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New Officers and Chairmen Appointed to AFE Board

During our recent virtual Board of Trustee meeting on September 20, 2021, new Officers, Executive Committee members, and committee chairs were appointed.We are happy to recognize these individuals for their commitment to the floral industry and look forward to another successful year.New Officers: Chairman-Elect and Treasurer/Secretary Appointments Ken Young of Phoenix Flower Shops Named Chairman-ElectKen Young has been in the industry for over 40 years. He is the owner of Phoenix Flower Shops in Scottsdale, Arizona, and former SAF Director. Phoenix Flower Shops operates multiple retail locations and a wholesale division.He has served as the Treasurer/Secretary for the past two years, also serving as the Investment Committee Chairman simultaneously.  He has also served as the Chairman of the Public Relations and Development…

AFE Career Center Providing Vital Exposure for Industry Positions and Top Talent

The AFE Career Center is an industry-wide employment platform that connects floral businesses with eager job seekers. Since our launch in 2020, we have provided an intuitive space where employers can find an ideal candidate pool – offering convenient functionality to attract, screen, and manage applicants. Filling a position is easy with well over 1,000 job views/direct clicks every month! Job seekers can find numerous opportunities to advance their career with 1,917 (and counting!) LIVE jobs ready for application. Our opportunities range from internships to leadership positions and welcome applicants at all stages of their careers. Streamline the search process with job alerts, search features, resume management, and numerous career resources.From floral designers to growers, marketing, or logistics…no matter what your needs are,…

A Path to Success – Emma Lookabaugh Shares the Impact of AFE

Behind the work that the Endowment undertakes to provide for the floral industry are the moving stories of our impact. Back in 2014, a promising NC State graduate student and ornamental enthusiast was awarded the prestigious Paul Ecke Jr. Scholarship through AFE – her name was Emma Lookabaugh.Emma credited this award and the Endowment with aiding her career advancement and helping to fund her education. With these pressures alleviated, she found more time to focus on her research and take on new opportunities.Now a Technical Service Representative of Turf & Ornamentals for the Southeast United States for BASF, Emma’s dedication to the industry, investment in her education, and successes are a testament to the impact of AFE’s scholarship programs.They say,…

Pioneering a New Era of Nutritional Monitoring with Fert, Dirt, and Squirt

Figure 1. The collaborative group of greenhouse and floriculture specialists and educators, e-GRO, launched a Nutritional Monitoring of Floriculture Crops website. Pictured is the website homepage. Photo by Dr. W. Garrett Owen.Nutritional disorders are among the many challenges greenhouse growers encounter during crop production. These disorders often develop when substrate pH or soluble salts [referred to as electrical conductivity (EC)] drifts above or below optimal ranges for plant uptake. To assist greenhouse growers in addressing nutritional disorders, the collaborative group of greenhouse and floriculture specialists and educators, e-GRO, has launched a Nutritional Monitoring of Floriculture Crops website, Fert, Dirt & Squirt (Fig. 1), led by Dr. W. Garrett Owen and Dr. Brian Whipker. The Nutritional Monitoring of Floriculture Crops, sponsored…

The Endowment’s Involvement and Community Achievements at ASHS

The Endowment is pleased to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of our community of industry members. From scholarship recipients to funded research projects, AFE’s network made a splash at the ASHS conference in Denver, Colorado.Ping Yu, a recent Ph.D. graduate and one of AFE’s Young Professional Council (YPC) members, was recently awarded the Graduate Student Scholar Award.Graduate Student Scholar, Ping YuPing just graduated with her Ph.D. in horticulture from Texas A&M University and is joining the University of Florida as a postdoctoral research associate in the fall. Her Ph.D. research focused on replacing peat moss with biochar to enhance greenhouse and floriculture crop production. Her future research interests include continuing biochar research and extending her research topic to include weed…

Call for Applications: Arizona Retail Florist Education Travel Grant 2021

Arizona Retail Florist Education Travel GrantDeadline Extended to December 17th, 2021The Arizona Retail Florist Education Travel Grant was established in 2017 to assist florists from Arizona in traveling to national industry events for educational programs and to provide networking opportunities on a national level. The application deadline has been extended – apply by December 17th! The grant is open to owners, managers, and employees of traditional retail florists with a brick and mortar storefront in Arizona.Each year, one recipient will be selected by AFE’s Education Committee to receive the travel grant of up to $1,000 to help cover the cost of attending an out-of-state industry educational event.Examples of eligible opportunities include floral design schools, SAF Convention, FTD Boot Camp, Floriology Institute, Teleflora…

Requesting Input for Young Professionals Seeking Careers in Our Industry and Academia

 AFE’s Young Professionals Council (YPC) wants to hear from you!Feedback from experienced industry members is vital for AFE’s Young Professionals Council and other new graduates as they navigate their early careers and decide on a path for their futures. These surveys will provide critical insights that we will compile, summarize, and provide as a resource to young professionals interested in entering academic careers. These surveys are fully anonymous. Tell us about your career experience! Take ONE of the two 5-minute surveys below based on your current career and share with your network.  Do you have an industry career in floriculture or horticulture? Take Industry Career SurveyDo you have an academic career in floriculture or horticulture?Take Academic Career Survey About YPCAFE’s Young Professionals Council offers leadership and…

Young Professionals Experience at Cultivate’21

From left to right: Xuan(Jade) Wu – Texas A&M, Melinda Knuth – University of Florida, Yiyun Lin – The Ohio State University, Kaylee South – The Ohio State University, Erin Pfarr – Rutgers, Megan Bowman – Ball Horticultural Company and the AFE’s Board of Trustees YPC LiaisonCultivate, organized by AmericanHort, is one of the largest international horticulture industry events that attracts thousands of industry professionals and visitors from all 50 states and over 30 countries. This year, Cultivate’21 ran from Saturday, July 10 to Tuesday, July 13, 2021, in Columbus, Ohio. The American Floral Endowment was pleased to support young professionals attending the event by hosting a Young Professionals Council meetup to further encourage growth within our industry.Yiyin Lin of…

Record-breaking Amount Raised for Our 60th Anniversary Virtual Fundraising Campaign

60 Days to Raise $100,000 – Supporting another 60 years of floral industry programs, research, and resources! We are pleased to announce that a record-breaking $161,080 was raised through industry sponsorships and donations in support of the $100,000 in 60 Days Virtual Fundraising Campaign. 2021 marks the 60th Anniversary of AFE’s existence, and while an in-person event wasn’t feasible, a 60-day peer-to-peer virtual fundraising campaign was launched. With the support of 24 fundraisers (seen right) from our Board of Trustees, staff, and most devoted ambassadors, the campaign kicked off June 14th and wrapped up on August 13th. Within the first 30 days of the campaign, we surpassed our initial goal of $60,000 thanks to the quick work of our ambassadors and the generosity of our floral…

AFE’s Impact on the Industry – #AFEandMe

Industry Members Share What AFE Means to Them As a part of our 60th anniversary celebration, we launched an ongoing campaign asking the floral community to share their #AFEandMe stories with us. From long-time supporters to industry experts and students, many industry members have participated and shared how AFE has impacted them both personally and professionally. Click an image to see in full size with captions from our social media. Then use the arrows to the side to scroll through all photos. We continue to invite members to share their stories with us on an ongoing basis. You can submit your own #AFEandMe here. Share Your AFE Story with Us! #AFEandMe We want to hear from YOU! Has AFE impacted…

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