Ensuring Tomorrow’s Leaders Have Access to Floral Education Today

The Phillip Family left a profound impact on floral design through the James and Helen Phillip Floral Design Grant, and today, their legacy is carried forward through the work of inspired floral design students at six institutions across the country.This grant directly supports floral design programs, ensuring a robust learning environment and making floral design programs more attractive to students. Bringing more students into floral design helps to both educate them on the wide range of career possibilities in our industry, and to cultivate a pool of skilled workers who can fill positions in retail flower shops or start their own businesses after graduation. AFE educational grants like these strive to educate, uplift and provide resources for the next generation…

New Salary Data Showcases the Promise of Horticulture Careers

Seed Your Future (SYF), in collaboration with theAmerican Floral Endowment (AFE) and North Carolina State University, is excited to announce the results of its comprehensive horticultural salary survey. The survey, conducted in Fall 2022, aimed to provide valuable insights into the salaries and benefits offered across various positions within the horticultural industry. AFE is releasing an additional, condensed version of the report focusing on positions within the floriculture industry. “We are thrilled to possess data that allows us to compare the salaries and benefits in floriculture with those in broader sectors of agriculture. Our objective is to share this information in order to attract a wider range of individuals to our industry, encompassing various roles from cultivation to accounting.” — Debi Chedester,…

Transitioning from Classroom to Industry – Students Prepare for Internships

Twelve exceptional students from colleges and universities around the U.S. are embarking on new professional development journeys as they begin their internships through AFE’s prestigious Vic & Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program and Mosmiller Intern Scholarship Program. These students are off to put their classroom knowledge to use as they gain important hands-on experience at production and retail operations.There is no doubt this will be a life-changing experience for each one of these students. Follow along with our interns on our social media accounts (listed below), where they will be sharing videos showcasing their experiences along the way! Past intern, Erin Sparks, shares her experience on how her internship impacted her:“I gained so much valuable experience working with professional growers…

A Look at the Next Generation of Floricultural Scientists, Educators, and Leaders

We are so pleased to announce this year’s Paul Ecke, Jr. and Altman Family Scholars! Congratulations to these incredible young professionals!These six individuals have a plethora of accomplishments in the industry and have their sights set on even further growth. AFE strives to uplift young professionals and support them as they pursue futures in our industry.  Our Paul Ecke, Jr. and Altman Family scholarships specifically help fund the education of full-time graduate students pursuing a career in horticulture or floriculture – the next generation of floricultural scientists, educators, and leaders. These scholars represent the best of the best in their fields and we are happy to highlight each of their unique experiences, passions, and accomplishments that led them to where…

2023 Paul Thomas Floriculture Production Intern of the Year Announced

2023 Paul Thomas Floriculture Production Intern of the Year AwardsRecognizing Talent and Passion from Across the NationEach year through the Vic & Margaret Ball Internship Program, AFE has the opportunity to match promising future horticulturists with top production greenhouses across the nation. These students get to see first-hand what it’s like to work at top floriculture facilities, train under industry experts, and gain insight into their future career paths. Each intern is hand-picked and placed based on their wide range of experiences, perspectives, and unique studies. Students who successfully finish their internship, including completing a written report and multiple video blogs, are eligible for our Paul Thomas Floriculture Production Intern of the Year Award. Last year, one intern stood out from…

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…

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…

Career Opportunities: Calling all Job Seekers!

AFE Career Center’s Resume Bank Provides Connections Between Candidates and Companies After the pandemic, the rules for finding a new job changed. Gone are the days of physically handing or mailing in your resume and waiting for a call about the position. Now, nearly all job search communications happen electronically. When you’re hunting for a new job, the biggest challenge is always knowing where to start, and that’s where the AFE Career Center is here to help. Find new opportunities today! We encourage all individuals interested in a career in the floral industry to upload their resumes to the AFE Career Center. With the Spring hiring season right around the corner, job seekers will benefit from being first in line…

Bring FFA to AIFD Virtual Workshop 2022 ‘Fun with Creativity’

There is an old saying that ‘if one is good, two is better!’ For five FFA Teams from across the United States, the second “Bring FFA to AIFD Virtual Workshop,” hosted by the AIFD Career Development Committee, was a day to remember. Focusing on this year’s theme of “Fun with Creativity,” Woodbury FFA (Connecticut), North Calloway FFA (Missouri), Cape Fear FFA (North Carolina), Diamond Mountain FFA (Nevada), and Chelan FFA (Washington) joined design instructors, Lisa Belisle AIFD, Lesleighan Cravens AIFD, Sharon McGukin AIFD, and Julia Marie Schmitt AIFD, on Saturday, September 24, 2022, via Zoom. Thanks to this event’s sponsors, students were able to design with tropical flowers while utilizing eco-friendly containers in unique and creative ways. The American Floral…

Inspiring and Empowering the Next Generation of the Floral Industry

Alejandra Ruelas’ Life-Changing Internship Experience at Altman Plants Internships and scholarships encourage and support the next generation of our industry. The Endowment aims to inspire the future leaders of our industry and give them hands-on experience in the field to ensure the continued growth of floriculture. One of the many opportunities provided through AFE is the Vic & Margaret Ball Intern Scholarship Program. Hear directly from one of our interns what her experience was like and how it impacted her future career goals!First, let’s share a bit about the Vic & Margaret Ball Internship – this program gives students the opportunity to gain practical floriculture/horticulture experience while training at a commercial production greenhouse or nursery. Students intern away from home for…

Get Involved with AFE

Make an Impact

Ways to Give

Volunteer With Us

Opportunities