Monthly Newsletter May 2024 Issue | |
Have You Registered Yet! Room Block, Golf Tournament, Sponsorship & Farm Tour Registrations Are All OPEN! | | |
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Fun 'N Sun registration will open at the end of May, but the following events are open for registration!
Sponsorship Opportunities: Looking for a prime opportunity to showcase your company? Look no further! Our array of sponsorships offers the perfect platform to gain exposure and elevate your brand. With opportunities starting at just $300, there's something for everyone to shine. Deadline to have your sponsorship appear in the printed Fun 'N Sun brochure is 5/22/24.
Booth/Tabletops: We only have 2 booths and 5 tabletops available. Act quickly to reserve your space today before space sells out!
Golf Tournament: Calling all golf aficionados! Get your clubs ready because our Fun 'N Sun Golf Tournament is back and better than ever. Held right on site at the prestigious Legends Golf Course, prepare to be mesmerized by the stunning vistas and challenging fairways. Tournament fees this year are $295 which includes: green fees, cart fee, range balls and lunch on the Legends Lawn. Space is limited so register today!
JUST ADDED - Farm Tours: This year's farm tour will take place at Kendall Farms and Mellano and Company. Both companies are diligently organizing an exhilarating day for all participants and eagerly anticipate your arrival. Space is limited!
Hotel Accommodations: Prepare to be pampered in style at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa, a haven of luxury nestled amidst breathtaking gardens. With a fabulous room rate of just $279 plus tax, exclusively for our attendees, get ready to experience unparalleled comfort and relaxation. Register today to secure your sleeping rooms before our block sells out!
Opening at the end of May:
Registration:
Save the Date: Mark your calendars because registration to attend the convention and hands-on classes will be opening at the end of May. Keep your eyes peeled for more details on how to secure your spot at this must-attend event! We can't wait to welcome you to what promises to be an unforgettable experience!
Hands-On Classes:
Build a Better Bouquet with Color Theory Tips and Techniques
Presented by Amy Balsters - The Floral Coach®
Artistry Unleashed: Mastering Foam-Free Centerpiece Design
Presented by Janelle Thomson of Lavenders Flowers
Fun 'N Sun Floral Convention
September 4 - 7, 2024
La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, CA
For more information visit or
Fun 'N Sun webpage or contact: Monnaie Pepin (831) 610-4826
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Last Month to Renew Your CalFlowers Membership | | |
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Renew by May 31 and continue to access benefits designed to support your floral business.
Why Renew Your Membership?
Renewing your CalFlowers membership means staying connected to a community of industry professionals and benefits that help your business succeed. As a member you gain access to:
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Exclusive Benefits: Your membership includes steeply discounted shipping rates, printing services, email marketing subscriptions, credit card processing, educational resources and more.
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Promotional Opportunities: Showcase your products and services to a broader audience through our printed and online directory, social media channels, and industry publications. Maximize your visibility and reach potential customers.
- Networking Opportunities: Connect with fellow growers, wholesalers, retailers, and service providers through our networking channels and in person events. Build valuable relationships, exchange ideas, and stay updated on the latest trends and developments.
Renewal Details
Renewing your CalFlowers membership is quick and easy. We strongly encourage members to pay online via your emailed invoice or your Member Compass on the CalFlowers website. We are hosting a weekly raffle once again this renewal period- renew today and you will automatically be entered to win! Congrats to our recent winners Star Valley Flowers, Trinity Green Corp, Ode A La Rose- Austin, Cruz Flower Wholesale, Inc., and First Step Greenhouses Inc.
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Florabundance - A Premier North American Wholesale
Flowers Supplier By: THURSD.
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Florabundance is, without a doubt, a name synonymous with exceptional quality and unmatched service provision in the wholesale floral industry. The company has carved out an impressive niche for itself over the past three decades as a premier supplier of wholesale fresh-cut flowers, foliage, garlands, wreaths, and bouquets in the U.S. and Canada. For the past thirty years, the flower enterprise has practically grown into a trusted partner for florists, floral designers, special event companies, and other professionals in the floral industry. (Florabundance President and CEO, Joost Bongaerts pictured left).
Over these years, Florabundance has steadily expanded its reach, establishing strategic partnerships not just in its California locality and the U.S. in general, but also in major flower-producing countries like Holland, Colombia, Ecuador, and others beyond. This wide network allows the company to offer its customers a consistent, year-round source of the freshest, highest-quality flowers and foliage available for whichever occasion. So, here’s Florabundance's really interesting — and inspiring — story!
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New Member Benefit: Pollen Talent Recruitment Services | | |
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CalFlowers is excited to announce our partnership with Pollen Talent. Pollen Talent is a recruitment firm specializing in the floral, logistics, and produce industries. Catering to companies of all sizes, Pollen Talent excels in filling a wide range of roles, from upper management to entry-level positions. With an extensive network and a deep understanding of these sectors, Pollen Talent connects businesses with the talent they need to thrive and grow.
CalFlowers’ members can now enjoy exclusive benefits from Pollen Talent, including:
- Industry-Specific Expertise: Access to a floral recruiting partner deeply rooted in the floral industry, understanding its unique challenges and opportunities.
- Tailored Recruitment Solutions: Customized services to meet the specific needs of CalFlowers’ members, ensuring a perfect match between employers and candidates.
- Discounted Services: Special rates on Pollen Talent's services, providing cost-effective solutions for member businesses.
- Extended-Term Recruiting Guarantees: Have confidence in the longevity and success of placements, with extended guarantees for peace of mind to CalFlowers’ members.
Testimonial:
"Pam and her team have a thorough and thoughtful process to vet and present candidates. The Pollen Talent team knows and understands our industry and works hard for their clients. We trust Pollen Talent and have found good reasons to continue using their services." - Ben Powell of Mayesh
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Details Flowers Software Publishes Results from 2024 Industry Survey | | |
Details Flowers Software, a provider of innovative software solutions for the floral industry, has released the findings of their 2024 Floral Industry Insights Survey. The comprehensive survey showcases various aspects of the floral industry, shedding light on industry standards, business operations, and valuable community resources.
The survey, conducted among floral professionals worldwide, provides a glimpse into the evolving industry. Through this data collection and analysis, Details Flowers Software has compiled key insights that offer a glimpse into the current trends and practices shaping the industry.
Among the highlights of the 2024 Industry Survey are:
- Average Pricing Among Florists
- Top Community Resources
- Business Operation Insights
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Floral Education at Its Finest, Awaits You This Summer in Historical San Antonio, Texas! | |
The Texas Floral Forum is June 21-23, featuring hands-on workshops, design presentations while you lunch and learn and a business session with significant take aways — all at the Omni La Mansión del Rio. Here’s a glimpse into what you will experience.
Come and enjoy Everything Forum for a weekend of inspiration, education, and a shared passion for turning beautiful blooms into masterpieces.
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Wedding Florals Unveiled will be a collaborative experience that celebrates the art of floristry. Andreia Muller AIFD FSMD will share how to master upselling with grace while you connect with like-minded professionals to exchange ideas and gain a fresh perspective on the evolving trends.
- At the onset of COVID-19, an act of kindness turned into a global sensation. Every day, Chris Norwood AAF AIFD PFCI brought a little happy into the homes of professional floral designers and floral enthusiasts, using Facebook LIVE to do so. This design platform grew to be one that was awaited each day. Join Norwood for a demonstration of inspired designs to elevate daily deliveries and to simply experience the phenomenon called HAPPY!
- Two hands-on workshops presented by Norwood will feature design techniques and strategies to elevate your ability and fine-tune your skills, while Muller will focus on bouquets styled for success.
- Join Vonda La Fever AIFD PFCI and Lori Wilson PFCI for a Business of Flowers session to gain a bit of history, a lot of inspiration, desirable designs, and amazing customer service knowhow!
This conference offers unparalleled networking, the opportunity to earn educational credit, expert presenters, a must-see gallery featuring products and services from the Texas Floral Education Underwriters, a taste of Texas and so much more! Hope to see you there!
Join the Texas State Florists’ Association at the Omni La Mansión del Rio for only $159 a night! Located on the historic San Antonio Riverwalk, La Mansión del Rio has a history to be shared. Make your hotel reservation now and begin planning your stay!
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Applications Open for AFE's 2024 Educational Grants! | | |
The American Floral Endowment (AFE) is now accepting applications for their 2024-2025 Educational Grants. The deadline for submission is June 1, 2024.
AFE's Educational Grants help fund wide-reaching industry learning programs that provide solutions and focus on ongoing and new educational opportunities.
The Endowment is committed to providing funding for various resources that empower the floral industry to invest in continued education. These grants provide financial assistance to support educational opportunities of all kinds, including national industry conventions, event programs, or virtual events. The grants allow AFE to collaborate with and sponsor national, state, and local association educational programs.
Working with important industry organizations including state and national nonprofits, and university programs, our funding helps current industry members, students, and young professionals expand their educational opportunities and professional development.
AFE's newest Educational Grant opportunity is the Meinders Retail Florist Education Grant, which accepted its first applications in the 2022-2023 cycle. The Meinders Grant specifically supports reduced or free registration fees to floral industry events for retail florists by providing grants or scholarships to nonprofit floral industry organizations. This grant and others like it significantly impact the industry, helping AFE make educational endeavors more accessible for all.
During the 2023-2024 cycle, AFE awarded nearly $65,000 to support 19 educational programs for organizations, universities, and industry groups that are vital to the floral industry’s advancement and success. Organizations and universities hosting industry events and programs are welcome and encouraged to apply.
Apply Online by June 1!
All requests are renewed annually, with funding dependent on the funds available.
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Member Spotlight: Southside Blooms |
Southside Blooms is a project of the 501c3 nonprofit Chicago Eco House, a non-profit social enterprise with the mission of using sustainability to alleviate poverty. They take vacant lots and turn them in to off-grid flower farms to employ youth within the community and expose them to the floral industry. Flowers that are grown on their urban farms are used in simple retail bouquet designs to lavish events and weddings in venues all over the city of Chicago.
Learn more about this vibrant in-house flower shop becoming a hub of inspiration for the community by visiting www.southsideblooms.com.
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With Mother’s Day now past, don’t forget to submit any Money Back Guarantees or claims in a timely manner. Shippers have 14 days to receive credit on late Priority or Standard Overnight shipments. And keep in mind, the earlier product claims are filed, the better your chances of favorable outcomes.
A few other reminders
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For those wanting to know who your FedEx representative is, or if you want to be contacted by FedEx, please email Chris Johnson, chris@cafgs.org, your FedEx account number and he will respond with information on your FedEx contact. It’s always a good practice to establish a relationship with your FedEx representative. They can be an asset when needed.
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You can have your shipments held at your nearby FedEx Office instead being delivered to your door. Having shipments held at your local FedEx office can help with temperature management since your boxes will be stored in a temperature-controlled office rather riding in a truck all morning. It’s also true that you can drop off your shipments at your local FedEx office. This can be an advantage for some parts of the country where having your packages standing by in FedEx office is preferable to being in a truck for hours.
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Find the latest news from FedEx here.
For those members looking for good general information on Surcharges and Claims, the following information can be helpful.
This first resource offers information regarding surcharges and fees. Keep in mind that the CalFlowers program offers members MANY surcharge and fee reductions that are significantly lower than these standard surcharges, however it’s still a good reference point and has some clear definitions on what each fee/surcharge is. If you would like a summary of your program surcharge / fee discounts and waivers, please check our website or email Chris Johnson (chris@cafgs.org) for a copy.
The second resource is very helpful when you need to file a claim for damaged or lost product. Keep in mind, a product claim is different from our Money Back Guarantee, which applies to shipping charges and is handled differently. Product claims are more involved and can be confusing, but this resource helps navigate the process.
To all our new members who are just starting with FedEx shipping, they have a helpful “Customer Training” service that is available upon request. This service offers shippers direct one-on-one assistance from FedEx covering many of the questions new shippers may have. If you are interested in signing up, please contact Chris Johnson via email: chris@cafgs.org. FedEx also has some excellent information for new shippers on their website. Visit: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/get-started.html for a good summary of what FedEx offers.
For members needing FedEx Tech Support, this phone number takes your right into the department (877) 339-2774. They can help with many tech-related issues including guidance regarding on-line shipping platforms.
We would also like to remind members to stay current with their FedEx Express shipping invoices. FedEx payment terms are 15 days. All members shipping on FedEx Express are expected to stay within the FedEx payment terms. Failure to stay current with FedEx risks your account being delinked from the program. For more information on this issue, please contact Chris Johnson, Dir of Transportation chris@cafgs.org.
To obtain your invoice details and payment options, please contact FedEx Customer Service.
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NEW: In case you missed the announcement we are now offering exclusive GLS Ground rates. Now members have the option to ship Priority or Ground when shipping on GLS. The main difference is the time of day the delivery takes place and some product guarantees. For typical floral shipments, Priority with a morning to noon delivery time is the solution. For more hardy products or hard goods, GLS Ground can be an excellent choice. No matter what service is selected, our CalFlowers GLS program is an outstanding value offering consistent on-time service.
The CalFlowers GLS program is one of our popular, most value-priced offerings, with discounts well over 70% off standard rates. GLS offers later pick-ups and earlier deliveries while providing express door-to-door services covering CA, AZ, NV, OR, WA, NM, UT, and ID. Members who want to ship on GLS must sign up in advance. It’s easy and just takes a few minutes. Please contact Chris Johnson for more details at (760) 533-5580 or chris@cafgs.org.
GLS has been very receptive to our requests for program improvements. They have added the following features to our program for members to utilize when shipping Priority.
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GLS will now honor product claims. Yes, if GLS is at fault (acts of God, not included) and the product arrives damaged, significantly late, or just missing, members now can file a claim. We highly recommend member shippers to indicate the correct Declared Value to be covered.
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GLS will credit (100%) of the shipping costs if your shipment is not delivered on the day promised. Bad weather is excluded. Members will need to request this within 48 hours at customerservice@gls-us.com.
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GLS has given our account access to a special premium team of Customer Service agents. This high-level group was designed for fast response and problem solving. Please contact Chris Johnson for access to this important resource.
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GLS has a new revamped website. Check it out at https://www.gls-us.com. Additionally, I recommend trying this handy Delivery Rates & Times Calculator to view delivery dates and estimated time of arrival.
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For our members shipping cargo on airlines, we’d like to remind you that just we had a significant update to our Alaska Air Cargo program. We are pleased to add the state of Alaska to our discounts! Now members in Alaska can ship OUTBOUND nationwide, from any major airport in Alaska (serviced by Alaska Airlines), for super discounted Express rates. Member shippers just need a CID number and to sign up with us.
Additionally, we added SEA and PDX to our program. Now the Pacific Northwest can ship to California at our highly discounted Express rates. Again, members just need a CID number and to sign-up.
Did you know Alaska Airlines is the largest airline operator out of San Diego. They have 67 daily flights to 33 non-stop destinations.
For the latest in Alaska Cargo News, Check out: https://www.alaskaaircargoconnections.com/.
Here is a handy link for commonly asked questions: https://www.alaskacargo.com/faqs
For members wanting to get in touch with our Alaska Air Cargo Regional Sales Manager, California, Mike Narowski can be reached at mike.narowski@alaskaair.com.
If you have been taking advantage of our new CalFlowers/Alaska Airlines shipping program, you know this offering really delivers when it comes to value. Our program offers EXCELLENT pricing to many areas of the country from California, Portland, Seattle and now Alaska. Check out all the program details on our website. To sign-up, contact Chris Johnson at chris@cafgs.org.
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Welcome To Our Newest CalFlowers Members
4/3/24 - 5/13/24
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