In This Issue ...

1. Memorial Day Flowers
2. Fun 'N Sun Registration is NOW OPEN!!!
3. Membership Dues
4. Featured New Member of the Month
5. Transportation Updates
6. New Members

Going Social ...

Members, please follow us on Instagram @CalifFlowers and hashtag #CalFlowers. Watch for event or news-specific hashtags. And we welcome your photos! Please share with Michael LoBue at [email protected].

Upcoming Events

AIFD 2017
July 1 -5, 2017
Seattle, WA

Fun 'N Sun
August 9 - 12, 2017 
Park Hyatt Aviara
Carlsbad, CA

SAF Annual Convention
September 6 - 9, 2017
Palm Beach, FL

WF&FSA Floral Distribution Conference
October 18 - 20, 2017
Miami, FL

CalFlowers News

Our goal is to communicate on a monthly basis with the membership and interested parties about recent past and upcoming events, program updates, and general information about how CalFlowers is engaging in the industry on behalf of the membership.

This coming Monday is Memorial Day and will be the largest engagement by Memorial Day Flowers since it started in 2012. CalFlowers is pleased to once again be an official sponsor of Memorial Day Flowers.   In 2017 more than 180,000 stems will be placed at Arlington National Cemetery.  Here in California, 3 national cemeteries are participating:  Miramar in San Diego, Sacramento Valley in Dixon and San Francisco in The Presidio of San Francisco.

This is the first year Miramar is participating and with the assistance of Chris Johnson and Mike Mooney, and many local volutneers, they expect to place 10,000 stems on headstones at that cemetery on Sunday, May 28th.

In San Francisco we will increase last year's stems 3-fold to 6,000 to be placed on Monday, May 29th.  This increase is due to cash donations and the generosity of Kitayama Brothers Inc. and Dramm & Echter.  We also wish to asknowledge Mt. Eden in San Jose who donated processing and delivery services to the cemetery.

2017 Fun 'N Sun Registration NOW OPEN!

Don’t miss Fun ‘N Sun 2017 in Carlsbad, California, celebrating our 75^th year!  With four days devoted to California flowers and the floral industry, it is the largest all-California floral display and floral exhibit available in one location.

Grower Tours • Industry Educational Sessions • Golf Tournament

Visit some of California’s leading flower farms, make new friends, meet old friends, and learn about merging trends in the industry.

Full registration cost is:

• $599 Early Bird Price until June 12
• $649 Regular Price on June 13 - July 31
• $699 after July 31

Full registration includes the following events/meals, with the option to purchase additional admissions for family and/or guests:

• Wednesday Welcome Reception and Dinner
• Thursday Flower Fair Pre-Show Cocktail Party and Dinner
• Friday Educational Seminars and Continental Breakfast
• Friday Flower Fair and Lunch
• Saturday Business Seminar "Impact of Cannabis on California Floral Industry" and Breakfast

2017 Membership Dues Have Been Emailed 

Keep an eye on your email as membership dues renewal notifications were sent out on April 1.  Make payment by June 1 to retain your member benefits, which include discounted transportation rates from FedEx, GSO, and OnTrac; your company being listed in our online member directory; notification of our biennial Fun 'N Sun convention; networking opportunities within the floral community; and much more.  Look for your membership renewal reminder email (sent from [email protected]) that will provide you with a link to pay your dues invoice online. 

This is also a great time to update your organization's Lines of Business (LOBs) online.  On May 31, we will hold a drawing for one (1) complimentary Fun ’N Sun full registration ($649 value). All member organizations with LOBs entered by April 30, 2017 will get two (2) chances in the drawing. Member organizations who enter their LOBs on or after May 1, 2017 will get one chance in the drawing.

If you do not receive your dues renewal email, have problems logging in to our website, or have any questions or concerns, please contact Linda Long, CalFlowers Membership Manager, at (831) 479-4912 or via email at [email protected].

(Note: To ensure that you receive the dues renewal notification emails from CalFlowers, you can whitelist the email address "[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 Member of the Month

Rincon Trading Company, Inc.

John Thomas, having grown up in the flower business in Holland, can unequivocally say that he has a passion for flowers. It’s in his blood.   John has experience in nearly every aspect of the floral industry and by far the most satisfying is what he is doing right now; providing floral sourcing solutions to floral companies all over.

Rincon Trading Company was named after the beautiful and world-renowned surfing spot known as Rincon Point. This spot is famous for its long rides and perfectly formed waves; especially in the winter. It is also conveniently located next to one of the country's largest flower producing regions and central to California's floral distribution hubs. You can almost hear the waves calling, while walking in the flower fields.

Rincon Trading Company's proximity to this thriving flower producing region gives them special access to dozens of flower growers and exposes their customers to a huge variety of fresh cut flowers! Rincon Trading Company prides themselves in providing personal service to our customers!

Click Here to find out more information about Rincon Trading Company.

Transportation  

1. In preparation for Mother’s Day, FedEx is asking our shipping members for expected box counts during the very busy Mother’s Day shipping period.  These projections / data that FedEx receives helps them to plan operationally for any additional equipment and manpower needs.  It’s very important for shippers expecting larger than normal volumes to be in contact with FedEx.  Marni Serlin, our Sr. FedEx Account Representative, will be reaching out to members for this information, and we strongly encourage our members to be as accurate as possible regarding this request.  If you have any questions, please call Marni at 650-387-9112 or via email at [email protected].   
2. As a reminder to our OnTrac shippers, CalFlowers is no longer invoicing members for shipments on this program.  As of April 1, 2017, OnTrac will take over billing of this program directly to members.  If member shippers have any questions or comments regarding invoices, we recommend contacting OnTrac directly at 877-227-5139.
3. We wanted to remind our West Coast members that we have a newly launched D2D program on Golden State Overnight (GSO).  This new program offers outstanding overnight service and prices that have to be seen to be believed.  GSO services NV, AZ, NM and every ZIP code in California.  Program info is available on our website, or you can contact Chris Johnson directly for additional program details.
4. As you may have seen, CalFlowers has launched the FedEx International Priority Distribution (IPD) program.  This program is tailored to our wholesale/ecommerce members and allows fast 3-day airport-to-door import of product from Colombia and Ecuador. Our program offers excellent rates and a special two-box minimum.  Other special waivers apply, and members just need to contact Chris Johnson at 760-533-5580 or [email protected] to inquire.
5. For those members using our commercial air carriers, we want to remind you that we have a full complement of excellent shipping rates on many of our passenger airlines - carriers such as Air Canada, American, Delta, Hawaiian, Southwest, and United. Many of these rates are exclusive to CalFlowers members, and all offer excellent value.  For more information, please visit our website www.cafgs.org or contact Chris Johnson for assistance at 760-533-5580 or [email protected].

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 only.

To access the Members Only site, simply login using the Member Login button in the top-right corner of our website.  

Click Here if you don't know or don't remember your username and/or password.  This document will help you login. 

New Members

In April 2017, we were pleased to welcome the following new CalFlowers members:

1500 41st Avenue, Suite 240 Capitola, CA 95010 | www.cafgs.org 

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