The January issue of PCMA’s Convene magazine highlighted SAF Palm Springs 2018 for bringing together event and retail florists, researchers, wholesalers, growers, and suppliers to Rancho Mirage, California to learn about design education best practices, floral-crown design, and more.
The floral industry has long known that special things happen at a Society of American Florists’ convention — now, PCMA, a leading national association for business events, is spreading the word, too.
The January issue of PCMA’s Convene magazine directed its spotlight on SAF’s annual event, detailing for readers the finer points behind planning the complex, multi-day gathering, including SAF’s efforts to create educational programs that speak directly to industry members’ needs. “We have consciously tried to incorporate more social-media topics, SEO and Google Analytics, so that our members can stay competitive,” explained Laura Weaver, SAF’s director of meetings and conventions. “We really wanted to have a variety of sessions that would help them out personally, as well as become better business owners and leaders.”
The story also covered some of the “can’t miss” events of SAF Palm Springs 2018, including the 50th Annual Sylvia Cup Design Competition, the industry’s longest running annual live national floral design competition, and the “Advanced Design Techniques,” a hands-on workshop that debuted at the convention last year.
“We wanted to let each attendee walk away with learning new techniques or a way of doing things,” Weaver said, “to make their business better, save time, and save money — in a short burst of time.”
Save the date: SAF Amelia Island 2019, SAF’s 135th Annual Convention, takes place September 18-21, 2019 at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island in Amelia Island, Florida.
Mary Westbrook is the editor in chief of Floral Management.
