Celebrate AIFD Month: Interview with Jackie Lacey AIFD President

Episode 027: This month we are dedicating to our podcast episodes to AIFD. (The American Institute of Floral Designers) We kick off the month with an interview with president Jackie Lacey, AIFD, PFCI, AAF, CFD. He and Vonda discuss the advantages of the professionalism of AIFD accredited membership and talk about all of the exciting things symposium 2021 will have to offer in Washington DC. Lori shares her story of her 1st symposium in 2018 and the benefits, even as a non designer! 

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

Transcript

Vonda 0:00

Welcome to the business and pleasure of flowers. We're your hosts, Vonda LaFever.

Lori 0:15

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

Vonda 0:31

Lori. I am so excited to kick off the month of July as AIFD month.

Lori 0:37

Well, Vonda technically , um, June 30th, I think is next Tuesday. We're launching. But yes, I hear what you're saying because typically isn't AIFD symposium is every July, right?

Vonda 0:52

It is a Tuesday over 4th of July weekend. And usually by the 30th, I am on a plane or already at symposium getting ready. And so we're all missing that this month.

Lori 1:02

Yeah. Yeah. I can imagine. How many years do you think you've been going for it?

Vonda 1:08

I was inducted into AIFD in 1989. I've missed a few symposiums, but yeah , not a lot. Not a lot. Yeah.

Lori 1:18

Wow. Well, but this is a cool series and we talked about it shortly after we found out they canceled pretty early. They knew, and it was probably not going to work out in the summer months. It's the combination. I think of the virus and shops as far as affordability because some of them had to be closed. So I think, I think it's smart. Um , but that's when your mind started reeling and you're like, Hey, here's an idea. So what do we have coming up in this series?

Vonda 1:49

Well, first let me just say, if anybody is not familiar with AIFD, it is the American Institute of floral designers. And just to give a little history, the American Institute of floral designers was established in 1965 by a small group of leading floral designers, dedicated to recognizing and promoting the art of floral design as a professional career.

Lori 2:17

Wow. A start with a small group. And I have to say I've only been one time and that was in 2018. It was not a small group. No , no. I was very scared at the very beginning thinking what have I gotten myself into? Because you know, I'm not a designer, but it was amazing. It was absolutely amazing.

Vonda 2:39

It was, it was really amazing to have you there as well.

Lori 2:42

Yes. Yes. Well, and you're going to talk about our series, but one of the interviews we're going to do and celebrate is I'm going to interview Vonda LeFever, AIFD because you were a main stage presenter in 2018.

Vonda 3:00

2018. Thank you . We're going to see what has happened in the last couple of years after the flower shop of the future was presented.

Lori 3:09

and you and I both know it's weird. We've been seeing things. Like oh my gosh, Vonda said this two years ago.

Vonda 3:16

Yeah. It's crazy. It's crazy. So this month, we're also going to have the voice of many AIFD members and a new inductees with the question being answered. Why is AIFD important to you? And also why should someone become an accredited member of AIFD?

Lori 3:35

Yeah, no, I think that's really good. I actually get that question a lot from new flower shop owners too, Oh, they're not quite sure or they'll say I don't need, and I'm not saying every single person needs it to succeed, but I think once you listen in and realize it's so much more honestly than what I realized it was, I truly thought it is just design based. Everybody does their own thing and it's showing your stuff. And that whole time in DC, I was just amazed at the , the community among all of you. I was just in awe.

Vonda 4:16

Yeah. There really is a community, for sure. The other interview I have is with Jody McLeod , AIFD and his program was actually right before mine. You didn't get to watch it, Lori , because you were prepping with me, right. We were prepping the program. And his was discovering the art of leadership, great program on leadership.

Lori 4:37

Okay. Well, I'm excited. I'm excited . Here's one of my stories about being behind the scenes with you. Here's a memory I have. So we were working behind the scenes. My only job was, remember I did a voiceover. I was pretending I was on the phone in the back. So that was my big, my big thing. Then at the end, you thanked all of us. And we had to come out on stage. I don't even know if you know this Vonda. I somehow in the back, through that whole day I had on these like light tan, linen pants. I had a , a huge stain on my pants. Julie is like, come on, Julie's like, come on, Lori . She's pulling me. No, no, no, no. And I get out there and the whole time, I'm trying to keep my hand over that stain. So that's my memory.

Vonda 5:25

There you go. What a memory? Woo. Let's move forward with the interview I had with Jackie Lacey, who is the current president of AIFD. He's a member of AI FD but also professional floral communicators international the American Academy of florists and is a certified floral designer. So let's welcome in Jackie Hey, Jackie, it's really good to have you here with me today.

Jackie 5:55

I was really been looking to this since we first talked about it.

Vonda 6:00

So we're going to talk a lot about AIFD, which is the American Institute of floral designers. And you are so active in AIFD. Tell me a little bit about what you do for AIFD.

Jackie 6:14

Well, you happen to have personal insight on that because you were part of the membership committee. When I first joined AIFD and you know, I tell everyone from time to time when they ask why I got involved with AIFD I thought I was just helping out some friends. They said, Hey, can you join this committee? And I wanted to help suddenly I had someone that said, you know, I said for you to help us not to take over, but that's sort of the way I do things as you've seen, it's an, a personality. And if I'm going to do something, I always like to do it to the best of my ability, because I feel like then I've given it my all and I can be proud, whatever job I did.

Vonda 6:54

Yeah. And you do that well, you jump in and you get things done to perfection, and you surround yourself with people who you can pull into assist you on a job as well.

Jackie 7:04

Well, you know, part of being a good leader is also being good at delegating. You can't always do everything yourself. So you have to have a good team behind you beside you in front of you that can take care of those things that need to get done. So as a group effort, many hands make light work. I've always heard that nothing's truer than with a grassroots association like AIFD.

Vonda 7:28

Yeah, absolutely. So how long have you been an accredited member of AIFD?

Jackie 7:33

I was inducted in 2006. So , um , as of this year, I've been a accredited a member for 14 years. I did attend a couple of symposiums before that, that would mean , uh, around 17 years. I've been involved with AIFD, but it's a funny story. If I can just share real quick, I saw an ad in a magazine that said AIFD and explained a little bit about it. I had never heard of it. I had owned three shops in three different States at that time. So I just called up the headquarters and I said, who are you? And why have I not heard about you?

Vonda 8:07

Wow, that is something I hadn't heard that

Jackie 8:11

I , um, talked to Tom Shaner. Um, you know, and he was a bit dumbfounded by some of my questions, but invited me to the symposium, which just happened to be a couple months later. And I have been at every symposium since I saw that ad and 2001.

Vonda 8:29

Wow, that's a great story. I love that.

Jackie 8:33

Well, and you know , um , a lot of people talk about AIFD being your floral family. And, you know , I agree with that in a way. And in a sense we all become friends. Um, all those people that you're inducted with generally up with sort of like your college chums, your high school chums that you might be reaching out to we're in the same industry. So , um, there's a lot things that we can talk about that you don't have to explain the background to because they understand it. So we do feel a bit like their family, but I think it's even a little bit closer than that because with your family, that's just your family time. But with your AIFD family, it's family and work because so many of us work together. So I feel like that we're even closer than family

Vonda 9:19

yeah. When you're working elbow to elbow, you're just sharing everything about your life while you're working there, you laughing and crying together the whole time. It's, it's really an amazing situation when you're there working together in that flower room.

Jackie 9:33

Well, you know, in this industry, I say often that we are the brokers of emotion. People bring us their love, they're concerned, their thankfulness, whatever it might be. And they ask us to convey it to someone else in the form of flowers. So it's a very emotional industry and you do in the trenches, you're laughing and crying at some of the stupidest things sometimes that wouldn't be funny to anyone else if you're not there. And sometimes even when you try to share a story again, it makes no sense about why you laughed for half an hour afterwards, unless you were one of the people that happened to be there. So yeah, those emotions are always high. We like to keep them bare and on our shoulders or on our sleeve, as people say. But I think that's one of the things that make us good at what we do.

Vonda 10:22

And that's where the AIIFD comes in. If you ask me, cause we're taking those emotions and we're turning them into art.

Jackie 10:29

Oh, absolutely. And I often find that there are three stages that a florist go through in the beginning, you kind of tend to put things where you're told to put them, someone showed you that, or you learned it in school or studied to do that. And so you try to stick to that pattern until you suddenly, you just kinda like, you know, well, what if I just moved it over here? Or what if I did that? And so then you become a bit of a designer by moving things around. And then once you have really gotten your style down your flow, you understand the principles and elements. You've put all of the teaching behind it, which makes sense. You can see how you start to then enjoy the curve of the calla Lilly , the way that it drapes over a piece of driftwood that happens to be sitting on the shore. And you just appreciate the beauty that one single floral item can bring to you. And it just doesn't make us just smile outwardly. We smile on the inside because now we've crossed over to that floral artist. And AIFD really helps to promote that to not just the US but to the world and to set some standards for people to follow, to enjoy, not just being a floral designer, but being a floral artist

Vonda 11:42

Very well said, let's go back as the AIFD president and past membership chair, you've encouraged, mentored and celebrated the excitement of many floral from around the world, really. And you've devoted so much of your time, talent, energy to AIFD. What would you say are the benefits to AIFD accreditation?

Jackie 12:05

Well, I think it's one of those things that you have to really look at, not what AI can do for you, but what it means to you. And it's building a solid foundation. I've always found that with a solid foundation, whatever you build upon that is going to be strong forever. And that's really what AIFD does. It helps you maintain that foundation and growth. And like I said, it's amazing how many friends I have from all over the world. I mean, with social media today, we get happy birthday messages from all sorts of people in our life. When you look at those four or 5,000 friends you have on Facebook or Twitter, or , um , and you're getting messages and questions and people looking to you to help guide them through things, that's really when it becomes evident that AIFD is there to teach you those things. But then the AIFD is sort of the teacher that teaches the teachers. So then we can share that with the incredible people, artists, designers around the world that will pick up the phone and just call and say, Hey, I don't know how to do this. Can you help me out? That's really one of the benefits that AIFD brings. I have about 2000 people behind me that when I'm sitting at a table talking to a client about doing something, I'm going to look them straight in the eye and say, absolutely, we can do that. No problem whatsoever. And then I can go pick up the phone and call Vonda LaFever and say, Vonda, how did you do this? I saw it on your Facebook. Or I saw you, I do this at a program and talk about it. So you have that, but it's not just supporting you through your work efforts and, you know , teaching other people. We also try to be there as a family support and continuing education and branding and industry that is changing sometimes overnight. It seems like with social media and the way things are growing, it's amazing how the benefits that AIFD bring to you in that knowledge level creep up just at some of the weirdest times. It's like, you know, I only know that because I learned that on the AIFD stage, or I learned that being on this particular committee. So it's valuable in so many ways, but it really is more that it confirms to you that you have the knowledge in your industry, that some of those icons that you only see on magazines or on social media, because once you pass AIFD you're standing there beside them, that was one of the most earth shattering things to me. At one time, I looked in my telephone contact lists and the icons that I had followed through my career we're now friends. Wow. And that was like that aha moment. This is one of the things that it's about having that backup is invaluable.

Vonda 15:03

Yeah, totally agree. I will remember. I was actually inducted in 1989, many years ago and Kearney Burchard. I remember it. He was the membership chair at the time and he said, this is your license to learn. And I thought that was just really cool because so many people think, Oh, I'm going to be accredited member of AIFD. And I know everything now. No, now I look back on that and I think it's so true because now I'm learning from you. I'm learning from all of the AIFD members from the stage, from the back room when we're working in the flower room. But what we learn at symposium and from our friends is so true. Jackie, you know, to be able to pick up the phone and call anyone and say, Oh my gosh, I don't know how to do this. I just told somebody I could do this. And I know you've done it. I've seen you do it. Help me, help me. It's just hard to explain how much it means to a person.

Jackie 15:57

Well, if anything, when you were preparing to get your certification, the major thing it taught me was how much, I didn't know up until that point until you really look at the principles and elements and how they work together and how you can manipulate them for floral art. But not only that, it makes me a better designer for my customer and my clients, because now I can show them the beauty of maybe not using so many flowers. I have actually told clients before we have enough flowers, let me show you what we can do with these rather than just buying more. So I think that was really important learning , um , good principles and elements and how they work and apply made me a better designer, which made me a better business person

Vonda 16:45

and made you more confident.

Jackie 16:47

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And a lot of times that's what we need because we're by ourselves, we're in the shop. We don't have someone standing there saying that's the right way to do it, or that's not the right way to do it. So we need that self confidence to be instilled from the beginning. When you are presented on stage as a new inductee and you receive that pin and shake the hand of the president, and then suddenly you're standing. Like I said, right there beside everyone, because really we're all equal. We're all just AIFD members. I may be president, but I'm still just an AIFD member. I just haven't learned the word. No yet

Vonda 17:32

You just need to put in your heart and soul in everything you do, Jackie. That's why everybody loves you is that you do that. Everything you do, you do it well. And you do it with your heart.

Jackie 17:42

Well, I think that again, we've talked before, the more I can do for the industry, the better it is for me. So , um, I feel like I am working for myself by working with others to make a better industry for all. And that really comes down to I'm growing in every way.

Vonda 18:02

I think we all feel like when somebody else succeeds, we succeed.

Jackie 18:09

Oh, absolutely.

Vonda 18:10

The success of others is what I thrive on. And I think you do as well.

Jackie 18:14

Well, I know you remember when you're up there as a membership chairperson and you see all those people that you've worked with for a year or two or sometimes three or four years, get that pin a part of you just grew a little bit more.

Vonda 18:29

Oh, it did. And the tears as we're so proud of that person, we're just like, Oh yes. You know, we're just celebrating. Yeah . We've done that many a times. Haven't we? Jackie?

Jackie 18:40

Absolutley, Because that's part of , uh , again, being the AFD family, we want to see everyone succeed and grow because we , we all grow with everyone's success.

Vonda 18:50

So I'm going to ask you this question. I think maybe you've answered it a little bit, but AIFD is more than just making pretty flowers. You and I both see a lot of beautiful designs all over social media and we agree there's a lot of talented designers out there. What would you say to a floral designer who loves what they do and doesn't think they need to be part of AIFD?

Jackie 19:14

Well, like I said, I'm going to go back to the statement I made just a little while ago, that when I was preparing for the PFD test to get my accreditation for AIFD, I learned more what I didn't know, which gave me a direction that I wanted to not just go, but to grow. I saw those things presented to me as far as events and everyday flowers that, you know , wow. I want to be able to do that. I want to do modern design, like Donald Jam. I want to create that beautiful Southern charm, like Sharon McGukin, does it like no other, I want to create incredible lapel art, like Joyce Mason. Monheim, it's not just the inspiration that is shared with me. I can call them up and say, how'd you do that?

Vonda 20:03

And I want to do all those, like all of those people too . Yes.

Jackie 20:08

Well , we , uh , we feed off of each other and we see that, but I would say that more than anything else. Um , again, it gives you that self confidence to keep growing and moving forward. It gives you insight into all the possibilities that this incredible industry has to offer things that you don't even think about as far as doing a podcast or creating videos or , um, teaching at a college, you know, working with the garden centers, there are so many aspects of the industry and that sure education can move you towards in your career because everyone doesn't want to stay behind that design table in a small town, somewhere doing just flowers. Um , I think that like the flowers blue, so to we, and we have that knowledge and see what we can do. We want to see what else can we do? In addition to that,

Vonda 21:07

I think AIFD opens doors to so many people. I mean, you think of the doors that have been open just because you've been a member of AIFD.

Jackie 21:18

Absolutely. And, you know, remember when one door closes another one opens and I've found that if I can't get that door open, I'm going to look for the window and try to crawl through that way. You can't let things just close on you. And we're talking at a, at a time that we're going through enormous challenges right now, not just within our industry, but within the U S and around the world. It's an incredibly challenging time, but I've always found that if you look at that challenge, you can find opportunities for growth advancement and finding new things or new ways to do some of the things that you already do. That's AIFD. It gives you opportunities that you never even knew were there. So open the door and come through it. We're all here on the other side, waiting to help you and to push you up.

Vonda 22:10

Absolutely. Speaking of AIFD, we are not having symposium this year, and that's why we're doing this podcast, because I want everybody to have a great awareness of AIFD, but next symposium will be in Washington, D. C in 2021. Is that correct?

Jackie 22:26

That's correct.

Vonda 22:27

Okay. So why should our listeners come to AIFD symposium?

Jackie 22:31

Well, you know, really it's like that first time I saw that ad and said, what are you and why should I, why haven't I heard about you? If you've not been to an AIFD symposium, I relate it to going to the Academy for flowers. You have never seen things done the way that we teach each other during symposium. But really a lot of times it's just fun. Standing around watching people greet each other when they catch each other in the lobby. And someone you may have not seen for 15 years. It's just like you saw them yesterday. And you're right back into that same place. We've added a ton of education because education is so important and it's the way that we all continue to grow. So we're going to have education in the hallways and in various places, we've got opportunities for hands on classes. We've got an incredible lineup of designers on stage that not only will they be showing you ways to do everyday work, but , um , expanding that concept of floral art. So there's really nothing that you can't find at AIFD in one way or another. But the thing that you will find is someone there with a hand that will guide you around, we do the first timers tour to make sure everyone knows where everything is. You're going to see inductees from 2020 that didn't get the opportunity to walk across stage. That will be going on. Um , we moved several of the designers from 2020, that it puts so much work into their program, and we're prepared to go to 2021 and also enhance the line up with some new designers that are bringing in some new programming that was set up for 2021. The , um , opportunities are just a bound in every direction that you go. You know, our incredible partners will be showcasing all of their products. Um , we've got a book launch from the AIFD. Um , it looked that was going to launch in 2020. Now we'll be doing that in 2021. I mean, it really has been the last several weeks with a full blown symposium team, trying to figure out how do we make all of this work by incorporating two symposiums into one and still be able to provide everything. So I think everyone is going to be amazed at how the great team has put the lineup for 2021 together and everything that can be offered. And I'm really looking forward to it.

Vonda 24:57

Oh, I am too. I can hardly wait. And if somebody has never been to a symposium, you have to go, this would be one you wouldn't want to miss with all, that's going to be packed in here from what you're saying, Jackie.

Jackie 25:09

Oh, absolutely. And not just that, because now we've gone a year without seeing our floral family. So that's going to be crazy in itself. Just getting everyone back in to DC. We're in, we're in DC. It is always a great time. There's so much to do around there. It's , um , uh , an incredible facility, but you're right in the middle of everything. And there's going to be events that are going on outside of symposium foundation has a couple of things planned. It's the 4th of July. What better place to celebrate the 4th of July than in the nation's capital . So, yeah, absolutely . It'll be a great time. And I think that anyone that has never been think about it, reach out to us ask questions, because one of the things that is incredibly important to us that , um, even if you just come and decide, it's not for you, and I can't imagine that happening, I think that you would still walk away with, wow. I had no idea

Vonda 26:03

and I learned so much, as long as your eyes are open, you're going to learn something.

Jackie 26:08

Oh, there'll be, there'll be too much. I mean, that's one of the overwhelming things you walk away from AIFD was great notes and concepts and photographs, and you sit down and look at it. And it's like, how was the , all of that packed into one week? But like you said, we're trying to pack two symposiums into the same schedule. So it's going to be , um , it's going to be a great one, one that you don't want to miss.

Vonda 26:31

So you plan on not sleeping, is that it?

Jackie 26:33

Well, you know, as national president, you pretty much don't sleep. Anyway, you'll get this really thick notebook of where you have to be, what you have to wear, what you're going to say, who you're going to be greeting. And that goes all the way from the FFA members, which we've brought into our fold over the last couple of years. It's incredible seeing those high school students there . All of the great SAIFD students from colleges around the world, and then seeing some of those people that, you know , I spoke to Bob Gordon just a few days ago, who was president in 1971, 50 years ago. We're hoping that we'll be able to get him to symposium so that you can really see the history of our floral family and know that , um, from high school to your later years, there's a place for you, no matter where you fall in that category.

Vonda 27:28

I love it. That's so true. Well, Jackie, I appreciate the time today. It's been a great time to catch up with you. It's been a while since we've had an opportunity to do this. So I have to ask you the one question since Lori is not here. Our last question of the podcast every time is what is giving you life right now?

Jackie 27:48

You know, I know this might sound hokey, but the answer is going to be fresh air and being outside, I happened to be lucky enough to live in Florida. So we do have incredible weather most of the time, but even when it's really hot, we've spent a lot of time at home over the last several months. And when I finish a meeting or when I get off of something like this, I'm going to go immediately outside and just look at what the universe has to present to me every day. I start my day with thank you for the gift of today. So I've been finding those moments during the day to walk outside and say, thank you for everything that I am so lucky to enjoy and see. So it's the outdoors. I love being outdoors, especially when you're in Florida.

Vonda 28:34

Yeah, that's great. I love that. Well, thanks again, Jackie, we'll see you at 2021. If not before,

Jackie 28:40

I hope to see you before then Vonda, it's been great as always and to all your listeners, be sure to reach out to aifd .org and you can find out all the information on the symposium for DC 2021.

Vonda 28:56

Well, what a great time with Jackie , uh, Lori, what I thought was interesting is AIFD is going to be in Washington DC . Again.

Lori 29:05

I know I heard that and that's the, the one and only time I've ever attended, it's been in DC. And one of my biggest jobs when we were there was to make the Starbucks run because, you know, Ellie designed and Julie designed, all your assistants designed except me. So I'm like, who needs Starbucks? It was like 185 degrees outside. It was so hot, the walking, you know, cause you could walk and I would get out, we were freezing in the hotel, but I would walk all way down, out to the little Starbucks on the street and get our to go order and try to make it back without the ice melting.

Vonda 29:48

So there you go.

Lori 29:52

I loved it. So I really enjoyed hearing him. He, what a , what a great voice he has too. Yeah , definitely be a podcast person.

Vonda 30:01

He could, he's got a great voice.

Lori 30:03

Yeah. Yeah. So I was writing down some stuff when I listened to this earlier this week and it really did take me back to my first experience there and how I felt. And one of the things I noticed, and I think I even said this before was you guys do greet one another? Like you're a big family. And even though people didn't know me because I was right next to you and you were holding my hand, pulling me in, they even hugged me and I just became their friend. And it was like, as if I've ever known them as, so it really put my mind at ease the first day I was there. Cause I was a little intimidated figuring out where am I going to fit here? Um , so that's one thing I noticed and I thought for me, if I was a business owner of a flower shop, I would want that community.

Vonda 30:55

Yeah. Oh the community is so strong too. And Jackie hit on that. So that was great.

Lori 31:00

Yeah. Yeah. The other thing that he hit on that I loved was you talked about the college kids that come The A&M kids that were helping us behind the scenes. And um, I learned so much you , those kids were, and they weren't kids. They're young adults, but they were so creative. So it was fun. It was fun to do that. I loved watching each one of you guys support the other person in their design. That was kind of cool. Like I understand there's competition, but there was a healthy, a healthy competition because you want everyone to succeed.

Vonda 31:38

Yes, absolutely. So your next symposium will be in Washington, DC and we'll be there as flower clique.

Lori 31:44

Yup. Yup . And maybe Vonda that I don't know, maybe I will graduate from Starbucks runner. Maybe not. Maybe that's still my gift and I'm I want to go where I am needed. So if it is Starbucks, I'll go, I don't know. So I also loved that. He talked about what he's grateful for. What's giving his, let him life and how every day he wakes up and says, thank you for the gift of today.

Jackie 32:12

And that's Jackie spirit. That is Jackie. He's always so grateful for everything. He's a wonderful man. So I look forward to meeting up with them again, but we'll be looking forward to our next AIFD Roundup for next week.

Lori 32:25

Yup. We've got a whole months worth, talk to you then. Then we have certainly enjoyed our time together today. And we look forward to being with you guys again, if you have any questions, concerns, comments, anything we would love to hear from you. You can always email lori@flowerclique.com. Also, if you enjoy our little podcast, go ahead and click that subscribe button. That's very helpful for us and you can even leave a review and we hope you join us next week.

Vonda 32:55

Yes. 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.