® and our generous donors for your contributions and for supporting AFE’s programs that promote and advance the industry!Didn’t get a chance to donate? Support AFE’s industry efforts by making a tax-deductible contribution today. 

Student Scholarship Fundraising Campaign to Honor Dr. Terry Ferriss

Fundraising EffortA fundraising effort is underway to raise $50,000 to establish a new scholarship fund to honor Dr. Terry Ferriss. Dr. Ferriss retired in 2015 from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (UWRF), after 36 years of teaching. She was the first tenured female faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UWRF. She was also the first woman to serve as the Plant and Earth Sciences Department chair, and the first woman to serve as an associate dean for the college.Terry Ferriss, Professor of Horticulture, in the Greenhouse.Kathy M Helgeson/UWRF CommunicationsTerry and her husband Ron, currently reside in Southeastern Minnesota. During their retirement, they have been enjoying more opportunities in their free time. They spend time gardening,…

Service Is Tradition for Big-Picture Pioneers

Jack and Carolynn Van Namen Jack and Carolynn Van Namen. Third in a series honoring members of AFE’s Legacy Circle. Created to recognize persons who have made provision for a planned gift to AFE, the Legacy Circle celebrates their significant contributions, enriching our past and securing our future. For more information, contact Debi Chedester at (703) 838-5211 or visit endowment.org/legacy-circle/. Growing up in a floral industry that was traditionally segmented, with growers, wholesalers and retailers each performing a different function (often not knowing much about what the others did), Jack Van Namen nonetheless saw the potential for doing business a different way.Over the course of several decades, he worked alongside his father and company founder, Jacob Van Namen, to lead…

Dollar-for-Dollar Gift-Match Opportunity!

Friends of the floral industry, double your impact!We are happy to announce that Smithers-Oasis/ FLORALIFE® is partnering with us for the third year in a row of gift-matching. The challenge supports AFE’s vital work that gives so much to the cut-flower industry.Today, you have the opportunity to support the Endowment, even MORE, thanks to the Gift-Matching AFE Challenge issued by Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE®.Now through December 31, 2019, Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE® will match your donations to AFE, dollar-for-dollar, up to $20,000. In other words, when you give your support to AFE, you’re not only investing in the future of the floral industry – you are DOUBLING your contribution!For nearly 60 years, AFE has been leading the charge to identify solutions to tough industry challenges. Since 1961, it…

AFE’s Fundraising Dinner Celebrates Industry Success

The AFE 43rd Annual Fundraising and Recognition Dinner was held during the SAF Annual Convention in Amelia Island, Florida on Thursday, September 19, 2019.The evening was full of excitement as AFE reported on program and research success stories. Two new named funds (The Retail Florist’s Continued Education Fund Sponsored by Bob and Carol Sharpe and The Garcia Family Fund) were announced and donors reaching new giving-levels were recognized.During the evening, AFE reported on meeting the $1.5 million goal for The Thrips and Botrytis Research Campaign and also on the new consumer marketing studies funded by the Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF.)The highlight of the evening was AFE’s “Fill the Vase” campaign. This campaign was created on the concept of individual flowers coming together to make a beautiful, full vase; individual…

AFE Appoints New Trustees

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) appointed Dr. Megan Bowman of Ball Horticultural Company and Gustavo Gilchrist of Kennicott Brothers Company to join the AFE Board of Trustees. Both will serve a three-year term starting in September 2019. AFE Trustees are industry leaders who volunteer their time and talent to help guide Endowment activities and programs benefitting the industry. Both will also serve on an AFE committee related to education, public relations and development, research, or the Floral Marketing Research Fund. Megan Bowman, Ph. D. joins the Board with a robust research background, specifically bioinformatics, molecular plant breeding, and molecular biology. Currently, she is Bioinformatics and Data Analysis Lead at Ball Horticultural Company in Chicago, Illinois.Megan joined the floral industry recently, in 2018, but has many years…

AFE’s Fill the Vase Fundraiser!

The American Floral Endowment, the national organization that funds floral research, scholarships, grants, and internships, kicked off its 2019 fall fundraiser, “Fill the Vase,” at their 43rd Annual Fundraising and Recognition Dinner on September 19.Nearing their 60th year, the Endowment provides practical solutions to tough industry challenges through research and programs that bring top talent to the floral industry. AFE-funded programs are the result of industry members coming together to provide for a stronger industry.“That’s the concept behind AFE’s ‘Fill the Vase’ campaign,” said AFE Public Relations and Development Chairman, Ken Young of Phoenix Flower Shops. “Everyone loves to see an arrangement of beautiful flowers — seeing each flower come together to make something beautiful. Without individual flowers, there can’t be…

Two New Named Funds

Two new named funds were announced at AFE’s 43rd Annual Fundraising and Recognition Dinner on September 19.The first new named fund is The Retail Florist’s Continued Education Fund. This fund was established by Bob and Carol Sharpe from Frederick, Maryland. Bob and Carol are third-generation florists who closed their shop, Sharpe’s Flowers, five years ago when they retired. Sharpe’s Flowers was considered a Frederick landmark since 1930 and was in business for 84 years.Like many retailers, Bob and Carol struggled with finding the time to get out of the shop to attend industry events or continue their education. In an industry where businesses are handed down from generation to generation, continued education is vital for success. Bob and Carol want to help floral…

AFE Board of Trustees Meeting: Education, Research, Service

By Ashley AlexanderPurdue University’s motto is “Education, Research, Service.” During AFE’s August Board Meetings last month, the Trustees witnessed the school taking pride in living up to this motto. While in West Lafayette, IN., the Board had a chance to experience all three of these crucial facets to the university.The trustees started their day with a bit of education themselves: a Board Orientation. They had the privilege of having Bob Harris, a man who has his fair share in the association and nonprofit world. He informed both new and returning board members about their roles and responsibilities of being on the AFE Board of Trustees.Afterward, the group visited Purdue’s campus. They started with Armstrong Hall, where they were able to…

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