The American Floral Endowment (AFE) announces a new memorial tribute in memory of Robert (Bob) Williams II. Smithers-Oasis CEO Robin Kilbride, along with Red & Katie Kennicott of Kennicott Brothers Co., established the fund.

Robert (Bob) Williams II, AAF, PFCI, former Vice-President of North American Operations for Smithers-Oasis, passed away with his family by his side on September 27, 2021, at the age of 75. Bob was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in March 2020.

Bob was an industry champion, active volunteer leader, and business expert. He graduated with a bachelor’s in Business

Heather Waits, proprietor of Bloomtastic Florist, Columbus, OH, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Great Lakes Floral Association (GLFA). 

Elected by her peers, Waits will serve as Director of Region 8, which covers the State of Ohio.  Her term will expire in December of 2023 at which time she will be eligible to run for another term.

Her family roots run deep in the nursery business, but she found her passion in cut flowers and entrepreneurship.  Her goal is to create a floral industry that is an attractive, positive career choice for generations to come, and to educate

The Society of American Florists met for their annual convention Sept. 21-23 at Lowes Royal Pacific Resort in Orlango, FL. Industry members of all stripes reconnected with the floral community while attending educational and informational sessions relevant to the trade.

Certified American Grown (CAG), the voice of American cut flower and foliage farmers is excited to launch a platform for flower fans around the country to sign up to support the effort to pass the “American Grown Act.” The Act has been introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate and is awaiting hearing in committees allowing time for supporters to express their desire to pass the bill.

Certified American Grown is sponsoring the Act which will require the White House, State Department and Department of Defense to only display American grown flowers and foliage. The

Hoffman Nursery, Inc. has energized their team with the addition of Craig Reynolds as Operations Manager. He joined the nursery in June 2021 and works closely with David Hoffman, Senior Director of Sales and Operations, to oversee daily operations and manage production, growing, and logistics.

Hoffman Nursery is facing the same challenges many others in the industry are. Supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and new safety protocols require enormous investments of time and energy. The senior management team realized there was a role that needed to be filled, and they brought in an expert

A flower shortage is affecting local businesses, and one florist said there is a long list of reasons why.

In the spring, the owner of English Garden Florist, David Pellew, spoke about the hard time of getting product in for Mother’s Day.

Pellew said they’re still having that problem.

“This week, certain varieties of flowers we typically use all the time just weren’t there,” he said.

He said farms are having a hard time getting employees and local suppliers including himself.

“The shortage is not only in the United States we have farms down in South America and overseas and they also have