A Different View of AIFD Symposium Emerge

Episode 237: In this episode, Vonda shares her unique perspective on the AIFD Symposium Emerge, held in Orlando FL while driving home. Though she didn't attend any of the programs, she was able to personally meet the designers. Vonda had the task of working behind the scenes for 10 days alongside her co-chair and partner in floral, Julie Poeltler, in a well-oiled Flower Workroom.

Vonda offers her thoughts on the event, including what went on behind the scenes and the hard work that goes into making such an event successful. Tune in to hear what Vonda has to say about this unforgettable experience!

Special thanks to my co-chair, the amazing Julie Poeltler AIFD, CFD, PFCI
As well as the fantastic behind the scene teams in the Flower Room
Processing: Laurel Hollopeter AIFD, CFD
Fresh Flower Procurement: Renee Tucci, AIFD, CFD, PFCI, Darcie Garcia AIFD, CFD, and Trish Reppert CFD

Flower Clique Sweatshirts 

Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to the Business and Pleasure of Flowers. We're your hosts, Vonda LaFever.

SPEAKER_00 0:06

And Lori Wilson, and we believe that business and fun are a perfect combination. Kind of like us, Vonda.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Hello, flower friends and family and clickers. I am so happy that you joined me today. I am in the car driving back from Orlando, Florida, where I just spent 10 days with my floral family at AIFD Symposium, the American Institute of Floral Designers National Symposium, which is held annually. And so we just finished up the time there and heading back. But before I give you a recap of some of the things that I experienced there, I want to ask you a question. How many of you have spent time behind the scenes in any type of convention or even a wholesale show where you're helping a designer or you're just slopping buckets and sweeping the floor? Okay. Many of you are shaking your head. Oh, yeah, I've done that, I've done that. Well, I think that's the most fascinating place to be in a convention, right? And many of you have no desire to do that. And I totally understand it. Throughout my floral career, starting when I was in high school, I was working behind the scenes at wholesale shows because they always needed people there. And I guess by personality, always wanted to help and to learn and grow. And that to me was one of the best places to have that happen. After many experiences in a flower room and sharing those same experiences or very similar ones with my good friend Julie Poetler, we decided that sometime we would like to be in charge of the flower room at an AIFD symposium. We've had many experiences behind the scenes there, being designer assistants, being workroom bucket sloppers, you know, cleanup people, and being designers. So we felt we had the whole overview of what went on in a flower room. We had a pretty good idea how much work went into it, how much work was involved. And we knew it was going to be a lot of work, but we always look for that next challenge. And we felt this was something we wanted to try. So about two and a half years ago, we approached Jody McLeod, who had just been appointed the coordinator for symposium, which is this year. So it's like, you know, it's a three-year plan for whoever is going into that position. And he's like, yes, please, yes, yes, please. If you know Jody, you know how excited he was. And so I took maybe a few months to convince Julie that that's really what we wanted to do, you know, because you're like, oh, now he said yes. Oh gosh, now we need to really start the planning. So once that was all done, we were ready to roll. We knew that the first thing had to be get that flower room dimensions and overview and see what we needed to do. So working with Susie Costick, who works for our management company to make sure everything happens at Symposium was uh wow, I can't even tell you how hopeful that was. Working with Susie, we we had some guidelines, we had some uh specifics that we knew needed to happen. I went to Orlando, walked the facility, and was there for four hours. That was my second visit. The first visit was just a tour with the national board, but my visit was very in-depth. Took a lot of pictures, took measurements of the rooms, really got to see what we were working with. Because, as all of us know, when working on any project, knowledge is key. And not just like a glimpse of what we're doing, because this needed to be done, it needed to be done right. So, spending lots of time there, you have to figure out where the processing of flowers is going to happen. How are you gonna handle the water situation and dumping of thousands of buckets and cleaning thousands of buckets and processing three semi-loads worth of flowers, as well as you know, distributing hard goods? So we had Renee Tucci and Darcy and Trish all on that processing team. We had Bill Haddell and Jenny Billings on the hard goods team. And so all of those positions are key positions. Flower procurement is wow, uh, that's one job I'll have to say I really never want to do. But Renee and her team knocked it out of the park. Bill and Jenny, fantastic job with all their hard goods. So having the teams in place is super important. But when you're working with a certain amount of space, you know how many designers you have to fit into that area. You have to create a floor plan. I mean, who would have thought, right? Knowing how many workstations are going to be necessary, how many others will be coming in and out of the flower room to create their own designs, which we call shared space. So we need shared space for people to come in. We needed space for, gosh, where are we going to put all those flowers? You know, they're distributing them, but we have to have a place that is ready for procurement to put those flowers so they can easily see what they have and be able to pull and distribute the flowers. So all of that has to be mapped out in scale and presented to the hotel administrators. The Zophia was our person, and man, she was on it because it has to be approved for the fire marshal. You have to make sure you have enough movement. All of those things that, wow, did you ever expect you needed to know all of that? So we submitted our floor plan, that was approved, but then you have to look at the designers. And who would have thought of this? You have to look at the designers that are going to be at your function and have an idea of their personalities. Yeah, right. Because if you put a real chatty Kathy next to somebody who likes to design in silence, you're going to have a few issues in the room. So I turned that over to Julie Poultler because Miss Julie had much more of an idea of that than I did. So I was pretty good at the logistical part and the floor plan and how many square feet for each and 18-inch tables or 30-inch tables, all of that type of thing. And Julie really positioned the designers where they needed to go. Now, the other thing in such a big area is that you have people who are going to be there early and they're going to be moving out. So positioning them in such a way that when they moved out, which they had to be out the noon after the present presentation, then another designer could expand their space because they had bigger programs. So it was almost like a Rubik's Cube. So preparation was great. We came, we had to wait till they set up the tables. We built flower stands for our flower shop. Um, Teresa Callucci's husband, Bob, came and helped build those, which I had already prepped, ready to roll. So now our flower room is set up or in the process of being set up. Hard goods arrive. Bill and Jenny start distributing their hard goods. Then we have three semis of fresh flowers arriving. And I did learn something that there are 26 pallets that fit on a semi. Who would have known? And Armelini was amazing to be able to bring those semi-loads to us. They also brought the pallets with our AIFD partners product that was getting ready for the showcase. Brian from Mayash brought two trucks as well with fresh flowers and some hard goods. So we had a lot of unloading to do for two and a half days. And it was a lot of hard work with our pallet jacks back and forth. But gosh, that's when you realize who the real team players are, hands down, who are the ones that are on those pallet jacks who have never operated a pallet jack in their life, and they become proficient. Now that would be our friend Trish. I can't even tell you how well she did. 90% of the people working the pallet jacks that day, uh, maybe even higher, were women. And we were bringing them off the truck, up the freight elevator, down a long hallway, into the flower room or the supply room. Trish gets the award for the hardest worker, hands down. I mean, she ran that pallet jack, and at one time she said, Oh my gosh, I have to take a break. Well, we were just up and down, up and down, unloading our truck to the point where a few days later she said, I don't think I've ever had a bruise on the palm of my hand. And so someone said, Trish, that's from the pallet jack. That's a bruise from the pallet jack. Who would have ever thought, right? So flowers are in, and now they all have to be processed. And laurel was in the parking garage because that's where we set up to have all the buckets filled. As most of you know, when you're filling buckets, there's a lot of slapping, right? And we certainly didn't want that on the floor of a ballroom, even though it's protected with our VizQueen. It's there's a lot to worry about. The decision was made on site that buckets would be filled in the parking garage, put on pallets, and brought up for processing. So again, more more moving, more moving in the shaking. So we got those up, we started processing, and then the trash began. You've all processed flowers. You know, there's a lot of cardboard, plastic stems involved. So we had to separate the cardboard out from any trash, which was fine, no big deal, but it was all separated. All of the trash had to go in plastic bags because our little dumpsters we couldn't dump into the it was just little details, you know, little details that we really had to get down. But I could tell today when I looked at my phone, because I do have an Apple Watch, and the average steps for last week, let me just double check to make sure I'm giving you this right number. So I looked at it earlier this morning. The average number of steps we took last week, this is for a seven-day period, was 24,792. I do believe that's just shy of 11 miles per day. That Julie and I for sure did that many, and I would say there was a couple others on the team that did that. So needless to say, we didn't stop. We didn't stop. Trash all week, cardboard, helping people get what they need. And it was 95% a joy. Let me just say that. You know, there were a few instances where I mean it's just people being people, it's personalities. And if you remember just a few weeks ago, Lori and I talked about things that we needed to work on, and I tried, and it mine was I think people understand me, and I'm not making myself clear. So I really worked on that to try to be more clear so that people could understand me. Right. So it it was a little bit of a challenge just a couple of times, but you know what, you can't let any of that get in your way. You have to do the task at hand, be able to complete the responsibility you're given. And sometimes people aren't gonna like it. And that's okay as long as you're doing what you're supposed to be doing and keeping the peace as much as you can. Julie and I have been asked many times during the course of the last three days, how'd you do it? Like, oh, we just did what needed to be done. And no, that they said, no, no, no, that's not what we mean. What we mean is everybody who has come out of this flower room or have walked through this room or assisted in our ambassadors, they've all asked why does it seem not stressful in this room? Why does it seem like it's very peaceful and happy and the vibe in this room is so good. What is the difference? And we just said kindness. You know, just be kind to people. If you're kind to them, they're kind to you. If you're you're trying to help others, others will try to help you. And 85%, 90% of what uh went on in that flower room was hardworking individuals willing to do what they needed to do. And let me say, that was our ambassadors for AIFD. There were, I'm sorry to say I don't know the number of ambassadors, but I could probably drop that in the show notes. The number of ambassadors that we had that would come in to volunteer with a designer, they would come in to help backstage with the stage crew, they would make sure they were with the AIFD Foundation or assigned to one of the classrooms of the educational classes that were going on, and then had flower room duty, which means they did have to take out the trash and the cardboard and the buckets. And they were so happy and joyful and no complaints. It just made it like wow, you know, everyone was working together for the common good of the industry. So, any of you out there listening who are not AIFD members, I really strongly suggest you aspire to be an AIFD member. It's not about the glory. I mean, being an AIFD member is very prestigious. It is the only professional organization for the floral artist. And it is a floral family. The most magnificent event of the year is AIFD Symposium and the production company of Crystal Wyatt and her team, second to none, there's not better. For the show itself, for the very first time, it's one of those that you never forget. And so if you've not been to Symposium, save your money. Okay, I'm starting back up again. I was on the road and had a phone call coming in, and it was Julie Poetler, of course. It's funny how when you have that one person you work with who thinks the same as you do. You guys have that? Do you have that one person? Maybe it's a person that you're really close, flower-wise, and maybe it's another person different in a business aspect. Julia is such a good friend that when we are thinking something, we can look at each other and she'll start a sentence I'm like, I knew what she's gonna say. Or I'll start something and she'll say, I know, yes, yes. We don't even have to finish the thought. And that's why this was such a joyous week, it's the two of us working closely together. And once in a while, she would have a different idea than I did, and I'm just like, go with it, you know, and and vice versa. But having that camaraderie, that special friendship, and the same work ethic, I think that is the key. Because a lot of times you're on a committee and you need to do a task together, and you have one person that totally outworks the other, right? You have somebody who's like, I'm gonna just come up with the ideas and you're gonna do it, or somebody's gonna execute it and the other person's not. To have two people like Julie and I, who are really hard workers, and we don't expect it to be done by somebody else. And I do know the reason for this. Both of our fathers told us don't expect others to do anything you wouldn't do yourself and to lead by example. So those are two takeaways from life, I think, that have brought us so that we're so much closer together. Because we don't expect others to do it. And as Lori Wilson has said many times, if you lead, they will follow. And if you're a good leader, the sign of that is that someone's following you. And so I'm proud to say we had people following us all week. So that was a truly, truly a blessing. I'm not sure who I missed in this call out today on this podcast, but I do apologize if there was someone, because I know there were so many people who helped us through. Joyce Mason Mondheim was in the workroom with us. Chris Collum. Chris would be in his suit for national board meeting and then come back in his shorts and slop some buckets and take garbage and then get dressed up and go again. He was he was truly a trooper. And Tom came in that last day, and he helped us. Jody McShann was in the workroom kind of watching things at the table. It takes a lot of people to run an event of that magnitude. You had Jenny, Michael, Ralph, and Jody on the other side, who they were the face of the symposium on stage making presentations, you know, taking care of that side of it. You had Cameron and Andreas and Susie on the admin side, making sure things were happening that way. And then we had all the wonderful attendees who I hope and pray had a fabulous time. I mentioned that the hard goods that were being unwrapped, a lot of them were for the partner showcase. And the partner showcase is an opportunity for all sponsors of AIFD to have booth space or a table to show what they actually do, right? We know this is sponsored by such and such a farm or by Smithers Oasis or Teleflora or FTD or FlowerClick. And so that allowed us a space to be able to tell people really what FlowerClick was. And I was very fortunate that my team was able to come. So Donna Kerkovick came, who is our sales executive and was a former Flower Click member. So she knows all about our program. She does, she doesn't sell, she just shares her story. Had Lori Wilson, you know, Lori, my sidekick, Ellie was there, and then it was just a great representation of our company there to be able to answer questions and interact and was very joyful. We all had our purple flower kind of university sweatshirts or t-shirts on with the back that says flowers make people happier. So we really had that opportunity. And you know, if you're interested in something like that, you just go to flowerclickbait.com and we have the merch available for purchase. And people just they wanted our stuff because it's so cool and it so represents the industry. Our FlowerClick members were there, and it's so awesome to be able to see them face to face instead of just talking on the phone or seeing them on a Zoom. So that was going on with everything else. Now, as I'm wrapping up this wonderful event, I have to say it was uh absolute shock that I received uh An award of distinguished service to the floral industry that was presented by Tim Farrell. And I don't know who else sent in letters of recommendation for me, but it was such a surprise and so humbling. This day started out very emotional as I had to step on stage during the iconic presentations program that was given by Sharon McGukan. And I had to step on stage representing Marie Ackerman as her program, Shine, was the number one program selected. So Sharon asked me to step on stage and represent Shine and give a few thoughts behind Marie's program. So that was very hard for me, and many breakdowns in the morning thinking I'm just not worthy of this. You know, it was one of those just, oh. And then later in the day, then Julie's like, well, you know, we probably should go to the awards thing because I really hadn't planned on it. We had not attended any presentations because we were able to view them on set. I'm like, no, let's we'll just watch it from here. She goes, No, I think we should go. You go up and change. I go, no, you go up and change. You know how you do when you're having a friend. It's like, no, let me finish this. And no, she'll go. So finally, I mean, it was probably 20 minutes before the awards started. I'm up in the room and I'm like, come on up. And she goes, I didn't even know I was going to wear. She said, just wear that. Little did I know that this whole thing was planned behind my back. And she knew, Tim Farrell knew, you know, you kind of look at your friends and go, yeah, so you didn't slip at all. But more than that, my entire family came. My son Sayre and his wife Erica and the two girls. My son Tyler was not able to bring his children, but he came and then Ellie was there with her fiance Tyler. And wow, I'm just telling you, when they gave me the word, I truly had no words. I have no words. This is just what I do is it's giving back with kindness to the industry you love and all that you know. It was uh I and uh that's really what I said. This is you know what? I I don't even remember what I said. I'm sure I'll see uh it streaming somewhere. But then all my family came out. I was just so, so surprised and we had a beautiful dinner and a night together, and after the humbling experience of receiving an award and having my family come and actually being able to spend a little time with them for a lunch at the pool and a dinner together. It was it was very, very special. Then as they went home, then we were tasked with finishing our project, which is breaking down the flower room. So it's even it's actually much more fun to get it all set up and more exciting. But then you have to have a way to distribute the rest of the flowers that are not used and pack up all of the AIFD palettes of buckets and carts and products and send them for storage to Kent, Ohio, to Smithers Oasis, who so kindly holds those for us until the next year for symposium. So we had quite a few flowers left that we wanted to make something special for the staff. Whenever we'd finish the event, the staff was able to take the arrangements if the designer would let them, and they would take them and enjoy those. And oh my gosh, such happy, happy faces. So flowers truly do make people happier. So we're there in between a program. We had several designers, several ambassadors, and I said, you know what? Let's just have some fun. Let's make some bouquets, just do some hand-tied bouquets, and we'll just wrap them and put them out for the staff to be able to take. I would say within two hours, there were uh well over a hundred hand tied that were there that Julie and the students from Texas AM distributed them, some of them downstairs to workers who didn't have the opportunity to get upstairs to get their own flowers. So the students and Julie went on a little mission, gave out flowers, which was fabulous because the SAIFD students from Texas AM were able to see the joy that flowers really bring. So they took care of those and the others went for the staff that was upstairs. But a big shout out to the designers who were in that design room who helped make that happen. Because then the following day, anything that wasn't used then needed to be disposed of in a different way. And huge shout out for the whole week. Our people from Blooms did over 1,700 bouquets, and that is volunteers through the whole symposium, do the bouquets, and then they put a sleeve on them and and they have kind of a recognition of um they're from AIFD symposium, and they go to shut-ins, they went to the veterans. I don't know what else. Sometimes we do meals on wheels, assisted living, but 1,700 bouquets that our volunteers did with flowers that had been donated by our wonderful sponsor. So huge shout out to Amy and her crew. Flowers really do make people happier. So then after we have all those flowers distributed, then we have to pack up our carts, our totes that we have, supplies that we keep for the flower room, our buckets, our garbage cans, all of those supplies that you use from year to year, and you don't want to have to purchase them every year. I mean, financially we can't do that. We're um nonprofit and we just have to be smart with our money. We just have to be smart. So we got them all packed up at noon on Saturday. Our friends at Armelini came back with their semi and took 26 pallets of product back to their distribution center and they'll be shipped out and taken where they need to go from there. Thank you all for listening. Be proud to do what you do. If you're in the floral industry and listening, then you know how fabulous that is. If you're in another industry, just be happy with what you're doing. If you're happy with what you do, you really won't have to work a day in your life. It was amazing. AIFD symposium in Orlando this year, 2024. And I'll be back in Orlando in 2026, not in the flower room, but as a coordinator for Symposia. Randy Wooten, AIFD, and I will be the co-chairs for Symposium 2026. So go to California next year. Lori Novak and Frank Faisia will be your coordinators, and then be sure and mark your calendar for 2026 and come back to Orlando because I would love to be able to work at a different capacity and wow you on some amazing programs we're going to come up with. And if you have an idea, shoot it our way. So again, thanks for listening. I look forward to seeing you and working with you in any way possible. And the key to it all is be kind. Be kind to others, and it comes back at you. So love you all.

SPEAKER_00 30:07

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SPEAKER_01 30:29

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