Episode 062: Marie Ackerman was an icon in the floral industry and will be greatly missed by family and friends. Today Vonda is joined by Julie Poeltler AIFD, PFCI, IMF, CFA and Tim Farrell AIFD, PFCI, AAF, who were close friends of Marie, to chat among friends and share a few stories about Marie. Marie touched so many lives, in so many ways that we truly will never know the extent of the ripple effect of her life.
Marie gave her life to the betterment of the Floral Industry. After just a few years working in a local flower shop, she joined American Floral Services in Oklahoma City, OK as the Director of Education and Special Projects, where she managed the AFS Education Center with additional responsibilities in book and magazine publishing, then went on to be the Vice President of Educational Services for Teleflora. In this position she managed the Teleflora Education Center, oversaw copy editing for two monthly publications, presented at a variety of National Design Symposia and State and National Floral shows, and developed containers for retail florists. She had many, many accolades, and you can read the full Obituary here.
We encourage you to donate to the Marie Ackerman AIFD Fund
Rest in peace, my dear friend.
The Business and Pleasure of Flowers
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Episode 062: Marie Ackerman was an icon in the floral industry and will be greatly missed by family and friends. Today Vonda is joined by Julie Poeltler AIFD, PFCI, IMF, CFA and Tim Farrell AIFD, PFCI, AAF, who were close friends of Marie, to chat among friends and share a few stories about Marie. Marie touched so many lives, in so many ways that we truly will never know the extent of the ripple effect of her life.
Marie gave her life to the betterment of the Floral Industry. After just a few years working in a local flower shop, she joined American Floral Services in Oklahoma City, OK as the Director of Education and Special Projects, where she managed the AFS Education Center with additional responsibilities in book and magazine publishing, then went on to be the Vice President of Educational Services for Teleflora. In this position she managed the Teleflora Education Center, oversaw copy editing for two monthly publications, presented at a variety of National Design Symposia and State and National Floral shows, and developed containers for retail florists. She had many, many accolades, and you can read the full Obituary here.
We encourage you to donate to the Marie Ackerman AIFD Fund
Rest in peace, my dear friend.
The Business and Pleasure of Flowers
Join our Podcast Group on Facebook
Flower Clique
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist
He was very good at making sure everybody in the table was included in conversations. There was just nobody in Leichhardt, as far as that goes and
Speaker 2:Welcome
Speaker 3:To the business and pleasure of flowers. We're your hosts
Speaker 2:And Lori Wilson. And we believe that business and Ben are a perfect combination, kind of like us, Wanda,
Speaker 3:This week, we're honoring a special friend Marie Ackerman, who is a member of the American Institute of floral designers, professional, floral communicators, international, and the American Academy of florist. She's a recipient of many awards, and we know that Marie is highly respected and there's more information on our show notes that will say that. But Marie left a legacy and I've actually brought in a couple of Marie's dearest friends to join me, just to chat among friends as we lost Marie just a little over a month ago, Julie polar is the owner of Julie's fountain of flowers in lone tree, Iowa and Tim Farrell, owner of Farrells florist in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. They're both members of the American Institute of floral designers and professional floral communicators, international, and many others. So we're just really glad that you joined me today and we all dearly miss Marie. And we know what you would want from most of us is to remember what we learned from her, right? Do you remember going into her presentations and before we would get started, she say, I'd have a piece of paper here. I want you to write down at least one thing and take it away from this presentation. Do you guys remember that?
Speaker 1:I do. Absolutely. Tim, if
Speaker 3:You had that piece of paper, is there something that you'd say, Oh, I, I would have this on that piece of paper.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I remember the very first time I saw Marie was at an SAF convention and she gave a presentation there. And the funny thing was, she kind of took me by surprise cause she entered from the back of the room instead of the front. And that's one of the things she did in the opening monologue of what she had was she, she said, take a piece of paper down and write something down that you want to remember from this. And the one thing I remember having on that paper to this day was be prepared to ensure success. That was her bit of advice that I, it just stuck with me. And I've thought about almost every time I've done something professionally or given a presentation. Cause it really does make a difference.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah. Being prepared. That's the key. Right? That's what I always remember too, is just, you've gotta be prepared for the next thing. And I can't say there was one that I remember, but I'm just like, wow. They're just so many of them. I guess we could call them Maria isms. Right.
Speaker 1:Maybe.
Speaker 3:Right. Do you remember that book from SIF when we were inducted and uh,
Speaker 4:You're after I wasn't lucky, but I think Julia digitally to do yeah. Everybody from PSCI give us a word of advice. Is that the one I still haven't it's on my Ottoman in front of my couch. Then she had, um, another band around it that she quilted to slide it off as you opened it.
Speaker 3:Wow. Just all those little details. Right? She was about details. She was about details. Yes. So Julie, if you had a piece of paper in front of you and you'd been in one of Marie's classes or her presentations, what would yours say?
Speaker 4:Well, actually I was in two commentating classes back in the nineties and one in 2016, her last commentating plaques. And the one thing that I remember her saying to me was walk away 10 minutes before the program starts, walk away, be by yourself and collect all your thoughts and how you're going to start. And then you're ready, but don't have anybody in your way. Don't let anybody in that space for 10 minutes, walk outside, go in the bathroom, be by yourself for 10 minutes and then come out and go on stage. That's what she told me.
Speaker 3:Great advice. I'm going to start with just a funny memory that I have. And Julia, you are part of this as well. You and I and Marie took my daughter Ellie on spring break to Cabo there where I was five or six girls and I needed some chaperones. And so Julie and Marie joined me for that. And Marie, of course, you know, she's the motivational woman and we had lovely Easter egg hunt. We had a lot of fun with the kids cause it was over Easter. So she decided that we should take the plastic Easter eggs. And she was going to put in questions at the table to get to know a little bit more about each other. And so she made these questions and we were all just hysterically laughing. And then the tables were turned, which surprised Marie, the girl said, okay, now we're going to write down the questions for you. And that was something that I was really, it was so funny to me cause Maria isn't usually caught off guard and I thought she was kind of caught off guard on that she was tickled to death because she's like, Oh my gosh, they're going to do this. But you remember?
Speaker 4:Yeah. Oh yeah. She was like the first question. She couldn't even believe it because she got to be asked the question. That was a lot of fun. You're one of the things I remember clearly about Maria had happened on quite a few different occasions was if you're ever at a table that she was at at an industry event, that was like a mixed group of people. It wasn't people that chose also to go to, but a mixed group, they kind of got thrown together. Marie was very good at making sure everybody in the table was included in conversation. There was just nobody like her, as far as that goes. And I remember talking to her about that as the first time I experienced it and said, Hey, just to let you know how much I appreciate the fact that you did that. And she said something to me that again, kind of stuck
Speaker 1:Would be for years. And it was take care of the newbies. They're going to affect all of our tomorrows. And you know, we had probably many conversations about that over the years. And, and she said, especially with things like AI or SAF or like a telephone you'd have president's meeting, there's new people that come into this and their experience on that first time can maybe make them a leader or can make them just kind of fall away and disappear into the vast nothingness because they didn't have a good experience. They don't see any work and coming back. So, I mean, we really talked about that quite a few times over the years and I believe she was absolutely right. We need to take care of the new people and set them up for success for tomorrow.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I think everyone who's listening probably has been at a table with Marie and had that experience because you couldn't just set there. Right. I remember the first time sitting at that table with her was at a symposium and it was like, what's your favorite city?
Speaker 1:I don't
Speaker 3:Know. I'm a little girl from Iowa. This is my first symposium. I don't know, you know, San Francisco, because that's where I'm here. You know? It was one of those things that, yeah, it just takes you off guard.
Speaker 4:Oh listen. That is a Murray Ackerman trait that table, because it was always interaction. Whether it was questions in an egg, it could be it pencils, crayons, Domino's, uh, Legos. It was anything on that table that was Marie. She always made everybody with an interaction on a table. It was always something. And what Tim said, absolutely. She wanted to make sure everybody at the table talk during the table. And if you were in a room, the ballroom whose table was the loudest. So everybody was hooting and hollering. My first luncheon at AIF D who's at my table, I'm a newbie. I'm going to be inducted. There's Marie and a few other people and a dear friend that has passed away. They were at my table in the whole table ward, just roared, absolutely roared with laughter. And we were the loudest table. Always. There was always the loudest table in the room.
Speaker 1:Hey Julia, I have something to add on to that. And for those of you that numerous, she definitely had a competitive side too. Didn't she? That feature that you're talking about her table being the loudest, there was one industry functioning. We were at one time, I was not at her table, but I told everybody at our table that every once in a while we had a laugh really, really loud and crazy. She came over afterwards and said, what were you talking about? What were you talking about? Nothing happening. It was all stage, but we just did it to get under your skin. And you know, we had a good laugh about that as well.
Speaker 3:So true. That is so funny. When you took classes at the education center and that evening, there was always the competitive table thing. Remember that it was like you were in with your table and she's always like, we've got to get this, we've got to get this. And you're like, Oh, pressure on pressure. That's true. Yeah. It was fun. So I went through shine, which was Marie's program in 2012. It's one that's near and dear to our heart because Julie and I are both involved in that. Tim, I think you were behind the scenes doing something I'm sure about when that was all women on stage, right? Oh yeah. Well onstage, but maybe behind the stage at just women on stage, we couldn't have gotten in one of those white jumpsuits, I don't think. But there were a few audio clips that it was just like, Oh my gosh, just funny one. It was one of those things that Maria would come up with these three letters and it would mean something.
Speaker 5:It came to me almost like what I call a BGO it's a blinding glimpse of the obvious,
Speaker 3:A blinding glimpse of the ADI. It's a BGO I'm trying to think of another one. Um, LLP looks like pricing. She would come up with those. And those are just kind of stuck with me cause I'm like, how does she come up with those? Anyway, I don't know. Those, those things just kind of cracked me up. Like PGO anyway, um, with those eyes, you know, her big blue eyes would just sparkling when she'd do that. That's for sure. They really would be. And then she talked a lot about a mask and how so many times we put on a mask,
Speaker 5:We may take off one mask and then we're somebody else. And then we may take off another mask and wear somebody else and take off another one and yet someone again, and we've kind of in our zeal to hide from other people because we're afraid of that evaluation.
Speaker 3:I thought that was really interesting because sometimes we're all like that. Aren't we, I think she sees that in some people, I think she's studied people as much as she studied flowers. I think she really did, was interested in people and who they were and how they interact with each other. That's kind of interesting because when I was talking to Laurie who didn't know Marie, she really didn't know her, but she sat in and listened on shine with me. And she said, what I would say about Marie is that she was a beautiful designer, but number one, she was a motivational person. She was a motivational speaker. She wanted to motivate and inspire everybody around her. And I said, you hit that right on. Yeah. I think that no matter what presentation was giving, whether it was design oriented or business oriented, or even just like a sales oriented thing at SAS, she left you wanting to do better and gave you some tools to do better with that. I mean, she really did. She, you, you didn't leave those presentations lackluster at all. Now there were so many takeaways and I think that's, what's so interesting. And each person who knew Marie, I think they felt they knew her intimately, you know, because she made them feel like she was really your friend and boy that circle. And that was the other, one of the quotes is that every circle, a larger circle can be drawn and she would continue to open up her circle and make sure it included more people. And she really invited everybody to get into the industry. And when I was talking to her sister and Donna was just mentioning how there's nothing that Marie loved more was to invite people, to be in, to know and to integrate, you know, just to, to better themselves. And she was
Speaker 1:There to help them along if they stumbled. And I know Vonda, you and I had worked with her on a project down in Florida, um, for HSN. And I mean, she really did look out for everybody on that team that they were doing their thing and that they were doing it well and that they were able to do it. And she was the first one to offer help if anybody needed it.
Speaker 3:Right. She was always so busy doing things on her own, but she was never too busy to stop and give a hand with you and what you were doing. She wanted to make sure that whatever you were doing was done to perfection or it was done the way you wanted it. Not the way she wanted it necessarily. Sometimes it was, if it was, if it was like HSN, we had to have those things. Absolutely perfect. Right? Because those were going on television. There was, there was no, Oh, I want it to be this way. It had to be that way. But otherwise she would be the one to encourage you to use your own creativity it and go forward.
Speaker 1:I remember when she won the Tommy bright award at SAF, it was probably in the early two thousands. And of course for anybody, that's, that's a huge thing. It's, it's, you know, your peers and the best of the best of your peers voting to say that you are great at what you do. Of course, it was thrilled for Marie when she won that award. But to me, the most moving part was when her family came out on stage afterwards. Cause I think it was the first time that she really allowed her family to see what a big deal she was in the foreign land. I don't think she told them many stories about how much she did and how important she was. And you could just see in her face the pride of that connection when they came out and were like, Oh my gosh, we get it. Now look at all these people standing and applauding and cheering for you because you got this award. So that was really a really special time that I experienced for her at that convention. And where was that at Tim? What city was that? I can't even tell you where it was at the time of the trip. I can picture her on the stage and our family is so clearly, but I can't even tell you where that was at sure.
Speaker 3:Well that's okay. She did keep them separate. It was kind of a separate world that she didn't often let the two to mash and for you to be able to experience that was pretty cool for you to see that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Cause I think she really did dedicate so much of her life to the industry and you know, family outside the industry might not understand that. Like why are you doing this so much? So, you know, but then I think they, what
Speaker 3:An effect you had on other people as well too. And that's probably what let them realize, well, what she's doing is really great and really worthwhile and really it's validated by this award. Yeah, definitely. So let me go back to one of the designs and shine was a large Lily arrangement and it had a grid or an armature that was on the top and that was created by one owner who, Julie, you remember, Wynnona when she came into AIP symposium that year. And I think she had just gone to Murray's class. Right. And then Marie asked her to help us on the program. And she was just like, so timid. Um, what would you, how would you describe that? Wynnona is a bundle of joy, her eyes sparkle. When she, when she talks, she's just so eager to learn whatever, but we all just embraced her. And she was like our little, our little daughter and we just took her and we made her, our buddy, she was one of us. We loved her and she loved us back and she also called us moms and it was great
Speaker 5:Or Chrome. We had a lot of eager people wanting to help us. The grid that's in this particular arrangement was made by a young designer. It's her first symposium here. She's actually to a class at the education center a couple of weeks before that. And she came in and she said, can I help? And I said, yeah, make this grid here, do this thing. And so the shout out, the one owner who did the, who did the grid on that arrangement our future she's Greg.
Speaker 3:It was great. And then a few years later she was inducted in AISD and she shared the story about how she was so surprised that Marie got to put the lay on her. And that just was very touching to her. And then she instant message me on Facebook and left me a little message that said she was just so sad. Um, but because she really doubted that Marie had any idea how much impact she had on her life. And I think there's probably a lot of people who think the same and this gave a little bit more insight on how much Marie made a difference in people's lives that she didn't know. So Wynnona left the floral industry and she's in the air force is a Julie, I think so. Okay. So she writes to me, I was given a presentation last night on aircraft systems and told my mom that I bet Marie would get a kick out of me using the things she taught me to give a presentation to a room full of air force, special operations pilots. And that I wish I had my show shoes on instead of my combat boots. Isn't that just, just precious because you know, it's, it's exactly right. And the other thing she said, which I'm sure many people would echo is they no longer call him snacks. They call them Murray snacks because if you've ever been to the education center, it was like snacks all over the place. So it wasn't just a few, it was just like tons of snacks. So she said they always call them Murray snacks. Now a little things like that, that I'm sure that Marie is up there just laughing, going, Oh my gosh. You know? Yeah. When you went to a class at the education center, it was really an experience.
Speaker 1:She was like the den mother at the education center because that's, I think how most people saw her, that was her role. I think. And most people saw her in that
Speaker 3:The den mother that's really good.
Speaker 1:That's, that's, that's a tropical view for her constantly. And I've heard,
Speaker 4:He was proud of that.
Speaker 3:What I was always impressed with Tim is how clean and organized that room was the chancellor supplies. Unlike what I guess I'd been in the back room of my flower shop and I'm like, how could this be?
Speaker 1:Everything had its place
Speaker 3:Certainly did. Certainly did.
Speaker 4:If you were in a presentation with her, whether it was at the educational center or if we're at a unit president's meeting, everybody looked forward to Marie, what book are you reading now? And Marie would recommend a book
Speaker 3:That's so right. I forgot about that, Julie. He, she did it every year. You're going to president's meeting didn't she,
Speaker 4:Every presentation doesn't matter if it was at SAF at a Teleflora program, there was always a book. There was always a book that she would give you insight to. This is where I found this information. I suggest you read this book
Speaker 3:And then she had a drawing for you one, one, one year. And I was like, dang, how'd she do that?
Speaker 4:I still have it. Um, I will tell you a story that Marie helped me with my portfolio many, many years ago. I still have all every note when I would send the photos to her, she would write a note, I'd get it back. I would read, do their arrangements center, new photo. She'd make a comment. And they all, I mean, I have every one of them. So when I went to my portfolio the other day and I looked at him and some of them are, you know, you can't read them anymore because they're underneath that photo and that sort of faded. But I went to a drawer and I sort of pulled it out. And as files and every magazine, I filed like pictures from like different kinds of magazines. And it's all in, you know, mother's day or Easter or what, and I've got this file, but I also have a file of cards. And I reached in and as God as my witness, I reached in and it's this first card she ever gave me and it's the card and I read it and I go, Oh my God, I cannot believe this. This is the first one. I mean, it was like, they're not all know in order, they were just sort of stuck in a bile. And I just pull that, but what is this one? And it wasn't one of her handmade cards. It was just a card that said, um, I think it was when I was just going through the process that knowing that I needed encouragement and that was one of the first cards and I still have, I still have what a great feeling,
Speaker 3:How, when you got that, did you just kind of go,
Speaker 4:Wow. Oh my God. And then I went in and I go, okay, what if I get a second one wasn't enough. I needed a second one. The cards
Speaker 3:That she used to send were fantastic. Huh?
Speaker 4:Beautiful card got the time to make the number of cards and the detail that you put in those cards. And she did, they were just amazing pieces of this and pieces of that. It just, it was amazing what would come with those Christmas cards.
Speaker 3:You know, we all complain about not having time to do things. Don't you wonder how she had time to do that, do her quilts and all the details and all the cards she wrote and all the inspiration she gave to everyone. It was like, wow.
Speaker 4:Wow. And she was so proud of the work that you guys did for Denver, for every designer who presented. She was very proud of those efficacy. Yeah.
Speaker 3:There's just so many little details that she really made sure were in place.
Speaker 4:There's a couple
Speaker 3:Of quotes that people left on Facebook page and one was from George Mitchell, I think was really cool. And the favorite quote from Marie was strive to surpass yourself, not your competition. I thought that was really,
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And Renee Tucci, AIF D has a story to tell as well. Let's listen.
Speaker 6:A lot of memories and stories I could tell about Marie, but I'll just choose one today. And that is, uh, when I was first unit president and I went to my unit presidents meeting in California, I was just starting to come up in the Teleflora education arena. And we were so lucky that we got to have a session with Marie, where she helped all of the presidents learn how to speak in public, how to present the aspects that they were about to present. And she asked for volunteers, I don't remember what the topic was, but she wanted some people to stand up and to give an example, I tend to gravitate to situations that make me uncomfortable because I know that it equals personal growth. So before I knew it, my arm was up in the air and there was a microphone in my hand. And as I was standing up the realization of what was happening, uh, set in and complete terror set in and Murray saw it cross over my face. And she asked what happened because I was silent. And I told her that I was nervous and she proceeded to say, okay, wait a minute. And she went back to the front of the room and she pointed at someone and she said, do you want Renee to fail? And that person of course said no. And then she went a few rows back and pointed at someone else. Do you want Renee to fail? And that person said no. And she must've asked four or five more people. Do you want Renee to fail at what she's about to do? And of course, everyone genuinely said no. And to this day, I think of that. And I remember that the people in the audience want me to succeed. They don't want me to fail. And I owe that to Marie and she has had such a great impact on my life. And so many others, she will be tremendously missed and we will continue to shine on in her honor. Thank you, Marie.
Speaker 3:And she never let you really feel sorry for yourself. Did she ever tell you this one, Julie? Okay. Just put your big girl panties on just like, don't feel sorry for yourself. It's just like, you just gotta get through this, put your big girl panties on and let's go. Which I thought was always so curious. Like, Oh yeah, I didn't. I'm like you're right. Yeah. And working with her on symposium, there were probably quite a few times I've got told that maybe,
Speaker 1:Well, you work with her so closely on that Vonda. That is like one of the biggest projects in the entire industry. And I'm sure that you got to see her in a very different light than many other people did working on something with that many moving pieces and, you know, changing target constantly.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And I think both of you have worked with her on some projects, but you really realized how detailed she was, how she knew how to run a spreadsheet so well, and how she could balance a budget and balanced people. It was very few people can do what Marie could do in a project like that. And I was blessed to be able to work beside her, underneath her because I learned so much. And it was, it was great. It was, it was a great experience for sure.
Speaker 1:Well, you two made a great team. I think you complimented each other in that situation was a great symposium because of that. And I don't think people realize how young she was when she went to work at AFS. She was very, very young and really jumped into a role quickly and grew in that role very quickly to become like the editor of some major publications in the industry and as well, coordinating that whole design school aspect of it.
Speaker 3:And that was in the non-digital world.
Speaker 1:But the photography, yeah. She was in her twenties when that'll happen. Wow.
Speaker 3:Yes, she was. Yeah. It's so different now, you know, digital photography, that's really a good point, Julie, I would say so much easier. Right then so hard and editing magazines. I mean, I try to edit an email and I'm like, Oh geez. When we were doing those, I would start an email. I sent them to her. She would do a little perfection, send it back. So it was just one of those things that I knew that I needed to send it to the editor of the magazine or the email before I could send it out. It's just kind of funny, protect myself. Marie would encourage those. She met grow and to learn and stamp their own ticket and to be an AISD member.
Speaker 5:And you know, in the words of one of the greatest women educators that have ever been in the floral industry, her name was Tommy bright before my time, but I've studied her life. And I know a lot about her. She had a message and she said, each one teach one. I'd like to take a little license from Ms. Bright this morning and say each one, reach one because each of you have the power to say, Hey, how come you're not AISD?
Speaker 3:She wanted everybody to succeed. And she was there to help them. Is she the one who encouraged you to be AFD? Julie? There was several, but I went to her for help because I knew nothing about photography. And I had been to the educational center. She must have offered it to me at that time to say, if you need any help. And I just, one day I just called her up and said, Hey, I need help. And so she was there. She was the vice president of a major corporation. And she was very accessible to anybody that called her. I mean, I don't know anybody that she would put off or not take your call or try to ignore me. She really was available to help and answer questions whenever she was asked. Yes, she really was. Tim. That's really a great point because you always got a call back, right? She never pushed you off. Nope. And to carry on Murray's mission of helping others learn and grow in the floral world, the AIF foundation and Marie's family have established the Murray Ackerman AI D fund. And this is established in memory of one whose life was dedicated to inspired education. While can you think of anybody who's inspired education more than Murray boy? I certainly can't. So if you're interested in making a contribution to that, you can go to AIF D foundation.org backslash donate online, or you can simply click on the show notes below, which will take you to that website. I highly encourage you to make a contribution to this fund. So Marie's legacy of helping people achieve greatness lives on. And if you ever received a gift from her and I received so many, I'd probably have a law. Every wrapping, every card, everything was just so detailed in how you got it. When, when I did my, um, presentation with Cindy and Helen framed how proud she wasn't me with this orchid and she framed it. I mean, it was just, just this type words from Marie. She framed it on her. It wasn't in a card this time. It was framed. Now it's in my bathroom. Wow. Detailed and how proud she was me of doing that program. She'd love to let people know she was of that. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I'm just so very personal on everything that she would give you or give someone that very personal. And she meant it from her heart. I think that's the key. She was everything she did. She did from her heart. We're going to finish off the podcast with some words from Marie herself.
Speaker 2:Here we go. Everybody ready? This little light of mine. I'm going to let it shine. This little light of mine. I'm going to let it shine. This little light of mine. I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Hide it under a bushel. No, I'm going to let it shine. Hide it under a bushel. No, I'm going to let it shine. Hide it under a bushel. No, I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. So in closing, I just like to share with you a final thought because I have that opportunity to set the final thought in your mind. And basically this is it it's as AIG members, as friends of AFD, you have a great opportunity in front of you to be a torch, to be a spark, to be a candle in the dark, to be a beacon, to be a sun, to bring light and hope and flowers to everyone. I am Marie Ackerman. Now AFD go out and light the world.
Speaker 3:If this is the very first time you've joined us, we do encourage you to come back. Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoyed spending time with us because we enjoy spending time with you. If you did make sure you hit that subscribe button or add the business and pleasure of flowers to your Google morning routine or your flash briefing on Alexa, we look forward to seeing you next week. So please come back and join us and discover how a bit of knowledge and one small change in your mindset can take you to new levels in your life and business.
Speaker 2:[inaudible][inaudible].