AIFD National Symposium: "Emerge" with Ralph Giordano AIFD

Episode 226: Join Vonda and Lori as they chat with Ralph Giordano AIFD, owner of Giordano's Floral Creations in Fort Pierce FL, and one of the "Core 4" AIFD Symposium Coordinators. Ralph shares his excitement for the upcoming AIFD National Symposium "Emerge" to be held in Orlando FL from July 2-6.

Listen in to discover exciting details about the schedule of events and what you can expect to gain from attending. As a non-member of AIFD, Lori encourages everyone to attend and shares her thoughts on the takeaways you can expect to gain from your time and investment.

Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn and grow in the world of floral design! Early bird registration ends on May 15th, so register now and emerge with AIFD this summer in Orlando.
AIFD Symposium Information
Emerge Brochure PDF
Registration Page

Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

A lot of people wonder what symposium can do for you. Why do you spend so much money? Why do you take out so much time of your week to go to a symposium?

SPEAKER_01 0:12

And it really comes down to Welcome to the Business and Pleasure of Flowers. We're your hosts, Vonda LaFever and Lori Wilson.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

And we believe that business and fun are a perfect combination. Kind of like us, Vonda.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

So, Lori, this week you knew I went over to Orlando, right? To take a look at a facility. Yes. You did a little bit of a road trip.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

You and your tape measure. As my dad says, tape measure.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

I went over to Bonnet Creek Resort. Okay. And it's a Hilton property to find out where our flower room is going to be, what the where the water is for Symposium 2024, which is in Orlando. And to bring more information about what actually is happening there besides just the flower room, we have Ralph Giordano, who is like the big deal on Symposium, Etsy.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Yes, he's all over the intranet. Anything that says AIFD on social media, you see Ralph's picture lately. Ralph, thanks for joining us today. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Absolutely my pleasure.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

He's also a clicker, so we love him even more. And most everybody knows Ralph because he's, again, all over social media. He's the most helpful florate on the planet. Will always give advice when asked.

SPEAKER_00 1:43

I do my best. I do my part.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Well, you definitely do your part. So I'm just here to listen and learn as much as I can about AIFD from the two of you. So y'all go for it.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

You're so funny. Well, Ralph and his committee had asked Julie Poetler and I to be co-chairs for the flower room for symposium this year. So that's why I went on the facility. And it was the second time I was there, Ralph, as you know, because the first time I met you there and the committee, and we went through things. So I would like to bring you on and just ask you, you know, tell for the listeners first off about your team. You know, who is on the team who is running this symposium?

SPEAKER_00 2:28

Sure. So we call ourselves Core Four because typically you have a chair and a program chair. And those two people pretty much make all the decisions. Well, this go-around, we have Jody McLeod and Michael Doran, and they wanted to bring on two additional people to assist and make it a team of four. So on come me and Jenny Thomason. So us four have been working on this for a little over two years now. And we meet regularly, lots of Zoom meetings, lots of text messages, constantly going back and forth to uh to plan all the different stages and all the ins and outs of symposium.

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Wow, because it is a lot.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

It definitely is, yes.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

And you're doing that alongside running your own business and everything else you do, right? Mentoring all of the people that ask him to be hit their mentor.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Yes. Yep. We find time. We love giving back, and this is a great way to give back. And it's going to be an amazing symposium, and it's a great educational opportunity for everybody. So all the time that we're putting into it is well needed and will be well appreciated.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Yeah, I'm sure I'm super excited when I looked at my brochure. I actually had to print it because you know online versions are great, but I like to have it printed in front of me. So that was what I had to do so I could kind of look at things. But I want first for you to explain to me the theme. What's going to be that overall vibe or your thought process with the core four on your theme, which is Emerge?

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Sure. So Jody chose the name, Emerge, and Emerge has many different meanings to it. And we have implemented several different things all throughout Symposium that kind of touch base on all the different emerging levels. We have stage presentations that are people that have been in the industry for many, many years that are now re-emerging themselves. We have people that are just starting out in the industry that are emerging into success. We have business programs or business breakout sessions to help you as an individual emerge in your business. So every aspect of symposium had some level of emerging involved with it to bring that name to life.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Okay, that's cool. See, I didn't know that. And I think a lot of times people who are looking at the theme, and the theme is a theme, right? It's like, but I think no one really realizes that when you and the team are coming up with theme, which Jody chose the theme, but you kind of revolve the whole symposium, knowing that that's your theme, and you want to have everything work under that umbrella, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:26

Absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Yeah, I think that's really cool. So tell me how many mainstage programs are there this year?

SPEAKER_00 5:33

So we have 10 mainstage programs, and uh, we have several heavy hitters. I won't go down a line and list them all, but we have people like Talmadge, Ian and Zoe Prosser, Tom De Hauer. We even have Nicholas Peters, the World Cup winner coming this year.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Oh, yeah, that'll be cool. And uh if I remember correctly, you're like kicking off with Talmadge, right? Yeah, evening programmed after partners. Is that right?

SPEAKER_00 5:59

It is, yeah. So we definitely played a little bit more with the timeline and schedule to try to bring in a little bit more evening events so that you get more of a full day experience versus being done by dinner and you're on your own for the rest of the night.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

Right.

SPEAKER_02 6:19

Okay, all right, that's great. I'm looking at the schedule now. I love his presentations, and I also am very uh excited to see Zoe and her father do their presentation. I also love, because I am not a designer, I love all of your business class options. I think a lot of people assume AIFD is only design. And if anyone is listening assuming that, I want to let them know it is not. You have a lot of business options for classes.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yeah, we definitely took a focus this year to make sure that the business had a strong presence at this.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

I have never seen it this strong. I even mentioned that to Vonda a few weeks ago when I first looked at the schedule. I was very excited. I didn't go last year, but the year before when I did, I don't remember having all of these options.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

I kind of wandered around the halls a lot because it's definitely salt and pepper throughout the different years of symposium, what business classes are offered.

SPEAKER_02 7:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:28

We made a point to focus on having good business education opportunities available.

SPEAKER_02 7:34

I love it. I think you have to have a balance of a roof, right? I love it.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

Which I have to say that I worked with Lori Novak, who is next year's chairperson, but she's in charge of what they call partner development, which partners of AIFD are the ones who sponsor, who make it possible to put on the symposium. And when I was working with Lori and was asking about opportunities for FlowerClick to sponsor, then she was telling me about the business classes. And I'm like, oh, that's where we need to be. Flowerclick needs to be sponsoring the business classes. So I was very excited when we got into that. And like Lori's mentioning, having the business classes just elevates what's going on in our industry, right? It's not all about beauty and our artistry, which we know floral artists are what AIFD are. But if you don't have the business background, you're not going to be able to practice your art or your craft, right, Ralph?

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Absolutely. I have a little saying that I say all the time, a few different ways I say it, but for the most part, it's wouldn't you rather be a successful artist than a broke, starving artist?

unknown 8:40

Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

Right. You need business in order to learn how to make money in order to be able to create that beautiful floral art that we do.

SPEAKER_01 8:49

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. That's great. So these breakout sessions that you're talking about, the business ones, and I know there's others as well, are these included in registration costs or are these an additional add-on?

SPEAKER_00 9:02

For the most part, most of them are all included in the registration costs.

unknown 9:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

There are a couple of sessions that are added expenses, whether they be hands-on classes that focus on design or have a little business sprinkled in. But for the most part, a lot of the items that you're going to be able to get are included in your registration.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Okay. That's awesome. Tell me a little bit about those extra added-on opportunities, I call them, because a lot of those I'm guessing are hands-on classes because then cost of flowers are always involved.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Correct. Yes. So we have several different levels of hands-on classes and experiences, starting $79, working all the way through $249 for symposium itself. And then there is a foundation event the last day after symposium is over. That is a little bit more money. It's a little more involved. It's a full-day experience. The $79 ones are your typical hands-on class. They run for about an hour or so, depending on the timeline. We also have one that is called wine and design. It will be an evening class, and it is a little bit more money, but you get the opportunity to socialize while creating design and drinking wine.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

That's right up my alley.

SPEAKER_02 10:20

Maybe I would succeed as a designer in that class. Just drink wine and see what happens, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:26

Just maybe the creativity will flow in that one, Laurie.

SPEAKER_02 10:29

Maybe that's what I've been mess missing.

SPEAKER_00 10:32

We also have several immersive um hands-on classes where they'll be creating displays that'll be displayed in the common areas throughout symposium. So you're paying to get that hands-on, one-on-one with the designer, and your finished result is going to be viewed by every person in symposium.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

Wow. Wow. How many opportunities are there of those immersive tests?

SPEAKER_00 11:01

I believe there's two that I can think of off the top of my head.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Okay. All right. So they have a couple to choose from. And I haven't looked over the schedule that closely, but remind me, if there's a main stage program, are there breakout sessions at the same time, or is it, hey, you attend this and then you break out after that?

SPEAKER_00 11:22

We have very little conflict of things going on at the same time. So there's always going to have to be a little bit of that because there's just not enough time in the whole day to spread everybody out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:35

For the most part, it's very heavily weighted. So you have time to go see as much as possible, and you don't have to make that decision between what you want to see or what you want to do that often.

SPEAKER_01 11:48

Okay. That's good to know. We had a little issue with that at another uh conference. And so we're like, oh no. Because it gets tough. I mean, there's so much you want to see. Yeah. Right, Lori, I think you guys had an issue issue. Yeah, it gets hard. So one thing I noticed that during the partners showcase, which is where all of our sponsors will be, there is an opportunity to have a photo session. Is Ron taking pictures or learning about photos?

SPEAKER_00 12:19

So two things. There is a photo class that is going to teach you how to take photos of your designs, teach you the points and tips to do that. But then we are also offering free business headshots. Now you do have to sign up for it because there are only a limited number of spots, but included in your registration for symposium. So for anyone who doesn't have a professional headshot, this gentleman has shot many of our personal headshots. I'm pretty sure he shot yours as well.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

He is amazing. Ron is like the best of the best. Sorry, he is like the best of the best.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

Yep. So we got him for you guys so that way you can get the best headshots available at no additional cost.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

Wow, that's pretty amazing. I need to sign up. I need a new one. There you go, Lori. So where do they sign up? Do they sign up before symposium, during registration? Where is sign up going to be on that?

SPEAKER_00 13:22

So for everything, you're going to go to aifd.org and there is a link to symposium. Registration has been new and improved this year. It's much, much easier. And for everything, there is basically an option that you click and go through it. And for that particular one, for the free headshots, it's listed just like a hands-on workshop, but it is no cost. So you just have to click a time slot that you're looking for. There's X number of time slots available throughout the day. Some are going to sell up and sell out fast, and some are going to be more readily available. If he happens to get caught up and he happens to have a little extra free time, he might snap a few people that are in a waiting list, but let's not count on that.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Okay. Okay. Okay. All right, Lori, go sign up. I know. I need to. Okay, so this is a tough question for you, Ralph. This is hard. Personally, what do you think are the highlights?

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Oh, yeah, that is a hard one.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

I know because you've been working with the designers, you've been working with everything behind the scenes, and sometimes it's like, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

What is that? Yeah, it that really is because every aspect of it, we've taken a lot of time and dedicated to each one. So from your simple hands-on classes to your full-on immersive experiences, we have a lot invested in both.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:42

I I really think it's just the overall total experience of symposium. You know, a lot of people wonder what symposium can do for you. Why do you spend so much money? Why do you take out so much time of your week to go to a symposium? And it really comes down to being inspired. And that inspiration can come from many different ways. It can be creative, it can be business, it can be the friends you meet, the relationships you make. It's really all about being inspired. And it's about emerging yourself into your own self, your own business, your own artistic flair. Once you leave symposium, you take these little tiny tidbits of information back with you and you implement them in your daily work and your daily life. And before you know it, you're going to realize how many things you actually got from going to symposium.

SPEAKER_01 15:41

Yeah, that's so true. So true. And you know, it's a whole different family. I mean, we always say that it's our floral family, but it truly is. It's a whole different family. And you feel like when you're there, that no time has passed since you saw these people the year previous. It's just like amazing.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

Absolutely. And a lot of people are confused that they think that AIFD Symposium is simply for AIFD members. It is not. It is open to anyone that wants to attend. It is specialized for the Florida industry, but any person that wants to sign up and come join us, you're welcome to.

SPEAKER_02 16:22

Yeah. You know what? That's a really good point because I think from an outsider's point of view, because you guys are in it, you've been in it for so long. It can look a little intimidating at AIFD symposium. I know the very first time I ever attended, I think it was in DC, actually. It's kind of scary for just a commoner's point of view, right? Somebody that doesn't know much. But even if you're just toying with the idea of getting into this industry, it's actually a great place to start. You talk about immersing yourself in it and getting completely covered in flowers, literally and rhetorically, right? And meeting people who all they want to do is teach you about design. That would be a great place to start.

SPEAKER_00 17:20

We even have opportunities called the ambassador program, where again, it's a limited number of people, so you do have to sign up for it. But by signing up for it, you get the chance to work with, you are placed with the designers that are putting on those hands-on shows and stage presentations. So you get the behind-the-scenes look at a program and all the programs being developed, and you get a reduced admission for doing that for the dedication of the hours that you put in for that week. Right.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

Last year I was in the flower room as well, and watch the ambassadors come through and how they would have the opportunity to work with several of the designers. And let's say it's not all glory because once in a while you might have to scrub a bucket or something, right? So let's put that in there. But then they would come back and they would say, you know, so-and-so still needs help. And they said I could come back on my own time instead of just ambassador time to help. Is that okay? And as long as it was all approved, the person in charge of the ambassador program and the designer wanted them there. I mean, it was great. You could see the enthusiasm in their eyes and the and the excitement, and they're just like, okay, I can come back, you know? Right. So it's just cool.

SPEAKER_02 18:34

We're just soaking up every little morsel of experience back there. I again don't know what I'm doing, but when I've been back there a handful of times and I am in awe of all of these people just making stuff just so fast. It's unbelievable to watch.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

And like Vonda said, yeah, there might be some tedious work. You might have to roll a thousand aspodestralis for display. But you better believe when you're done doing that, you'll be able to roll those things like a master. And that won't be the only thing that you'll learn while you're there.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Yeah. And you'll sit on that stage and you'll go, you see all that. See what they did with those aspidistra that I just did. That's amazing. You know? It's just kind of crazy. Those little tedious things, like you're saying, all matters. Oh, every little bit of it matter in the whole outcome of a program. So yeah, that's a really great point. Is you know, if you can get on that ambassador program and and help. My question also is as I toured the facility yesterday, will there be any downtime for pool? Oh, very good. Amazing pool there.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

Very lazy pool. We joked around many times about doing presentations out by the poolside.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Right, exactly. I think you should do one on pool pool floats or something.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

Great idea.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Signing for the wedding that's around the pool, you know. Hey.

SPEAKER_00 20:02

So the great thing about where we're having it this year is, like you said, we're right in the middle of Orlando. We're really close to a lot of the attractions. So a lot of people will turn this into a family vacation. They will have their kids come, their spouse come, and while they're educating themselves throughout the day at symposium, your family is enjoying themselves in the Orlando area. And then you can extend it for an additional day or two and join them and have some fun in the city.

SPEAKER_01 20:31

Yeah, and it's really easy to get to. I mean, like I said, I've driven there twice, and the drive was for me, it's six hours, it's a ways, but even getting back from forth to the airport is easy. It's just a very user-friendly location, is what I found too, Ralph. So excited about it. Very excited.

SPEAKER_02 20:49

I have just decided I'm gonna get the latest flight out on that day I'm leaving so I can do the pool. You gotta I'm totally doing that. I'm putting my luggage in Vonda's room when I check out. Because I'm gonna do the 7 a.m. leadership class with Jodie McLeod's wife. That looks amazing. Women, work, and leadership with Amelia McLeod. It's a business lecture. And I I don't like to be anywhere at 7 a.m., but I'm going to be there at 7 a.m. for that one. There you go. But then when I'm done with that one, go into the pool.

SPEAKER_01 21:28

There you go. You'll have some pool time.

SPEAKER_02 21:30

Like a 5 p.m. flight out, and that's my day.

SPEAKER_01 21:34

Well, I think you're right, Ralph. It's just a great investment in your time and in yourself. And you can take it back to the rest of your business and just make it that education you need for every year. Someone asked me that years ago when I started to go, because I really hate to say how many symposiums I've been to, but why I invested, I mean, because it was, you know, three to five thousand dollars. To go to symposium by the time you pay for your ticket, pay for your room, pay for symposium, and enjoy the time while you're there. And I would always say, because it gave me the fuel I needed for the next year, it gave me that whole year worth of fuel, worth of ideas, enthusiasm, having to see my floral family and learn from them, it was worth every penny and still is, obviously, because still going every year.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

And from a business point of view, it's a write-off. It's an educational write-off opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 22:33

So I know, but but Ralph, the argument on that is yes, it is a business write-off if I have a business. If I don't, I don't, I can't. But still, your business has to be making money for you to have that kind of money to be able to take out of it. So investing in your business to go to the business courses, especially will help you with some of that too.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

True. Ralph, do you ever take employees? Any of your designers ever go?

SPEAKER_00 23:01

This year I do have one designer that is definitely going and possibly another one will be joining as well since it's so close.

SPEAKER_02 23:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:10

Have not been at any of the far ones.

SPEAKER_02 23:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

Mainly because uh I go for so long because I'm heavily involved in all the symposiums.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:18

And I can't leave my staff that many people gone for that long.

SPEAKER_01 23:23

Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

Frequently.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

So I just got Eldon Hobb, you guys know Eldon. He had a flower shop up in Illinois. And when it was in Chicago one year, he had like four employees who wanted to go. And obviously, you can't pay for all your employees to do that. And so what he did is he came up with an incentive program. I thought this was brilliant. Even to this day, I'm like, that was so smart. And they would do so many hours of education locally or something to earn their credits to go. And then he ended up paying for them. So it was something that they were doing up and above what they were getting paid for for their everyday job. So they were kind of earning credits to be able to go to symposium. It really was. And it some of them had to pay part of their way because they didn't have enough credits. Yeah. But it really made him know that, hey, they're really serious.

SPEAKER_02 24:17

And the ones that aren't won't do it.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

So yeah, yeah. Because you want to make sure, I'm sure, Ralph, that you're investing a lot in them to get them to go to symposium. You want to make sure they're getting the most out of it. Absolutely. That is a great idea.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

So great stuff. Yeah. And well, thanks, Ralph. Any last words about AIFD you want to say while you're on the air?

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Yeah. Early registration ends May 15th.

SPEAKER_02 24:43

May 15th, okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

And like I said before, you go to AIFD.org. There is a link right to symposium. It's very, very easy to register. I'm even told that you can register for Symposium and then there's an option to go back later and edit your registration. Oh no. Hands-on class now and you want to pick one later. Um, so there's several options available to you, but don't delay. You will sell out.

SPEAKER_02 25:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

You'll miss your chance of getting some of those hands-on classes and those headshots that we talked about.

SPEAKER_02 25:16

Yeah. And a hotel room.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

I mean, that's the other thing you gotta worry about.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

Yeah, especially if you're coming early. You have to be careful because I'm not even sure there's any more early rooms because people have been jumping on booking those rooms really fast. Don't take your time getting your room. I would say if you're coming to Symposium, get on right now when you're listening to this and get your room booked. Get on and register for Symposium because we all want to see you there. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 25:41

Yep. We have a link to the hotel booking from the website as well.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

I can drop them both in the show notes and we can make sure they're ready to go. So thanks again for joining us, Ralph. We really appreciate you being here.

SPEAKER_00 25:53

No problem. Very welcome. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 25:55

Thank you so much for listening to our podcast. We hope you enjoyed spending time with us because we enjoy spending time with you. If you did, make sure you hit that subscribe button or add the business and pleasure of flowers to your Google morning routine or your flash briefing on Alexa. We look forward to seeing you next week.

SPEAKER_01 26:16

So please come back and join us and discover how a bit of knowledge and one small change in your mindset can take you to new levels in your life and business.