In This Issue ...

1. "NEW" 2021/2022 Membership Directory Now Online
2. AFE Accepting Applications For 2021 Scholarships 
3. 2021/2022 Dues Renewal Invoices Sent
4. Featured New Members
5. Transportation
6. New Members

Upcoming Events:

June 2021
WF&FSA 2021 Floral Distribution Conference
June 7 - 9
The Doral, Miami, Florida

June 2021
2021 Texas Floral Expo
June 25 - 27
West Galleria in Houston, TX

September 2021
World Floral Expo 2021
September 22 - 24
Jacob K. Javits
Convention Center
New York, NY

Latest Legislation
Updates:

Click Here to read the latest Legislative updates.

 CalFlowers
Social Media

Visit the CalFlowers Facebook page 

Check in for news, upcoming events, photos, and topical items.  

April
Flowers of The Month:

April’s birth flowers are the daisy and the sweet pea! By April, spring is in full swing, and these birth month flowers are ready to express its happy plans and intrigues.

THE DAISY

The daisy conveys innocence, loyal love, and purity.

Yet, the daisy is also a flower given between friends to keep a secret; the daisy means “I’ll never tell!”  

THE SWEET PEA

The other April flower is the sweet pea. With their lovely scent, sweet peas are a wonderful flower to grow.

While sweet peas may signify blissful pleasure, they are also used to say good-bye. Perhaps Shakespeare had sweet peas in mind when he wrote the immortal words: “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

Then, of course, there are the good-byes we’re glad of, such as saying so long to flies; these insects find the sweet pea’s fragrance offensive and will leave its environs in a hurry.

CalFlowers
Featured
"New Member" Spotlights

To see all of our past Featured "New Member" Spotlight stories Click Here.

Past CalFlowers Newsletters & COVID-19 Updates

Click Here to view past CalFlowers Newsletters and COVID-19 Updates, now available on our website.

CalFlowers News

"NEW" 2021/2022 Membership Directory Now Online

We are very excited to announce that the 2021/2022 CalFlowers Membership Directory is available online for the first time ever.  As a valued member of CalFlowers you can view the “New” Membership Directory by logging in to our website.  Once logged in, hover over the Membership tap (see photo above) and click on “2021-2022 Membership Directory”.  Here you can view the directory as a flipping book, download and save the directory or print the entire book.  It’s that easy!

Also, each CalFlowers member company has been mailed a hard copy of the directory which you should be receiving in the coming days if you have not already.  The directory is a valuable membership tool filled with contact information for over 860 CalFlowers members in all segments of floriculture and produce, as well as our service providers!  It also has information on floral organizations, California farm advisors and farm bureaus by county, and agricultural commissioners.

We would like to send a special shout out to all of the companies that have advertised in the 2021/2022 directory.  Please review their ads in the directory and support their businesses.  Let them know that you found them in the CalFlowers Membership Directory!

If you are interested in purchasing additional hard copy directories, please contact Lani Conklin at (831) 479-4912 ext. 2.

AFE Accepting Applications For 2021 Scholarships

Applications are now being accepted for 30 different scholarships through the American Floral Endowment (AFE). Both undergraduate and graduate students studying floriculture and horticulture are welcome and encourages to submit their applications by the May 1 deadline. 

Scholarships range from $500 to $6,000.00, all supporting students in our industry.

NEW APPLICATION FORMS!  AFE has developed separate application forms for undergraduate scholarships versus graduate scholarships. Please be sure to complete the correct application form. Failure to submit the correct application form will lead to disqualification.Scholarships are broken down into three categories:

• Scholarships for undergraduate students only.
• Scholarships for undergraduate or graduate students.
• Scholarships for graduate students only.

In 2020, the Endowment awarded more than $38,500 in scholarships.

"AFE strives to support the next generation of industry members in any way we can. One of the ways we do this is through awarding scholarships to help ease their financial burdens," said Greg Royer, Chairman of Royers Flowers & Gifts and AFE Education Committee Chair.

30 scholarships are awarded annually to assist students in pursuing a career in horticulture or floriculture. Scholarships are available for students interested in:

• Marketing/Sales
• Agribusiness
• Floral Design
• Greenhouse Production
• Ornamental Horticulture
• Integrated Pest Management
• Floriculture Research/Education
• And more!

View More Here

Click Here to view past CalFlowers / AFE Scholarship recipients.

2021/2022 Dues Renewal Invoices Sent

Your 2021/2022 membership dues renewal notification was emailed on April 1.  Make payment before June 1 to retain your member benefits, which include discounted transportation rates from FedEx, GLS, and OnTrac, your company listing in our online membership directory, an invitation to the biennial Fun 'N Sun convention, networking opportunities within the floral community, and much more.  Look for your membership renewal email with a convenient link and instructions for how to pay your dues invoice using your credit card. 

Dues Payment Address Change:
If Paying By Check Make Payment to:
California Association of Flower Growers & Shippers
10727 Paramount Boulevard, Suite 8
Downey, CA 90241

If you do not receive your dues renewal email on  April 1 or have any questions or concerns, please contact:

Lani Conklin at (831) 479-4912 ext. 2 or via email at [email protected].

(Note: To ensure that you receive the dues renewal notification emails from CalFlowers, you can whitelist [email protected] by adding it to your list of Safe Senders.  If you are not sure how to do this, please contact your company's technical support team.)

Featured New Members

Florabundance is excited to announce the unveiling of their “New” Garden Roses Direct website.

Garden roses are an important flower for retail florists and studio designers, especially wedding design.  Consistent premium quality and variety are important and that is how Garden Roses Direct started.  

All roses are greenhouse grown cultivars with a great vase life and they ship very well.  When you order a small, minimum order of 48 stems (4 bunches of 12 stems each) or more delivery is included to your store or studio door!  They are cut to order and shipped directly from the farm to ensure maximum freshness and minimum handling.  Each bunch comes with Chrysal flower preservative to keep your roses fresh.

Garden Roses Direct features all the best David Austin wedding cut flower rose varieties. The new website is filled with helpful information, photos, when to order and information on how long it takes for a flower to open.  Click Here to view their video.

The care and handling video, created by David Austin, is a great tool.  Click Here to watch “From Bud to Open Bloom”. 

Click Here to visit the Garden Roses Direct website.  Once on their site you will need to register with your basic business information to view pricing and place orders.  When you click on “shop” you can select larger quantities and even select 4 different varieties which is unique.

Your Online Floral Meetup Spot

Thursd is the online place to find stories, products and businesses by and for international professionals in floriculture.

What Thursd Believes

Thursd's mission is to be the leading platform for international professionals in floriculture and to be the world’s most popular and authoritative source for information. Showcasing companies, products, and services to help fans decide what to watch and what to follow.

Stories by and For Floriculture

On Thursd it's about businesses in floriculture and their products. With an unprecedented international audience, Thursd offers them multiple ways to be present online. Floral designers and influencers share their blogs, Thursd offers profile pages for businesses (and product pages for their products) and product placement in stories and blogs. Thursd also offers plain advertisements, banners, and complete campaigns via the Thursd website, the newsletters, and the social channels.

Everything is Connected

The content in the stories is linked to the products and companies present on the platform. When businesses and products are present on Thursd, they are connected and visible throughout the platform. Thursd shows access to products between breeders, growers, traders, and florists in a transparent way.

Get in Touch

Whether you're a floral designer, an expert on a topic related to floriculture that wants to share a story or a business that wants to promote services and products on Thursd, there are many ways for that.

Get in touch with Thursd and discover all possibilities.

Transportation

Mother’s Day is here and as many of you may know, our overnight carriers are still experiencing record volumes and are working hard to cope with the added stresses on their systems.  With these conditions, it’s a good idea to look carefully at the service level you choose when evaluating delivery time options.  Many have found that choosing a service that delivers earlier, helps to keep your customers expectations in line with the current environment.

As a reminder, new 2021 shipping rates and program information are now on the CalFlowers Members' Only website.  Members using their log-ins can access this information anytime.  Rates on FedEx, GLS, OnTrac, and airlines can all be found, as well as other handy information.  For questions or comments on any of our programs, please contact Chris Johnson for assistance at (760) 533-5580 or [email protected].

As is normally the case in April, weather can be an issue.  We recommend checking with FedEx for any Service Alerts that can affect shipping:  https://www.fedex.com/en-us/service-alerts.html.  These Service Alerts are issued daily and can be helpful in managing your expectations during inclement weather

For those that missed our announcement, FedEx has REINSTATED the Money-Back-Guarantee (MBG) for Priority Overnight and Standard Overnight.  Keep in mind our contract gives FedEx a
1-hour grace period for deliveries.  Please note that shippers must make the MBG request with FedEx no later than 15 days from the invoice date.  Requests after the 15 day time period will not be honored.

For those members wanting to reference the latest Surcharges and Fees for 2021, we have posted this information on our website or members can CLICK HERE.  You will find a handy summary of what to expect for the year.  Remember, CalFlowers members have many significant discounts off of these surcharges which add excellent value to our program.  For a list our surcharge discounts, please refer to the FedEx Program Summary on our website.

For the official FedEx Covid update click here: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/coronavirus.html 

To all of our new members who are just starting with FedEx shipping, they have a nice “Customer Training” service that is available upon request.  This service offers shippers direct one-on-one assistance from FedEx covering many of the questions new shippers may have.  If you are interested in signing up, please contact Chris Johnson [email protected]. 

FedEx also has some excellent information for new shippers on their website.  Visit: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/get-started.html for a good summary of what FedEx offers.

For qualifying members wanting to contact their local FedEx representative, feel free to contact me and I will put you in touch with the right person.  It’s always a good idea to establish a relationship with your local FedEx field representatives who can help out when you need them or have questions.  

For members needing FedEx Tech Support, this phone number takes your right into the department (877) 339-2774.  They can help with many tech related issues including guidance regarding on-line shipping platforms.

We would also like to remind members to stay current with their FedEx Express shipping invoices. FedEx payment terms are 15 days.  All members shipping on FedEx Express are expected to stay within the FedEx payment terms.  To obtain your invoice details and payment options, please contact FedEx Customer Service.

For members who wish to move PALLETIZED freight on FedEx, CalFlowers can help direct you to customized solutions and pricing.  FedEx Freight is an excellent option when your shipments call for pallets. Interested members should contact Chris Johnson at [email protected] for more information.

For Mother’s Day, GLS requests shippers to please convey box counts over and above normal shipping volumes to your Driver, Account Executive or 800 number.  These volume projections will help them make the necessary plans to deliver as expected.

The CalFlowers GLS program is one of our fastest growing, most value-priced offerings, with discounts over 70% off standard rates.  GLS offers later pick-ups and earlier deliveries while providing express door-to-door services covering CA, AZ, NV, OR, WA, NM, UT and ID.  Members who want to ship on GLS must sign up in advance. It’s easy and just takes a few minutes.  Please contact Chris Johnson for more details at (760) 533-5580 or [email protected].   

Please use the Delivery Rates & Times Calculator to view delivery dates and estimated.

The Money-Back-Guarantee is still currently suspended at GLS.  We hope this will be re-instated soon. We are monitoring the situation closely and will post updates as appropriate.

For members looking for the 2021 OnTrac program and rates, they are now available at www.cafgs.org.  Our program this year features many reductions in various surcharges that offer great value to customers.  Be sure to check out what’s new with OnTrac.

We know that OnTrac got their start in California and services every ZIP code within California, but did you know OnTrac also services seven other Western States?  OnTrac has 2-day service into WA, OR, ID, NV, UT, AZ, and CO.  And to help understand the service parameters, OnTrac has a very nice “Time and Transit Map” under Zip Tools on their website.  This handy map loaded from YOUR zip code helps you understand OnTrac’s overnight commitment areas.  To download your map, please visit: https://www.ontrac.com/servicesareas.asp.

Changes to Our Service Guarantee
The Money-Back Service Guarantee on OnTrac is still suspended.

Airlines:

In Delta Airlines news, we are working on a new promotion that promises some outstanding shipping rates across the U.S.  This new member exclusive pricing program will be extremely competitive and is coming this week.  Watch for breaking news in the days to come.

If you have been taking advantage of our new CalFlowers/Alaska Airlines shipping program, you know this offering really delivers when it comes to value.  2021 offers even greater rate reductions to many areas of the country from California, while adding a few new destinations such as Seattle, Portland and Anchorage. Check out all the program details on our website.

NOTE: Transportation Rate information and documents are viewable/downloadable as PDFs on the CalFlowers Members Only site. Please note that these documents are considered sensitive material and are available to the primary contacts for Ag Buddy, Associate Floral, Associate Grower, and Floral members.

For those members looking for airline service to Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton out of LAX and SFO, consider Air Canada Cargo.  Our discounted pricing offers good value and frequent service.  For more information on these new rates from Air Canada, visit our website or contact me anytime at [email protected].

In Airline news, for those members that missed our announcement, CalFlowers has put together a new program with JetBlue Cargo.  JetBlue offers CalFlowers members exceptional express prices out of LAX / SFO to Boston, New York, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Puerto Rico and now NEWARK (EWR). 

These new rates are some of the best that we’ve see in some time.  For more information, please contact Chris Johnson at [email protected] or Mark Friedenthal at JetBlue Cargo (310) 490-2659.

New Members

We are pleased to welcome the following new CalFlowers member from March 17, 2021 through April 15, 2021:

www.cafgs.org 

Ph. 831-479-4912 | Fax 831-479-4914