Every other year, CalFlowers hosts its Fun 'N Sun conference, Monterey, Calif,  July 29-August 1.  During this event, the group that helps get flowers from the field to the consumer will honor floral industry visionary Yoshimi Shibata for the 2015 Distinguished Service Award.  Honorees of this award are recognized for the highest levels of leadership, strategic thinking and contributions to the floral industry.

Shibata led San Jose, Calif.-based Mt. Eden Floral Company, formerly Mt. Eden Nursery, for more than 55 years.  Founded in 1906, Mt Eden’s hallmark was its ability to adapt to change.  The company’s many notable achievements range from the innovation of cooperative flower “pools” for roses and chrysanthemums; helping create better packing and working with the air freight industry for shipping; establishing new greenhouses, breeding and propagation programs.

Mt. Eden was one of the first growers to use pre-cooled boxes for shipping, to open its own wholesale stores for vertical integration, to sell flowers to supermarkets and to fulfill orders for online floral retailers. The company was also a pioneer in purchasing imported flowers to supplement its own production and started a joint venture with the Visaflor group to import roses from Mexico for the Los Angeles Flower Market.

Shibata has served as an officer or board member for a number of floral industry organizations. CalFlowers is proud to recognize him as a leader in the industry. More details on the award can be found here.

For more information on the Fun 'N Sun event, go to http://www.cafgs.org/fun-n-sun-2015.