AFE Announces More Than $280,000 in Floriculture/Horticulture Research Funding

Mary HausbeckMichigan State UniversityAFE has approved more than $280,000 in floriculture/horticulture research project funding for 2014-2015 to support five continuing projects, five new projects and the Gus Poesch Research Fund.“AFE research covers expansive topics that help address and solve critical industry issues,” said Eric Nissen of Sunshine State Carnations, Inc. and AFE Production and Post-Harvest Research Committee Chairman. “These projects will all provide useful information that will enable the entire floral industry to become more productive and profitable.”The goal of all AFE research is to provide knowledge that helps the industry grow stronger and more profitable.Disease ManagementManaging Pythium Species in Floriculture Irrigation Water: Dr. Mary Hausbeck, Michigan State University, $40,000 (year one of three)Research significance: While this research is most…

AFE Trustees Get a Dose of Flower Power at UC Davis

Students in Lieth’s Flower Power class spend one session learning the art of flower arrangement. Credit: Brad Hooker, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences.While at the University of California, Davis in conjunction with their February board meeting, the AFE Board of Trustees learned a little something about flower power from the dozen or so presentations they heard from innovative industry educators.One presentation came from Professor Heiner Lieth, Ph.D., who teaches the widely popular course titled Application of the Art and Science of the Beauty and Perfection of Flowers, or “Flower Power” as the course is fondly called. With 350 students enrolled in the class this spring, every seat in the hall is filled.The course encourages students to develop an interest…

2012-2013 Annual Report Highlights AFE’s Latest Accomplishments

AFE has just released its 2012-2013 annual report.“This annual report showcases the recent exciting ways AFE has been serving all segments of the floriculture and environmental horticulture industries,” AFE Chairman Paul Bachman of Bachman’s, Inc. said. “The donors who generously support the Endowment make all of this great work possible.”2012-2013 annual report highlights include AFE’s:New Murder, Sex and Greed awareness video$243,000 in scientific research funding$127,000 in scholarships, internships and educational grantsFive new undesignated named fundsPurchasing Barriers Study for Non-Flower BuyersFloriculture InfoSearch Engine, the industry’s only free floral search engineAudited financial statementTwo new memorial tributes2012 Fundraising Dinner OverviewFriends of the Endowment recognitionDo your part to secure a strong future for the industry today by making an annual pledge or donation. A…

AFE Appoints Grower and Editor as New Trustees

Juan Carlos Gonzalez UribeAFE has appointed two new trustees: G.R.Chía SAS partner and Executive Vice President Juan Carlos Gonzalez Uribe and Laura Drotleff, editor of Greenhouse Grower magazine. Both will serve a three-year term on the AFE Board, with the option for a second term.Juan Carlos brings 31 years of experience in growing and cut flower research to AFE as partner and Executive Vice President of G.R.Chía SAS, an organization of 36 farms that grows and exports more than 30 different cut flower species in Colombia and sells more than 90 million stems annually in the U.S.The company employs more than 130 full-time agronomists, biologists and other professionals, along with a permanent team of 40 interns from Colombian universities.He will…

AFE Memorial Tribute Established for Ed and Dorothy Niklas

Ed was born into floriculture. In 1911, Ed’s father and grandfather became partners in Rahn and Herberts Greenhouses in Clackamas, which incorporated in 1922 as Clackamas Greenhouses, Inc. Ed met Dorothy in 1941 after graduating from the University of Oregon with a business degree. They were parted the next year when Ed enlisted in Officer Training School for the U.S. Marine Corps and spent the next several years in the Pacific Ocean theatre during World War II. He married Dorothy on his one stateside leave and was discharged in 1945 with the rank of Major. Eventually, the couple settled in Portland to raise a family that would grow to five children. In 1955, Ed purchased the half of Clackamas Greenhouses,…

AFE Elects New Leaders to Help Floral Industry Bloom

Gabriel BecerraAFE announced at its annual fundraising dinner on Sept. 19, 2013 the appointments of two new leaders: Gabriel Becerra as AFE’s new Chairman-Elect and Randy Tagawa as the newest Trustee.Golden Flowers’ President Gabriel Becerra begins his term as Chairman-Elect after serving as an AFE Trustee for the past seven years.“I think the Endowment is extremely fortunate that Gabriel is willing to take on this chairmanship”, current Chairman Paul Bachman said. “He is a highly-respected trustee and has had great success in helping the U.S. and Colombian floral industries work together for the common good.”Becerra has a long history of supporting the industry through committee work with the Society of American Florists (SAF), The Flower Promotion Organization (FPO), The Colombian…

Murder, Sex and Greed Make AFE’s 2013 Fundraising Dinner One to Remember

Teleflora Chairman and AFE Development Chairman Tom Butler (left) and AFE Chairman Paul Bachman (right) congratulate FTD, Inc. Executive Vice President Tom Moeller.Murder, sex and greed were on the menu for the 200-plus attendees of AFE’s 2013 fundraising dinner, held in conjunction with the Society of American Florists’ Annual Convention in Phoenix.In the animated eye-opening awareness video that debuted at the dinner, murder, sex and greed describe solutions AFE-funded research has unearthed, from controling and eliminating pests to solving breeding and genetic issues.“‘Murder’, ‘sex’ and ‘greed’ are not words normally associated with our industry – until now, and for good reason,” Charles Kremp, AFE Trustee and Public Relations Committee Chairman, said.This new video takes a bold and shocking approach to…

AFE Board Visits Vermont for University, Greenhouse Tours

AFE Board of Trustees and guests at the UVM Entomology Research LabVermont is perhaps best known for maple syrup and vivid autumns, but could bubbles be next? The AFE Board of Trustees viewed a demonstration of an innovative bubble insulation system for greenhouses on their July 24-26 visit to Burlington, Vt., where they also toured the University of Vermont (UVM) Entomology Research Lab and Claussen’s Florist & Greenhouse.The bubble project is part of the UVM Energy Conservation Project, which aims to increase greenhouse sustainability through energy conservation. Researchers are currently testing the bubble insulation system and a heat retention/shade curtain to reduce greenhouse energy requirements during New England’s cold winters, which should extend the length of the growing season. Claussen’s…

Ross H. Pierce Memorial Tribute Established

or send a check to:American Floral Endowmentc/o Ross Pierce Memorial Tribute610 Madison Street, Ste. 101, PMB 803Alexandria, VA 22314 All AFE contributions are tax deductible, and the family is always notified of a donation.Memorial tributes are a way to remember and honor industry members, family and friends in a special and lasting manner. A $1,000 contribution establishes a tribute. Once established, contributions can be made in any amount.

Remembering Jacob Van Namen, Floral Industry Pioneer

Jacob Van Namen, founder of Vans Floral Products and former AFE Trustee, died March 31, 2013, in Chicago. He was 90.A successful businessman from Holland, Mr. Van Namen immigrated to the United States in 1955 with his wife Rita and two sons, Jack and John. The family settled in Chicago where Mr. Van Namen worked a variety of jobs until being hired by DeBoer Wholesale Florist.By 1960, he was a partner in the business and soon assumed ownership of the company, which became known as Van’s Wholesale Florists. “Van” grew the company from a single location in the Chicago area to 12 distribution centers in six states by the 1990s. As his family grew, his sons and daughter followed in…

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