News
A Letter from AFE’s Outgoing Chairman, Ken Young
August 14, 2024
Dear AFE Supporters and Friends,
It has been a true honor to serve as the Endowment’s Chairman over the past two years. AFE has remained focused on our mission and continued to provide critical funding to support our industry. The past two years have been filled with many accomplishments resulting from the work of AFE’s incredible Staff and Trustees, along with unwavering support from the industry.
The Endowment reached a significant milestone in 2023, surpassing $20,000,000 in funding for research, education, scholarships, and internships to benefit our industry.
Here are just a few of the many things we have accomplished…
- Launched the Thrips & Botrytis Library, providing new valuable resources to growers which was the result of $1,500,000 in new research over five years focused on addressing these challenges.
- Established the Fred C. Gloeckner Foundation Research Fund with the largest single donation in AFE’s history and bringing the Glockner Foundation’s 60+ years of research history into the AFE family.
- Completed two successful R.I.S.E. Annual Fundraising Campaigns each exceeding our $100,000 goals and providing funding for the future of floriculture.
- Established the AFE Ambassador Award to recognize individuals, organizations, or institutions who are champions of AFE’s mission.
- Continued to develop and host our Grow Pro Webinars which have significantly expanded in registrations, live viewership, and on-demand views from our YouTube.
- Launched Sustainabloom, our new sustainability program, to benefit all segments of the industry with much-needed resources focused on enhancing sustainability efforts.
- Rebranded and launched a new AFE website focused on ensuring that visitors can easily access valuable resources and navigate the website effortlessly.
- Continued work on implementing our Strategic Plan goals and initiatives.
- Established several new named funds for education and research, including most recently, the Ken and Jean Royer Family Fund, focused specifically on providing assistance to traditional retail florists for educational opportunities.
- Transitioned our Research Coordinator from a part-time to a full-time position advancing our research program.
- Expanded participation in all of our core programs including our Young Professionals Council leading to increases in scholarship, internship, and educational grant applications.
As my term as Chairman ends, I will transition to Immediate Past Chairman and serve for the next two years on AFE’s Executive Committee. It has been a truly humbling experience to serve as Chairman, and I want to thank all those who extended warm wishes and support during my time as Chairman. A very special thank you to AFE’s dedicated staff and Trustees for their tireless work.
I look forward to working with our new Chairman, David Garcia. I am confident in his upcoming leadership of AFE; he will continue to grow the Endowment’s position as the trusted source and catalyst for floriculture advancement.
In closing, I leave you with the same challenge that I presented as I began my term as Chairman… If you are not currently supporting the Endowment, I encourage you to become more familiar with AFE’s work and consider contributing. No donation is too small, and every dollar makes a difference and helps AFE provide critical funding for the future of floriculture.
Warmest Regards
Ken Young, AAF
Phoenix Flower Shops
