Sakata and AFE Announce ’40 Days of Summer Giving’
Sakata Seed America has teamed up with AFE for a “40 Days of Summer Giving” campaign in celebration of Sakata’s 40th anniversary.For 40 days – July 10 to Aug. 18 – contributions made to AFE will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Sakata up to $10,000. That means up to $20,000 to support AFE’s programs that promote and advance the floral industry!To celebrate its 40th year in North America, Sakata Seed America made a commitment to support 40 organizations in the nutrition, health and environmental sectors that aim to improve life, community and culture throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America.Thus, Sakata’s 40 Acts of Kindness initiative was born.“AFE’s dedication to the floriculture and horticulture industries through its educational programs,…
2017 AFE Fundraising Dinner: For the Love of Flowers!
AFE’s largest fundraising event of the year – the 2017 Annual Fundraising Dinner – will be held on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017 from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Breakers Resort in Palm Beach, Fla.The dinner, which is held in conjunction with the Society of American Florists’ Annual Convention, will highlight floriculture successes, honor industry champions, and bring hundreds of floral industry professionals together to raise money to support future floriculture research, programs and grants.“The Endowment is establishing great new initiatives for the industry and opening new paths to support education and industry programs,” said AFE Chairman Dwight Larimer.“Our fundraising dinner will show the importance of industry contributions and how they are used to build these much-needed programs.” Sponsorship Opportunities Available!The success…
New Website Launched for the Floral Marketing Research Fund
AFE launched an updated, newly-designed website for the Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF) at www.fmrf.org.The website has been visually improved and features easier navigation for users to access the free research reports and other FMRF news and updates. The upgraded website also provides a simpler process to submit applications (for cut flower consumer-based research) and make contributions online.Some of the free reports include:Marketing to Millennials (2017)– innovative marketing strategies and tactics to better target Generation Y consumers.Generations of Flowers Study (2016) – barriers and motivations of different generations and how they perceive, buy and use flowers and floral outlets.Funeral Directors and Flowers Report (2015) – funeral directors’ perspectives and consumer preferences on sympathy flowers, and the relationship between floral retailers…
AFE Intern Scholarships Awarded to Six Students
Six students have been selected to receive AFE internships for the March 1 deadline.Five students were awarded Vic & Margaret Ball Internships and one student was awarded a Mosmiller Internship. Each will receive scholarships after successfully completing their internships.The Vic & Margaret Ball Internship Program gives students the opportunity to train for three, four or six-month periods at a commercial production greenhouse or nursery while gaining practical floriculture/horticulture experience. Recipients are:Thomas Brumblow, University of GeorgiaThomas Brumblow – three months at Heronswood Garden in Kingston, Wash., $1,500 scholarshipBrumblow is majoring in horticulture at the University of Georgia and is a member of the Horticulture Club and the Pi Alpha Xi Honor Society for horticulture enthusiasts. He is eager to become a top…
AFE Awards 2017 Paul Ecke, Jr. Scholarship
AFE announced the recipient of the 2017 Paul Ecke, Jr. Scholarship.Kaylee South, a Ph.D. student at The Ohio State University – OARDC, was awarded a $10,000 scholarship ($5,000 for two consecutive years).“There were a record number of applications this year, which shows the growing interest and need for AFE scholarships. The high quality of students is a testament to their exceptional determination and passion, and I am confident these future leaders will help the industry progress,” said Dwight Larimer, AFE Chairman and Education Committee Chair.Kaylee SouthKaylee is pursuing her Ph.D. in agriculture and is researching botrytis in floriculture crops. Her focus is isolating bacteria that has beneficial qualities in floriculture crops that can be successfully applied to control botrytis.“I am…
PFCI Honors Bobbi Ecker-Blatchford with AFE Memorial Tribute
“So much of what AFE does is what Bobbi was all about — educate, inspire, develop new talent and promote a healthy floral industry. Bucks for Bobbi is our mission to honor Bobbi and continue her life mission.” Barbara “Bobbi” Ecker-Blatchford of Watervliet, Mich. was born on Aug. 24, 1931 and devoted her life to the floral industry. She worked at her family’s floral and greenhouse operation, Ecker’s Flowers, in Waverly, Iowa. She later started her own company, The Flora Pros., in Chicago. For 15 years, she also worked with FernTrust, Inc., a co-op made up of 13 family farms in Seville, Fla. Over the course of her 60-plus-year career, Ecker-Blatchford became a noted speaker, commentator, award-winning floral designer and consultant…
Overcoming Millennials’ Barriers for Purchasing Flowers
In the first of a series of articles detailing the results of a new study from AFE and the Floral Marketing Research Fund (FMRF), called “Marketing Tactics to Increase Millennial Floral Purchases,” major purchasing barriers for millennials and specific ways to overcome those barriers are featured.Understanding millennials’ purchasing behaviors can help you develop strategies to minimize barriers and increase profits.What are the Purchasing Barriers?Millennial consumers have several main reasons that reduce their likelihood of purchasing floral products. Most millennials surveyed do not purchase floral products due to perceptions of them being expensive, as well as their perceived short life span.Another purchasing barrier is that many millennial consumers believe floral products do not survive well in their homes due to air…