SAF Phoenix 2023 features an educational lineup to guide attendees in business practices to increase profitability, enhance team development and improve operations as well as time for networking with other floral professionals and suppliers.
A new holiday catalog. A much-needed overtime compensation policy. And connections to suppliers across the chain.
These are just some of the takeaways past SAF convention attendees say they implemented in their businesses by stepping away from daily operations and surrounding themselves with other people passionate about the industry.
SAF Phoenix 2023, SAF’S 138th annual convention Sept. 6-9 at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona, features an educational lineup to guide attendees in business practices to increase profitability, enhance team development and improve operations. Other sessions aim to provide insights on the latest floral forecasts including the newest varieties and design trends. And new this year, the convention offers a behind the scenes tour of progressive retailers in the Phoenix area.
Christine Guenther, owner of Wildflower in Maryland, was especially enthusiastic to incorporate the information she learned last year during the 2023 Flower Forecast session by Talmage McLaurin, AIFD (McLaurin will present his 2024 Flower Trends Forecast in Phoenix). The session not only helped her create a holiday catalog that was fresh and appealing to her customers, but it also informed designs created for a few large events during the past year.
“During my first five years in the floral industry I was reluctant to attend as there is definitely an investment of time and money to attend convention,” Guenther says. “However, the return on my investment is incalculable. The quantity and quality of educational programs was spectacular. As a retail florist, I found value in all of the sessions I attended.”
She also finds value in bringing an employee along to the convention. She brought one manager last year and is bringing a different one this year, noting that having another attendee helped convey the important information and messages of the convention back to the rest of the staff and also helped the manager feel “supercharged” and passionate about the industry.
Kristin Gilliland, president of Gardens America in Florida, also looks forward to convention to help her “recharge my batteries” and get her out of the daily grind of the business.
“Convention gives you the opportunity to step away from your business to spend time with a great group of people with positive energy who want to find ways to improve our industry,” she says.
The information she’s gleaned from educational sessions and talking with other floral professionals is invaluable, she says.
“The event pays for itself even if you only uncover one or two critical pieces of information to take home,” she says.
SAF Phoenix 2023 also includes a Supplier Expo featuring dozens of vendors including farms with fresh product, technology services, hard good products and more. Vendors are on hand to answer questions and share insights on business opportunities. That aspect was part of what Emily Duncan, of the Las Vegas store Flowers by Michelle, found most valuable about attending.
“The convention was a unique opportunity to make connections that can last for years, and to learn about all facets of the floral business from farm to retail and everything in between,” she says.
For more information and to register, click here.
Sarah Sampson is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
