SAF 25 Phoenix AZ.

Convention: Humans interacting with humans with a common goal.

That is my definition after attending so many of them over the years. Strip away all the material things and what you get is the human need to convene with other humans. As humans we have needs so we add back in commerce, lots of flowers, beautiful settings, education, food, spirits, friendship and you get a floral convention. I did notice this time that many speakers referred to the event as “convention”, not as “the convention”.

I was not used to hearing the term used as a verb instead of a noun. I witnessed all the above at the 140th edition of Society of American Florists, latest Annual Convention. As always, the event was held at a beautiful resort where it is easy to find what you need without having to travel too far and it is easy to meet fellow attendees. SAF as an organization puts on a very professional event with great educational programs and quality topics. We heard about color trends from Esmeralda farm’s Talmage McLaurin. We learned about so many things that I will not try to explain here but some that I found memorable were.

Tim Farrell AIFD and Vonda LaFever AIFD did a wonderful job with sympathy flowers, and they even had a real coffin to demonstrate. Lenny Walker from Kennicott Bros, Jim Daly from Floralife held a great panel discussion on floral shrink. We got to hear from Kate Penn Executive Director of SAF who gave a broad overview of the year’s events. Tariffs and uncertainty are leading the way into the future and yet the mood overall is optimistic.

Professor Charlie Hall from Texas AM gave us his annual economist take on the industry and the message that I took away was, that the road is going to get bumpy, so hang on.

There was a vendor showcase where multiple vendors show off their products. The coveted Outstanding varieties competition where growers enter their best varieties to be judged against their peers. It is a great place to see all these varieties that are new in the market. FloraPrima (RosaPrima) won the Best in Show with a stunning ranunculus Maderna Dolce. (you can see all the winners at this link)

One of the most popular events is always the Silvia Cup Design Contest. Here 20 designers get two hours to design what the judges dreamed up for them. In this case it was out of this world, floral design. They all have the same tools, flowers and supplies and it is fascinating to see all the different results. SAF has a youth program called Gen-X where younger members gather to bring their energy to the business. They held a party at this convention and as usual out did themselves with life sized cardboard cutout of some of their favorite people. Details Flower Software and BloomNation were the sponsors, and I was one of those chosen.

There was an excellent guest speaker, Seb Terry, author of 100 things, who gave an inspirational talk about bucket list desires. There was a Midwest grower that stated that he cannot grow enough Marigolds to meet the demand. Think, Dios de Muertos and start planting. The attendance was about 460 attendees of which 120 were first timers. The awards ceremony held on the last night was a celebration of those that have done exceptional work over the years and are given an award to mark their place in time.

The three awards that were close to home for me were the Hall of Fame award given this year to Agusto Solano Executive Director of Asocolflores in Colombia. Agusto has been the leader of Asocolflores for many important years and a real asset for the floral industry. The other award called rising stars was given to fellow media partner Sahid Nahin of New Bloom Solutions. Designer Jacky Lacey was the recipient of the coveted Tommy Bright Award. We were given a peak at the new marketing campaign from

“That Flower Feeling” with their new tagline “Just Add Flowers” Their previous tagline was “Flowers, Self-care made easy”

This is a great program that will hopefully move the needle by getting more Americans to enjoy flowers more often. Of course, there were several discussions about the use of AI and how it is going to transform floral and just about everything else we can imagine and not imagine. While AI will bring change it will also give spammers more tools to deceive us with. The flower displays at the show were just fantastic and as I sat in the ballroom during the final dinner, I had to stop a moment to take in all of the creative work on display. I can imagine that any other industry conversation held here would die to have these masterpieces at their events. Oscar Fernandez of Rio Roses (Equiflor) was our master of ceremonies as President of SAF. His term ended at this event, and he is replaced by Lori Wheat AAF from Lafeyette Florist.

The overall vibe at this event was positive and while most said that July was really slow, they were optimistic about the coming months. I learned that Holland America Flowers based in California is closing. This is just the latest large closure on the west coast, and it is sad to see. I suggest that there will be more consolidation at all levels as the business continues to mature. Next year SAF is back in Florida on Amelia Island, and you should attend and fuel up on the energy that an event like this offers. Next up is Chrysanthemum week in Medellin Colombia where the top breeders get to show off their new varieties. I will be heading that way with my friends from Deliflor.

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