The Ultimate Guide to Promoting the Holidays on Pinterest

 By Cindy Hanauer, AFE TrusteeCEO of Grand Central Floral, LLCThe leaves are beginning to change, and you know what that means? It’s time to prepare your Pinterest boards for holiday selling!  Say what?  Yes!  You’ll be glad you started early and are prepared to use the latest in social media to market your business.Remember, Pinterest is one of the largest search engines and has the perfect audience for small businesses to stand out and promote their unique products.  So how do you show up in your customers’ feeds, encourage them to pin your pins, follow your boards and buy from you when ready?  It’s simple!  Just use these tricks of the trade:Pin as a BusinessIf you haven’t already, you’ll want…

Judges Needed!

 Join the panel of contest judges for the 2nd Annual Flower Love Video Contest!Email dchedester@afeendowment if you are interested. We need YOUR help! Volunteers are needed to be on the panel of contest judges that will determine the top 10 finalists for the 2nd Annual Flower Love Video Contest.  Judging Eligibility:Must be 18 years or olderCANNOT have submitted an entry to the 2nd Flower Love Video ContestMust be available during the judging period (December 4 – December 9, 2018)Must be willing and able to judge anywhere from 5 – 100 videos (depending on the number of entries) and agree to the time commitment to watch and score each video during the judging periodCANNOT work for an organization that has submitted an entry to the 2nd…

Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE® partner with AFE for end-of-year gift-matching challenge

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Nov.1, 2018 – Friends of the floral industry, are you ready for year two of the AFE Challenge? Smithers-Oasis/ FLORALIFE® is, once again, partnering with the American Floral Endowment (AFE) to support 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 Matching Gift AFE Challenge issued by Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE®.Now through December 31, 2018, Smithers-Oasis/FLORALIFE® will match your donations, 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!AFE is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the floral industry through scholarships, grants, and internship programs. It funds research in floriculture and environmental horticulture for the benefit…

Gus De Hertogh Memorial Tribute Established

Gus was raised in Chicago and began his career in neighboring Michigan, at Michigan State University, in 1965. Here, he worked with Dutch exporters on tackling challenges with flower bulbs. At the time, it was not yet possible to effectively control the flowering of tulips or other bulbs following overseas shipment from The Netherlands, the world’s largest producer. They began what is known as the Flower-Bulb Project, a collaborative effort between the Dutch Bulb Exporters Association and the Department of Horticulture at Michigan State University. For the next 35 years, he would continue to research flower bulbs. In 1978, Gus relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he would serve as the chairman of the Department of Horticulture Science at North…

AFE Hits the Road to PMA

Last month, AFE joined thousands of floral industry members and traveled to the Produce Marketing Association (PMA)’s 2018 Fresh Summit held in Orlando, Florida. And what a show it was!PMA’s CEO Cathy Burns presented The Forum for the Future State of the Industry, during which, she focused on technology, robotics, e-commerce and the many opportunities for the future of the industry. Burns also announced the launch of PMA’s new produce and safety certification program.The topics addressed in workshops held through the summit included transportation, global trade and other business focuses.Another topic was leading through adversity, which keynote speaker and two-time Super Bowl Champion, Peyton Manning offered his experience on. Not only was Manning’s presentation motivating, but he was also just…

AFE Appoints New Chairman and Trustees

AFE announced that Jim Daly, VP of Floralife/Smithers-Oasis has been elected to serve a two-year term as AFE Chairman.His appointment began during the AFE Annual Fundraising Dinner in Palm Springs, CA. Jim replaces Dwight Larimer of DESIGN MASTER color tool, inc. who served as Chairman for the past two years and will remain on the Board for two additional years as Past Chairman.Jim joined the AFE Board in 2012 and since that time has served on the AFE Research Committee. Most recently he has served as Chairman of the Research Committee.AFE also announced four new industry members joining their AFE Board.All will serve a three-year term and can be re-appointed for a second term. AFE Trustees are industry leaders who…

AFE and e-Gro Partner on Webinars

We have partnered with e-Gro to present webinars focusing on new findings from AFE-funded research projects. The webinars are free. They aim to better communicate the results to growers and to share how to best implement the findings. They also allow for a greater number of managers and staff to hear this information first-hand.The new AFE/e-Gro webinars will be one hour in length with time for participants to ask specific questions of the researchers. They will complement the successful webinars that e-Gro is already conducting and provide greater resources for growers.The first webinar, “New Daily Light Integral Maps and Advances in Supplemental Lighting for Ornamentals” is slated for November 2nd from Noon – 1:00 p.m. Eastern.Presenters Jim Faust, Clemson University…

5 Tips to Creating a Winning Flower Love Video

FMRF’s 2nd Annual Flower Love Video Contest launched earlier this month and is now accepting submissions through December 2. Want to make your video the best it can be? We’ve got some tips for you:1. Check out the contest rulesFirst things first, make sure you are following the rules. Unfortunately, if you break any of the rules listed in the rule guidelines, you could be disqualified. For example, remember that you CANNOT have any logos in your video (even your own!) Check the rules out before you start creating your video, so you don’t have to re-do any part of the process.2. Avoid technology mishapsIt happens. But we’re here to warn you before you make the mistake. If you shoot your video…

AFE-Funded Researchers Go Face to Face with Thrips

Sound scientific research has guided many of the flower crop production and postharvest handling practices used by growers, wholesalers, supermarkets and retail outlets today. AFE realizes that research you support must have direct value to each of you and to your companies.Assuring that research is relevant to flower production begins with making sure that researchers are familiar and see first-hand the conditions upon which their results will be used. During the first week of October, three accomplished thrips researchers accompanied me to Medellin, Colombia to visit flower farms. These researchers included JC Chong of Clemson University and Margaret Skinner and Bruce Parker of the University of Vermont.In late 2016, we also took AFE-funded Botrytis researchers to flower farms. The following…

Message from the Chairman

   It is an exciting time to be in the floral industry, and I am looking forward to serving as the AFE Chairman of the Board for the next two years.It looks like supplies have stabilized for floriculture products both in domestic and international markets. Retailers – namely, florists, supermarkets and big boxes – are doing well. Data predicts a growth of 2-3% in the near future for the ornamental market.Through industry support, AFE continues its mission to fund even more floriculture research, internships, scholarships and programs that solve industry challenges and strengthen the industry.In partnership with the Society of American Florists, AFE is now reviewing and recommending projects for funding through the Floral and Nursery Research Initiative (FNRI). SAF’s major…

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