Herman Meinders, pictured with his wife, LaDonna Meinders, donated $250,000 to the Society of American Florists. The funds will be used for marketing and education. Photo courtesy of the American Floral Endowment.
Herman Meinders, AAF, was three weeks into selling subscriptions for his new wire service, American Floral Services, and was ready to give up.
“I thought ‘You know, I think I made a mistake. I don’t think I should do this,’” Meinders says, recalling a December day nearly 51 years ago. Then he decided to check his mail. And in the mailbox was a letter from the Society of American Florists’ Executive Vice President, John H. Walker, congratulating Meinders on his new business and sending his encouragement.
“I read that letter and I had tears in my eyes,” Meinders says. “And I thought, ‘Maybe I will give it a shot.”
American Floral Services grew to be one of the largest international wire services. Meinders credits SAF for supporting not just him and his business, but also the industry. It was that support that prompted Meinders to make a $250,000 donation to SAF.
“The floral industry was very good to me,” Meinders says. “It’s important to take care of those that take care of you. That’s why I give to the floral industry.”
SAF’s board of directors will oversee the funds, which at Meinders’ request will be used to encourage careers in the floral and horticultural industries and promote the awareness and sale of cut flowers, plants and floral-related products.
“The board of directors is humbled by Herman’s generous gift, which speaks to his life-long support of the industry,” says SAF President Michelle Castellano Keeler, AAF. “This donation will go a long way to help SAF help our industry keep flowers in the forefront of consumers’ minds.”
For many in the industry, American Floral Services was more than just a wire service.
“Herman had a vision that much bigger than that,” says Chris Drummond, AAF, PFCI, SAF chairperson and a long-time friend of Meinders. “He knew that if florists were successful, AFS would be as well. It was more than just a wire service; it was a company that provided all kinds of services for retail florists.”
Marketing and recruitment havealways been important to Meinders, Drummond says, which is why Meinders requested a portion of the donation be used for those efforts.
“He sees that as a really big challenge for florists right now,” Drummond says.
Meinders started American Floral Services from a garage apartment in 1970 and had 137 florist subscribers in his first directory. Within 15 years, the service had grown to more than 17,000 subscribers. He sold the business in 1994, and in 2000 it merged with Teleflora, where Meinders, 85, is chairman emeritus.
Meinders has also helped the industry through his involvement with various SAF committees and as a trustee for the American Floral Endowment, where in 2011 he pledged $250,000 to establish the Herman and LaDonna Meinders Fund. He is the 2000 recipient of the Paul Ecke Jr. Award, and in 2012 was inducted into SAF’s Floriculture Hall of Fame.
Amanda Jedlinsky is managing editor of SAF Now.
