What are the major challenges that floral professionals face today — and where are the big opportunities? What key factors in the economy are shaping consumer demand, and how can your business, no matter the industry segment, be better positioned to thrive in the future?
These are just some of the important, timely topics that Kate Penn, CEO of the Society of American Florists, will be addressing Thursday, Sept. 19, at 7:30 a.m. during the Kick-Off Breakfast of SAF Amelia Island 2019, the association’s 135th annual convention. Penn’s talk will also be broadcast live on SAF’s Facebook page.
“In my role as SAF’s CEO, I have the benefit of talking every day with some of the industry’s most intelligent, entrepreneurial and dedicated professionals,” Penn said. “The State of the Industry address gives me an opportunity to draw on those conversations, along with outside research, to help contextualize some of the critical challenges we all face — including labor shortages and rising costs — and also explore areas of untapped potential for growth.”
Penn will also discuss details of the 135-year-old trade association’s new strategic plan.
That plan, the result of a yearlong effort that included input from SAF members and nonmembers, volunteer leaders, and outside expertise from a third party, sets the association on a path to provide enhanced and new services in high-need areas, including career development, while also building on SAF’s long history of providing targeted educational programming, supporting floral professionals in their local marketing efforts and advocating for the industry in Washington, D.C.
“Our new strategic plan is the culmination of so much research and of so many substantive, thought-provoking discussions between SAF and the forward-thinking floral professionals we serve,” Penn said. “I’m very excited to share the plan and how it empowers our association to more nimbly and comprehensively respond to the specific, pressing needs of our industry.”
Mary Westbrook is the editor in chief of Floral Management.
