It’ll be a return to familiar surroundings as I’ll be speaking at the upcoming American Institute of Floral Design (AIFD) Symposium in Washington DC, happening from June 30 to July 4 at the Marriott Wardman Park. As many of you know, a good chunk of my life was invested in our Nation’s Capitol — go Caps! #stanleycupchampions. Ok, back to the blog . . .

Accompanying me will be colleagues Lisa Carmichael, BloomNet VP of Marketing, Jackie Lacey, AIFD, CFD, PFCI, Floriology Director of Education, and Lesley Bolden, AIFD, Lead Designer at Napco. Watch for Floriology’s Facebook Live videos and Posts from Lisa, Jackie and I as we report on all the action.

Speaking of Floriology, we’ll be sponsoring all of AIFD’s Impact Business sessions where I’ll be presenting two sessions (repeated so, really four sessions). This is the first time AIFD is including business-first content in addition to the traditional design instruction of past events so we are very honored for this opportunity to promote this innovative change.

The first session on Monday, July 2 starting at 11am to noon, will be “No More Guessing: An In-Depth Look into the Floral Purchase Tracking.” This insightful session dives into the American Floral Endowment’s study into consumers floral purchasing habits. I’ll then add best practices to drive more traffic to florists websites leveraging the data. For the second session “How to be an Internet Superstar” on July 3 at 11am to Noon, I’ll be teaming with my friend and fellow Floriology Instructor Donald Yim, AIFD to instruct aspiring designers on how to make it big online.

As with any floral industry event, this will be an awesome opportunity to catch up with old friends and definitely make new ones. I’m looking forward to the week in my old city.