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Empowering the Future Leaders of Floriculture

AFE’s Personal Leadership Course for Young ProfessionalsThe future will be led by the next generation of innovative, creative,and passionate floral professionals.At the American Floral Endowment, we know that fostering budding professionals and students will ensure that the industry continues to grow, evolve, and thrive. From January 31st – February 9th, the American Floral Endowment, in partnership with Smithers-Oasis, led a new Personal Leadership Course for Young Professionals.The course encouraged young professionals to launch into 2023 with a fresh look at their personal leadership skills. The course consisted of four sessions over the course of two weeks which explored personal leadership strengths, weaknesses, and goals. Through the course, the young professionals created both long and short-term personal development plans with measurable and trackable…

Immersed in the Floral Industry

AFE Board Meetings, Grower Tours, GLFEE + WF&FSA This month, the American Floral Endowment’s (AFE) Board of Trustees and Staff traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan, to connect with the industry by visiting with growers and attending the Great Lakes Floral and Event Expo  (GLFEE). While there, the Board held its committee and Board meetings. Following GLFEE, AFE staff and trustees continued on to Miami for WF&FSA.  Hands-On Commitment to the Industry – Board Meetings and Grower Tours Before the Expo, AFE Board members and staff met for their biannual Board and committee meetings to plan for another exciting year of AFE programs and initiatives. The Endowment’s Strategic Plan, which runs through 2025 – focuses on collaborating & partnering with the…

Newly Released! 2023 Grow Pro Webinar Series Lineup

The American Floral Endowment (AFE) has released the full lineup for the 2023 monthly Grow Pro Webinar Series. In these free webinars, nationally recognized researchers, hosts, and speakers offer ‘how-to’ advice based on AFE-funded and other research projects to help the industry navigate through ever-changing growing challenges. Since May 2021, we have hosted these webinars each month. The topics are current and offer long-term opportunities for growers to focus on increased profit, greater sustainability, and improved labor efficiency. In addition, each session features a live Q&A discussion with industry experts. The series is provided free-of-charge and open to all, thanks to our generous sponsors. In addition, each webinar is recorded and posted to our YouTube where they can be accessed 24/7. Viewers can subscribe…

Suntory Flowers Glams Up the Grammys

Suntory Flowers delivered beautiful blooms to the red carpet with Tu Bloom of Bloom Designs, Inc., the official botanical artist for the Grammys. The 65th Annual Grammy® Awards were held February 5th at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.Bloom chose rich, jewel tones inspired by Viva Magenta, the Pantone color of the year. A series of 24 large, raised planters lined the red carpet, filled with living plants beneath elevated lush, floral displays. “Senetti is the perfect plant for the magenta theme. We supplied 400 pots produced locally by Armstrong Growers,” says Delilah Onofrey, marketing director for Suntory Flowers in North America. “It was a great opportunity to showcase newer varieties – White Red Heart and Rose Glow. Tu also incorporated Rose Glow…

Uplifting Arizona Florists Through Continued Education

We are thrilled to announce the recipient of AFE’s 2023 Arizona Retail Florist Education Travel Grant – Renee’ Potter AIFD from Fred’s Flowers in Tempe, Arizona! “I am so excited to receive the Arizona Retail Florist Travel Grant! What a great opportunity AFE is providing for AZ florists to continue learning,” Renee’ said. The grant was established in 2017 to help give owners, managers, and employees of retail florists located in Arizona the opportunity to pursue continued education through national industry events. Funding for this grant originated from the defunct FTD District 8K with additional initial funding requirements coming from an Arizona floral industry member.Each year, AFE’s Education Committee selects a recipient to receive a grant of up to $1,000 to help…

Introducing Friends of Floral

Hello Floral Industry Friends,2023 is already in full swing and AFE's Board of Trustees & Staff are excitedly gearing up for a wonderful year of supporting floriculture. This year we are funding many vital floriculture resources, such as hosting a new personal leadership course for the Young Professionals Council, continuing our widely popular monthly Grow Pro Webinars, sharing the results from our Thrips & Botrytis Research Fund, and awarding over 30 Scholarships – just to name a few! All of this is possible because of the loyal support of our philanthropic donors that share AFE’s passion for the floral industry. Philanthropy is about truly caring for a specific industry and wanting to give back to ensure its future success. To better support all…

Memorial Tribute Established in Memory of Nicholas I. Paul

Being young (and perhaps idealistic), the Paul brothers decided if they were to spend their lives in the business they had inherited, they wanted to establish a more congenial working relationship among their competitors. Among many other challenges at the time, this was their mission.In 1986, Nick was instrumental in developing a trusting relationship with the company’s wholesaler partners resulting in a joint move of McCallum Sauber Florist Inc., A. Gude Sons, the Washington Florists’ Exchange, and Paul’s Wholesale Florist. Through keeping this collective together for the move, Nick was a part of preserving a 70-year tradition of doing business side-by-side. The original location of the wholesale partners on I Street in Washington D.C. had become difficult for in-person shopping…

Educational Grant Blooming at Mississippi State University

If there’s one thing we love to see, it’s our educational grants in action, educating and inspiring students. In 2022, AFE gave researchers at Mississippi State University an educational grant of $5,500 to start a cut flower garden on campus. This funding helped purchase perennial plants, gardening tools, and materials to create raised gardens with an irrigation system. MSU began work on the garden last Spring. Since then, they have installed 24 raised flower beds, established a drip irrigation system, placed weed barriers, and set up compost bins. In addition, they grew and evaluated 23 varieties of specialty-cut annual flowers as part of an experiment through the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers.  As the flowers grow, the MSU faculty have…

Memorial Tribute Established in Memory of Del Demaree

Under Del’s guidance, Syndicate was the first company to use barcode shipping to add a new level of transparency, accountability, and efficiency to the supply chain. Del also pushed Syndicate to become among the first in the industry to implement online ordering. In 1994, Syndicate began manufacturing floral preservative, Aquaplus, and floral foam, Aquafoam. Raised on farms in Michigan and then outside of Kokomo, Indiana, Del’s first taste of being an entrepreneur was when he sold chickens from the family farm door to door. During that time in the mid-’40s, Del’s father spent four days a week farming and three days on the road selling giftware to florists. It was around this time that the family business was born. During…

Memorial Tribute Established in Memory of Edward Seagroatt

Born in Troy, Ed was the son of the late Albert Seagroatt and Helen Brown Seagroatt. Ed was raised in Berlin, NY, and resided in the Capital District area all his life. He attended Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut and was a graduate of La Salle Institute in Troy, NY. Ed earned a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from the State University of New York at Farmingdale and later served in the Coast Guard. You may have driven with him in his prized 1934 Ford Cabriolet with the top down. You may have spotted him in town surprising someone with a bouquet of long-stemmed roses. Or he may have called you on your birthday, always remembering the date but too polite to mention the year. A natural optimist, Ed faced…

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