In This Issue ...

1. Floral Pros Brought Blooming Energy And Excitement To The Bloom Together After Party
2. The Bloom Show Covers The 2023 WFFSA's Floral Distribution Conference
3. It's Almost Time To Renew Your Membership Dues
4. 2023 - 2024 Membership Directory
5. 2023 Member Appreciation Meeting
6. "New" Member Spotlight
7. Transportation Updates
8. Welcome New CalFlowers Members 

2023 Events: 

43rd Annual SAF Congressional Action Days
March 20 - 21, 2023
Washington, DC

Texas Floral Expo 2023 - "Emersion"
June 23 - 25, 2023
Sheraton Austin Georgetown Hotel and Conference Center

Slow Flowers Summit
June 26 - 27, 2023
Bellevue Botanical Garden Bellevue, WA

AIFD - "Grow"
Hilton Chicago
July 1 - 5, 2023
Chicago, IL

CalFlowers "Member Appreciation" Meeting
Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel
August 18, 2023
San Diego, CA

SAF "Phoenix 2023"
The Westin Kierland
Resort & Spa
September 6-9, 2023
Phoenix, AZ

Latest Legislation
Updates:

Click Here to read the latest Legislative updates.

FLOWERS.
SELF CARE MADE EASY.

  CalFlowers Featured
"New Member" Spotlights

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

If your company would like to be a featured "New Member", please contact Monnaie Pepin for more details.

Past CalFlowers Newsletters 

Click Here to view past CalFlowers Newsletters now available on our website.

CalFlowers News

Floral Pros Brought Blooming Energy And Excitement To The Bloom Together After Party

Cross-Segment Floral Industry Connections Brought 250(+) People, the Mayor, and $2,400 for Charity to the Heart of Doral

The floral industry gathered in Miami to attend WF&FSA’s Floral Distribution Conference, where the theme was ‘The Future in Bloom.’ The goal was to enrich knowledge, drive success, make connections, and learn from each other. That sentiment continued at the Above All Flowers & New Bloom Solutions’ third annual Bloom Together After Party, where more than 250 people and the city of Doral Mayor Christi Fraga gathered.

The Bloom Together After Party was created out of a simple question that owner and founders Sahid Nahim and David Kaplan of Above All Flowers & New Bloom Solutions asked themselves: What advancements, innovations, and growth could be achieved if all segments of the floral industry worked together? Both Sahid and David agree that it begins with getting all of the industry stakeholders together.

This year, the visionary event was held at The Doral Yard on March 6, 2023, in a 20,000 sq ft. venue that provides co-working stations, indoor/outdoor meeting and event areas, and a food hall for independent restaurants. The Doral Yard was created to be a local incubator for entrepreneurial ideas where guests can test, iterate, and validate concepts fostering the importance of innovation and community connection — the very idea that Sahid and David have for the floral industry.

Click Here to read the full story.

The Bloom Show Covers The 2023 WFFSA’s Floral Distribution Conference

It’s that time of the year again when the entire floral community gears up and comes together for one of 2023’s most anticipated events: the Wholesale Florist and Floral Supplier Association’s (WFFSA) Floral Distribution Conference (FDC).

Staying true to its steadfast mission of connecting and bringing insights to the different sectors of the floral industry, The Bloom Show covered this event through a series of three episodes, which were broadcast live on March 7, 2023, straight from the FDC.

This year, Sahid Nahim of Above All Flowers and New Blooms Solutions teamed up with Corrine Heck of Details Flowers Software to host the episodes that featured in-depth conversations with event organizers, industry leaders, and extraordinary women in the floral industry.

The episodes were sponsored by Details Flowers Software, whose Chief Executive Officer Corrine Heck had this to say: “We love to support our flower industry friends, especially when it comes to connecting and sharing their good work and skills with the rest of the industry. We think it is important to grow our network and can see the impact when collaborations turn into partnerships and further profit for all those involved. It has been a pleasure to learn and grow with The Bloom Show this year at WFFSA. We cannot wait for the next one. Thank you for having us!”

Click Here to read the full story.

It's Almost Time To Renew Your Membership Dues

Your 2023/2024 membership dues renewal notification will be emailed on April 1, 2023. The membership renewal email will have a link and instructions for how to pay your dues invoice online using your credit card. Please make payment before June 1, 2023, to retain your member benefits, which include discounted transportation rates from FedEx, GLS, and select airlines, discounted professional services, your company’s listing in the online and printed Membership directory, an invitation to the biennial Fun 'N Sun convention, networking opportunities within the floral community, and much more. 

Please Update - NEW Mailing Address:

If Paying by Check Make Payment to:
California Association of Flower Growers & Shippers
1588 South Mission Road, Suite 100
Fallbrook, CA 92028

If you do not receive your dues renewal email on April 1, 2023 or have any questions or concerns, please contact Jordan Richardson at (831) 217-3423.

Note: To ensure that you receive the dues renewal notification emails from CalFlowers, you can whitelist cafgs@memberclicks-mail.net 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.

2023-2024 Membership Directory

We are excited to announce that 2023-2024 Membership Directories will be distributed to all CalFlowers’ members in mid-April. The directory is a valuable reference tool that highlights CalFlowers’ services, benefits, and members! We encourage our members to utilize the directory as a resource to connect with fellow members, search for floral availability, identify new collaborators and potential service providers, and learn about the benefits available to you. Our board and staff are grateful for our members and partners and look forward to supporting the floral sector for many years to come.  

We would like to send a special shout out to all the companies that have advertised in the 2023-2024 Membership directory. Please review their ads and support their businesses.  Let them know that you found them in the CalFlowers Membership Directory!

For more information or if you have questions, please contact: Jordan Richardson - Ph. (831) 217-3423. 

2023 Member Appreciation Meeting

A few reminders:

1. FedEx has reinstated the Money Back Guarantee (MBG) for CalFlowers members for Priority and Standard Overnight only.  however, keep in mind, delays due to hazardous or disruptive weather are not eligible for shipping credits. Remember also that the MBG is not automatic.  You need to request in on the website www.fedex.com.
2. As of late, we have seen a rise in incorrect invoicing due lack of box dims being listed on the waybill.   As a best practice, be sure to indicate the box dimensions on your booking/waybill as this will help if there is a dispute regarding the size of your box and ultimately your invoice.
3. I have also seen an increase in incorrect billing mainly due to scanning errors creating incorrect box sizes and/or logging incorrect weights making the invoice typically higher than expected.  To inquire, contact the FedEx billing dept (800-622-1147) and have them open a file/case.  They will investigate and be in touch. If you need help, your local FedEx rep can help.  See #4 below.
4. For those wanting to know who your FedEx representative is, or if you want to be contacted by FedEx, please email me your FedEx account number and I will respond with information on your FedEx contact.  It’s always a good practice, if possible, to establish a relationship with your FedEx representative. They can be an asset when needed.
5. Remember also that you can have your shipments held at your nearby FedEx Office instead being delivered to your door.  Having shipments held at your local FedEx office can help with temperature management because your boxes will be stored in a temperature-controlled office rather riding in a truck all morning.  It’s also true that you can drop off your shipments at your local FedEx office.  This can be an advantage for some parts of the country where having your packages standing by in FedEx office is preferable to being in a truck for hours.
6. As we know, keeping an eye on the weather, nationally as well as locally is important, and a great way of doing that is by routinely checking the “Service Alerts” section of the FedEx website each morning for the latest. Here is the link: https://www.fedex.com/en-us/service-alerts.html.   Here you will find the most current alerts and service disruption alerts updated each day.
7. For those looking for the very latest news from FedEx. This site is recommended,  https://newsroom.fedex.com/

As costs rise for our carriers, surcharges have risen as well across the board, especially FUEL.  For those members wanting to reference the latest FedEx Surcharges and Fees click HERE.  Remember, CalFlowers members have many significant discounts on 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 members looking for the latest Program Summary and Rates for 2023, they can be found posted up on our website with all our other shipping program.  Please visit www.cafgs.org

To all 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 chris@cafgs.org.  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 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.

The CalFlowers GLS program is one of our popular, most value-priced offerings, with discounts well 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 chris@cafgs.org.   

There are a couple of areas that we have been working on to improve our popular GLS Door to Door program and we are pleased to report the following:

1. GLS will now honor product claims. Yes, if GLS is at fault (acts of God, not included) and the product arrives damaged, significantly late, or just missing, members now can file a claim. We highly recommend member shippers to indicate the correct Declared Value to be covered.
2. GLS will credit (100%) of the shipping costs if your shipment is not delivered on the day promised.  Again, bad weather is excluded.  Members will need to request this within 48 hours at customerservice@gls-us.com. 
3. GLS has given our account access to a special premium team of Customer Service agents.  This high-level group was designed for fast response and problem solving.  Please contact Chris Johnson for access to this important resource.
4. GLS also has a new revamped website.  Check it out at https://www.gls-us.com   Additionally,  I recommend trying this handy Delivery Rates & Times Calculator to view delivery dates and estimated time of arrival.

Airlines: 

For the latest in Alaska Cargo New, Check out this https://www.alaskaaircargoconnections.com/

For those that missed the news, Mike Narowski is our new Alaska Air Cargo Account Executive.  Mike comes with a vast amount of industry experience, and we are happy to have him.  Mike can be reached at mike.narowski@alaskaair.com 

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.  Our program offers EXCELLENT pricing 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.  To sign-up, contact Chris Johnson at chris@cafgs.org.

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. 

Welcome New CalFlowers Members

We are pleased to welcome the following new CalFlowers members from February 23 - March 20, 2023:

www.cafgs.org 

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