aifd national symposium

[bill schodowski]

the aifd national symposium takes place next week in washington, dc. i am interested in comments by those who have attended in the past...or are attending this year their motivation in attending.
is it to tweak and improve their design abilities?
is it for the accreditation of being an aifd designer?
is it for industry education?
is the aifd symposium one of the last bastions for floral networking?

unfortunately, due to limited (make that no) design skills, i don't qualify in the first 2 categories.
however, i guess i'm still in the pack for the last two (education & networking).

any assistance or direction that you can give me would be appreciated.
have a great day!

bill

 

[theRKF]

Speaking of networking, Bill, are we going to see you at the CFC in Toronto this year?

Ryan

 

[bill schodowski]

here is my dilemna

Ryan,
i'd love to go and i'd love to have other's see my product. however, i'm having some difficulty getting product moved into Canada. my old company thought me a thing or two about cold chain and i believe its true. i've had preliminery discussions with a couple of area wholesalers and nothing has been finalized.
could you have somebody send me dates and details and COSTS? and i'll see what we can do.

bill

ps. if i make it up there again...there is a rule....nobody is allowed to "volunteer" me to participate in a village people skit singing ymca....
.....
....
....again!

 

[BOSS]

ps. if i make it up there again...there is a rule....nobody is allowed to "volunteer" me to participate in a village people skit singing ymca....
.....
....
....again!

OK I've got cold HARD CASH for a copy of that video, prefferably in web format, distributable...nah never mind the distribution, I'll hold it for ransom...

Anybody?

 

[Rhonda]

Bill you can come back to Maine!!

MSFGA's Fall Show in So. Portland Sept 9th & 10th!!
Don't think our group would want to see that (or maybe we would )

 

[BamaE4U]

Not going, but. . . . .

My bride (of 28 years) is going for all your reasons.
She is going for the accreditation this time and because she is Sec/Treas for the Alabama State Florists' Association, the networking is excellent.

Bill, will you be at Southern Retail?

 

[CHR]

I just want to know if Bill was the Cowboy or the Motorcycle Dude? :0

Back to the OP - have attended eight symposiums and was the chairperson of one (the words 'never again' come to mind and I'll bet rich sings that same song - LOL).

The industry education and networking have been my primary reasons although sometimes I've been there as a presenter or as part of a support team for a featured artist. I won't be attending this year due to scheduling conflicts but will definitely be there for next year's Palm Springs event.

Last bastion of national networking? For designers - yes, for retailers - no since SAF is more focused on the operational aspects of the floral business and generally appeals more to management teams.

I do see venues like FlowerChat helping to keep florists connected without leaving our businesses but nothing replaces live handshakes and hugs.

Conventions are extremely costly and could not exist without the generous underwriting done by national companies. These dollars are getting more and more scarce.

IMO they're both well worth it based on the high quality of information received.

 

[bill schodowski]

rhonda....probably not this year to maine. i have a pretty hectic month of september with my daughter getting married.

bama...thinking about southern retail. however attendance has been pretty poor the last 2 years. that one would make sense.

cathy...i was the construction worker.....
i agree with you on saf. we'll be there again this year in naples. i'll be representing my 3rd company in 6 years at saf. is that a record???
i grew up in an industry of district meetings and state and national conventions. for all intents...neither of the three are alive...or healthy anymore.
many retailers have put together their own networking groups (great lakes, midwest, 10, etc). i applaud those who keep the spirit of idea exchange alive.

my company will have representation at aifd. i don't know if i'll attend...but i'll probably be there. with my daughter's wedding fast approaching...i look for reasons to travel.....
have a great day!

bill

 

[CHR]

Gee, I miss the district and local meetings, too. Was recently explaining to one of our team members how there were design competitions almost every month and how the biggest local events drew crowds of more than 1200. Wall Street (LA Market) open house drew thousands.

Speaking of the Village People, I just happen to have a shot of an AIFD version from 1993. If you thinks it's bad, you should see the video - where at least one of them couldn't SPELL "Y M C A". :>

from left to right: Back row - Raul Ramirez, Gregg Hoppe, Phil Rulloda
Front row: David Nolin, Harvey Bresch