More Than a Conference: How AIFD Symposium Can Elevate Your Floral Career

Episode 333: In this episode, we’re diving into everything you didn’t know you needed to know about the AIFD Symposium—and why it’s so much more than just another industry event.

If you’ve ever looked at the price tag and hesitated, or wondered if it’s really worth it, this conversation is for you. We break down what actually happens behind the scenes—from immersive design experiences and main stage programs to hands-on workshops and real, practical education you can take straight back to your shop.

This isn’t just inspiration—it’s a crash course in growth. You’ll hear about the designers, the energy, the unexpected takeaways, and the kind of “ammunition” that fuels your creativity and business for the entire year.

But beyond the classes and content, it’s about something bigger: connection, community, and stepping into a space that challenges and elevates you.

If you’ve never been to Symposium, consider this your invitation. And if you have, you already know… there’s nothing else like it.

Elevate Registration 

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

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:02

But none of them give off an air of pretentiousness. So I don't think anybody listening is should feel that, oh, I don't want to go to that and I'm going to be feeling inadequate.

SPEAKER_02 0:19

Welcome to the Business and Pleasure of Flowers. We're your hosts, Vonda LaFever, and Lori Wilson.

SPEAKER_03 0:25

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

SPEAKER_02 0:36

So Lori, we have Mother's Day behind us, and now we're moving on to something else big and exciting.

SPEAKER_03 0:42

This is an exciting week. First of all, how was your Mother's Day?

SPEAKER_02 0:46

Good? It was good. It was good. Eventful. I got beautiful flowers for my children, which was really nice. And a little surprise box and some cards. How about you?

SPEAKER_03 0:56

Very good. I had a surprise.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

Yes, you did. You had the best surprise ever.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

Yes, I finally had a grandbaby. So we'll talk about that another time. But that was the best Mother's Day gift ever. And everybody's healthy, everybody's happy, everything's good. But it was the perfect Mother's Day gift. Two weeks early.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Woo-hoo! Very exciting.

SPEAKER_03 1:19

Very exciting. Everybody's healthy and happy. That's the important thing. Yes, which is the most important thing. But we have something really exciting this week. It is the last week of early registration, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:33

Correct. It is the last week for early registration for Elevate, which is great. Everybody should jump on and register now. But what I want to say too is if you are listening to this afterwards and you missed it, it's okay. You have to pay a little bit more, but it's still worth every nickel of experience.

SPEAKER_03 1:52

What is the difference in price? Is a couple hundred bucks? Is that what it is?

SPEAKER_02 1:56

Yeah, I don't think it's a couple hundred dollars in the difference in that. And a lot of people have waited because they're like, I'm not sure. Did I have a good Mother's Day, right? And oh my gosh, I can give myself this great gift to go to symposium because my Mother's Day was great. Or they were waiting to see what was going on with their schedule. Hopefully you can just jump on and do it.

SPEAKER_03 2:15

And when you were talking to me, because again, we are all about transparency on here. And when you were saying, hey, I want to do a podcast and talk about symposium and talk about everything that's going on. And we actually reached out to Renee, Tucci. Hi, Renee. I know you're listening. And she was so bummed because she's swamped this week. Gave us two time slots this week's like I can be available on Wednesday between 7 a.m. and 7 20 a.m. But thank any. So we'll just do it without her because she's the president of AIFD and we know her heart and we know how much she loves it. But when you first said you wanted to talk about symposium, I was like, okay, I'm all about it. But then I was like, God, I don't want to be salesy. I think I use the word as I don't want to be commercial. But what I want to do, and because we've done this with SAF Convention too, almost every year, like we are such big believers in people that have never dipped their toe into a like I get chills when I think about it. Have never ever entered into the space of convention. Yeah. We know it's such a life-changing experience. So and we know the cost when they see it can be like, oh my gosh. So we wanted to talk about what that in includes. Because interestingly enough, as I was driving home from the dentist to come do this podcast, my son, who is going to graduate from college the end of August. So we got one more semester, sent me a screenshot of his grades. And I was like, oh my gosh, so excited because it's taken us quite a while to get here. It's all A's and one B. And then that was the biggest load he's ever taken, which he took so many hours that Merck and I were like, we don't really think you should take this many. He's I'm doing it because I've got to graduate. Of course, me being the proud mom had to put it in the family group chat and he's stop anyway. My point is the tuition. I'm like, oh, that is such a big number. But the amount of education he got his point. Going, wow, the growth. And my other son was like, ooh, tell me more about this class, like the reading, the label. And I know this sounds silly, but I was like, isn't that funny? Because I'm getting ready to do a podcast on talking about some of these topics of these classes, and they are so interesting. And so we're gonna go in depth in some of them. Right.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

If people just knew the behind the scenes, which you don't, you just read something, or you just kind of read and you're like, ah, that sounds good. Well, I don't know, that doesn't sound so interesting.

SPEAKER_03 5:20

You really are getting so much education, it's like a crash course of summer school, is my point.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

Oh, I love that. A crash course of summer school. Yeah. Okay, so I'm gonna play this little sound bite from Jeannie Haw, who is going to be a part of a program that's at symposium this year. But I just love this because I think it encompasses what you just said.

SPEAKER_10 5:47

I know coming to the symposium is a big commitment, but this is the one thing that you can get everything from one event. There is no other event as a florist, whether you're just beginning working at the flower shop or AI members. If you are in the flower industry and somehow, this is the best event that you can get everything in from one place. So Jeannie said just what you did.

SPEAKER_03 6:14

Yeah, and I didn't know you were even gonna do that. Talk a little bit about why you have that video because you have a lot of videos that we're gonna be playing.

SPEAKER_02 6:22

We did. We had their videos, so we took with those little sound bites because we interviewed each one of the designers who are going to be on the main stage and asked them with some questions. And we asked them to say, what is the takeaway? If they're gonna come to the program, whether they're doing a class or a program, what is that takeaway? What does it look like for them to be on that main stage? And when you leave, are you going to be elevated, right? And what is it that you're gonna be able to take away to share with someone else?

SPEAKER_03 6:52

So, how many main stages are there in symposium this year?

SPEAKER_02 6:58

There's seven main stage programs. So is that one a day? There's gonna be three on Friday, three on Saturday, and one on Sunday.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

Okay, three, three, and one. All right, got it, got it. And so you and Randy chose and interviewed and did all of the things and came up with these people. Correct.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

People submit if they want to, or some we've asked to do it or expand it on something. So yeah, that was a long time ago. Now we're getting to the point.

SPEAKER_03 7:28

Hey, that was over a year ago. Yeah, exactly. That's crazy. So you have little excerpts, little video clips of one of the main stage designers just kind of talking a little bit about what they're gonna be talking about.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

Exactly. So let's kind of just go through the day. Let's if you arrive early, there is a really cool immersive design experience with Tom Bowling, and we love our Tom Bowling, huh? Yes, we do. And so that one's gonna be on Wednesday the first, and it's really before symposium actually starts, which is on the second. But this is called the Art of the Arrival. Makes sense, right? Arrive, yes. And you're going to create the designs or the space around the registration desk. So it's really gonna be something that if you're participating at, you're always gonna see that all week long. Yeah. That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_03 8:22

That is very cool. I always remember those moments. And those are also photo op places.

SPEAKER_02 8:28

Yeah, exactly. And that one is going to be sponsored by Winward, Flowers of Columbia, and Jet Fresh Flowers. And they're gonna combine the fresh and the soap together. So it'll be cool. That's an immersive experience, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:42

Yeah, okay. All right, so that's the first one, July 1st.

SPEAKER_02 8:46

And then on the second, there are also two immersive experiences, one with Haneke Francema and the other with Solomon Leong. And we're gonna share a little bit more about that later because we do have them telling us a little bit about that, which will be fun. Okay, and then of course, the industry showcase, which Flower Click will be at. We will be there.

SPEAKER_03 9:08

Yes, that's always fun. That's a long day for the partners.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:15

So, my thing to say to everybody listening, come by and say hello to all of the booths, to all of the people. Yes, don't be shy, ask everybody questions, interact with them. Those booths are in, I don't even like to call them booths. I feel like we're doing unjustice because they are incredible.

SPEAKER_02 9:38

Yeah, some of them are so creative and just over the top.

SPEAKER_03 9:41

Yeah, yes, yeah. I know we take turns watching ours so we can walk around.

SPEAKER_02 9:48

Because you see all kinds of new things there. There's so many beautiful flowers and new opportunities.

SPEAKER_03 9:54

We gotta steal everybody's merch.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

I know, right? This is great. When you come to Symposium, obviously there'll be the registration desk, but something really new this time is there's gonna be really, I want to say it's an experience when you come into our area. Bill McKinley and his crew are creating something called silhouettes and selfies. And it's gonna be so much fun, Lori. So much fun. And let me just play this one.

SPEAKER_04 10:25

You are going to be hopefully wowed when you walk into the lobby decor. I'll give you a little teeny, teeny hint of what it is that's happening. We're taking inanimate scenes and making them come to life using silhouettes. And so it's an interactive way for people to get into the mood of the symposium. The silhouette is such a fabulous way to start a theme and to get the point across without being overt with tons of words. There'll be no words at all. And then, of course, the opening reception, get to see all your friends that you haven't seen maybe for a whole year, and catch up and meet new people, new friends, and interact with the silhouettes. Take your selfies with all those interactive silhouettes, it'll be great.

SPEAKER_03 11:17

I just say I was making an Instagram reel for all these things, and I was in our Dropbox, pulled a couple of pictures from this with his team doing it. I am so excited to see it because I couldn't visualize what this was, but he gave just a snippet of a picture, a sneak peek, tiny, and I'm like, this is going to be incredible. It really will be. I am so excited about this. It's gonna be really, really and Bill McKinley, what an educator, teacher, inspiring artist, everything. And I know he's a dear friend of yours, so it would be very cool to see the silhouettes and selfies.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

Yes, it really will. I'm gonna keep moving on because we have a lot to get through, Lori. And you know me, I'm the time person. I know, let's go. That kind of wraps up our day, right? So then Thursday we have that opening reception, then Friday, there's some rise and shine workshops and lectures. But one I wanted to just point out, because I just think she speaks so well of what she has coming, is Amber Kirkland, and she's doing, let's just hear what she's gonna tell.

SPEAKER_09 12:31

Hello, everyone. My name is Amber Kirkland, AIFD, and I want to take a moment to welcome you to my workshop, my hands-on interactive workshop, Don't Box Me In. Now, Don't Box Me In is exactly what it is. I want to design outside of the container. I don't believe that we have to stay boxed in and confined to our container. So, what we're going to be doing is designing structures with movement that are going to allow us to come outside of the structure and to have fun and still follow our design principles and elements, but we are going to have some fun designing outside of the box.

SPEAKER_03 13:12

As her voice alone makes you think she's going to be a great instructor. Yes, the energy right there. Yeah. And you said she's she's an engineer. Yes. And then just four. So you're gonna get some really cool structures, I would say.

SPEAKER_02 13:26

Exactly. Exactly. Very cool. This is our first main stage program. We'll be Donald Jim and Tim Farrell and the Dragon and the Wolf, culture, creativity, and the art of inspiration. And I know you've done many coaching.

SPEAKER_03 13:40

All over. They are hilarious. Yes, and they're their own brand managers.

SPEAKER_02 13:45

And they're sponsored by Teleflora, so they're gonna just do a fabulous job. We'll hear a little bit of what Donald has to say.

SPEAKER_05 13:53

I want to invite you to our program. Me and Tim Farrell, the dragon and the wolf. What you will take away from our program is about our culture, our background, our mindset, how do we come up with the idea that is more important than just beautiful arrangement and just technique. So I can show you thousands of techniques, but you have to know where our idea comes from. So it comes from our background, comes from our inspiration. That is the most experience you will get. And also we will have a little fun.

SPEAKER_03 14:29

He's so funny. And if you're not following him on social media, you need to because he and Tim are having a little too much fun with the whole thing. They're doing the funniest reels and videos. So I cannot wait to watch them on stage too.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

I know they're gonna be great. Yeah, and what they have planned is I can't even tell you, but there's some really cool stuff. Yeah. And then AI being such a big buzzword, we do have Brandy Farrer and Kelsey Thompson who are gonna do a little bit on that.

SPEAKER_13 15:02

So I just have flowershop owners who have way too much to do and not enough money to hire a huge crew, like most of us, to find ways that AI can make your life easier, that can do some of that heavy lifting for you. I think you'll also find some ways that it can help with your creativity. So there are a lot of really practical ways to use AI in your everyday life and as a florist, as an artist, as a flower shop owner.

SPEAKER_03 15:35

I think that'll be great. AI, we hear so much about it now, and it's in our everyday lives, but it's still very scary and intimidating for so many of our flower shop friends. So for her to use the word practicality is comforting. And we know Kelsey and Brandy, and we know they're gonna do a great job. So I'm definitely gonna be sitting in on that. That's worth the price right there.

SPEAKER_02 15:59

Yeah, right. And we also have a lecture session that will be authenticity at an world, which is by Flower Buddy. So we've got a couple things on that subject.

SPEAKER_03 16:11

Yes, yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 16:13

Yeah, they'll complement each other really well, yeah, for sure. And then um, we have Tennis Saab, who is going to be doing something from monumental to marketable, and then also is doing a class. His background is so cool with being brought up in a flower shop, but took architecture as kind of his background. And so he's gonna combine those two and he's gonna do big, beautiful designs, but be able to bring them down to sellable in a flower shop. You're not gonna hear that. Oh, I can't sell that right. You're gonna be able to bring that to where it is sellable for him. Let's hear him.

SPEAKER_07 16:51

Hello, everyone. I'm Tan Sab from Brazil. I'm a flowerist, I'm an architect, I'm a teacher here in this school, our Brazilian flower school in Brazil, and we are here preparing good options for our demo and for our workshop. So I would like to invite for the AFD Symposium elevated that's gonna happen in Orlando in the first week of July. See you in Orlando.

SPEAKER_03 17:21

I just I cannot wait. So I have two different videos that you've sent me for him for social media content. He is just delightful and so authentic. And I feel like I know all these people because I've worked on their video so much, and they're all so endearing. That is the word.

SPEAKER_12 17:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:42

That none of them give off an air of pretentiousness. So I don't think anybody listening is should feel that, oh, I don't want to go to that and I'm gonna be feeling inadequate.

unknown 17:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:56

At all.

SPEAKER_02 17:57

At all. And you shouldn't the every one of the presenters, whether they're on the main stage or doing a lecture like you are, Lori, every one of them are authentic people. Oh yes. And just transparent. We had great conversations with them before because we want their heart to be that they want to elevate someone else. It's not about them on that main stage. Right.

SPEAKER_03 18:21

They have a love, you can see they have a love of teaching.

unknown 18:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:26

And that that's definitely what you and Randy were looking for. I can tell that was one of them. Their heart is to teach.

SPEAKER_02 18:32

Yeah, and tennis is sponsored by Smithers Oasis. Oh, that's right. Yeah. And then that evening will be the awards and induction ceremony. And I don't have any sound bites from Chris, Column Williams, and Tom. I don't have that, but they're sponsored by American Grown. And you know, that's a great the gala, this people being inducted who worked so hard. And it's just, it's such an exciting evening, just a great time. But I do want to just give us a little shout out here from Deborah D. LaFleur, who we all love and adore.

SPEAKER_12 19:05

But you need to come to AIFD. That's what inspires you for a year until the following year. I always use whatever I got, that I called my ammunition to do all the presentations I did. And in my own shop for the next year until I attended, whether it's a technique or a new color combination or a full flower that's available now, all those things you discover that when you are at Symposium, wherever it is that year, and you get to see all your friends. It's a family reunion. We all love each other. All of my best friends are you guys. It's a win-win situation, but you'll just love it to it's in beautiful Orlando, Florida. And of course, there's the home of Mickey Mouse. There's another thing to go to after before. But you really need to attend. It's going to be a lot of fun and really exciting.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

That's so true. And that's what I would say every year, that it was worth that investment in myself because it gave me the enthusiasm. I love the word she used, ammunition to get through the next year. True. So true. Okay, so the next one is going to be, I think, the surprise to everyone. I truly do. And that's Starflower. So much to it. So much.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

So much. They've been on social media a lot too.

SPEAKER_02 20:21

They have been a lot. This is really of them. Yes. Yeah. So this is a program that Lori Gordon is, who you're going to hear from here in a minute. And she's a CFD member. And then you have Joyce Mason Mannheim, Deborah De LaFleur, our own Julie Poultler, Jeannie Ha, and Christina Ignatius. So all of them are going to be on the main stage and creating this program that's sponsored by FTD. So let's hear what Lori has to say.

SPEAKER_11 20:50

We would love to have everyone attend Starflower. We have an exciting lineup of incredible floral designers on stage who are going to be taking a NASA photo. We're going to flash it on screen, and then we're going to see how the designers reinterpreted what they're seeing into floral design. And that's going to be really amazing. And we're going to talk through some fun facts about how NASA and other spacefaring agencies are using vegetation, doing different experiments on the International Space Stations. Some fun facts, plants behave differently in space. They don't grow up in the same way. They rely more on light and moisture hues to grow. So that's something different. So we'll get into some of these really fun facts and interesting details about how astronauts on long duration missions get mental health benefits from vegetation. Those are just some of the fun things we'll be talking about on stage. So we hope everyone will join. I'm telling you, I cannot wait for the fun facts.

SPEAKER_03 21:49

There will be some. You know there was fun facts. When I was working on this video to make a reel, I just fell in love with her because I was like, I'm Gonna do a drinking game every time she says fun facts. I'm gonna take a shot. So anyway, I loved it. I'm so excited for this one. I know.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

I know this is gonna be gonna be so cool. Yeah, I'm super excited about this. I've seen just a little groundbreaking things that Julie is doing, and then Joyce is going to meet you, and it's just oh my gosh. Oh, it's gonna be very cool. So that one is Saturday in the morning on the fourth, and then following that is Solomon Liong, and so we call him Dr. Solomon. Yes, his group from the Chinese Society of AIFD, which is great. He is going to be joined by Bonnie Chu, by Ven Lem, and Howard Pang. And yeah, I think you've posted some videos um then. She's oh, she's adorable.

SPEAKER_03 22:49

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 22:50

Yes, and so this is sponsored by Cal Flowers. And let us hear Solomon says.

SPEAKER_00 22:57

I'd like to share my passion of flowers and from all my experience of all these 25 years with all the adventures that I've been, you can tell that from my designs. And I really like to share with you how to be a better designer. I'm not sure I'm that good one. I try to be the best every day. If you come to my workshop, I think you will be a better storyteller with flowers by the end of it. Because with the skill that you learn in this workshop, how you portray each flower, how you frame each composition, is definitely gonna be a big help.

SPEAKER_02 23:36

This is you, you're the storyteller.

SPEAKER_03 23:39

I think it's going to be incredible. This one I'm super curious on if it's gonna be really beneficial for somebody that wants to do better with their social media reels while designing, or if they just want to be a better teacher with instructor, which would be because you have to be a good storyteller if you want to increase your social media following too.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

Sure.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

Yeah. Uh I'm intrigued.

SPEAKER_02 24:11

He is such a good teacher. He was at symposium in 2024 in Orlando, and everybody wanted him to come back because they just love him. It's just his teaching style, it's it's the way he presents too. And he's got a power team with him. It's gonna be really a great team. So excited. And then next is our very own Abby Chick. Abby Chick! Working with Tommy again. I know the back of what's gonna happen and it's gonna be pretty cool.

SPEAKER_01 24:43

I'm excited for everyone to join me in Orlando because I think that my program with Hitomi Gilliam is going to really be surprising. I think when people hear sustainability, they have their own preconceived notions about what we might be showing or talking about. But I would say that we have a lot of shocking things to say that people won't really expect. But most importantly, we have really done a lot of testing solutions to everyday problems that real-world florists face. And so the lens that we've put all of our testing through has been profitability, how realistic is this? And ultimately, we have taken the idea of elevating it. And it's not just about making something more sustainable. We want to elevate the artistry and the beauty that goes along with sympathy work because we think that's just as important as the sustainable part of our program as well.

SPEAKER_02 25:58

Yeah, because the program is called Artistry and Farewell. So it's a sympathy program and it's a sustainable exploration of tradition, adaptation, and innovation. So what she's saying is it's not just all about sustainability, that's a part of it, but they look at all aspects of that and bring it all together. And this sponsor on this is Accent Decor. So it'll be some nice cool things, really cool things.

SPEAKER_03 26:22

Yeah, I think that'll be great. All right, now we're on Sunday the fifth.

SPEAKER_02 26:27

Yep. So if Sunday the fifth, after we have some great Rise and Shine workshops again, which are usually every morning, then uh Haneki Francema, who is going to do her program, which it let's just hear what she has to say about her program.

SPEAKER_08 26:43

Of course, I would like to invite everybody for the symposium in Orlando. It promises to be very exciting. We have a really nice range of great florists there, and I am the lucky one who has a mainstage show. Very excited about it. I have a lot of really nice ideas, lots of new materials, new techniques. So it will be interesting for sure. And I'm also very lucky to host the hands-on workshop, and we're going to do something very different this time. It will be the first time for me and for the symposium because we're going to work as a very big group. We're going to put our hands together and we're going to make really nice technical things to make beautiful pieces for the mainstage show. Of course, you have to learn a lot from it. I teach a lot of masterclasses here and all over the world, and my wire techniques are very usable in other types of work. So not only for big shows, but also for shop work. So the goal is to make altogether beautiful pieces for the mainstage program, but also to give you a lot of techniques that you can use in your own work. And of course, we're going to have lots of fun altogether. She's adorable.

SPEAKER_02 28:00

She is adorable. Yeah. Elevating floral artistry through innovation and craftsmanship is her program, name of a program. And the education is partially funded by the AIFD Foundation. So then, right after that program, it's like kind of turns around. Then we have a keynote speaker. The speaker's going to be first, and then right into the luncheon. And Becky Mimo is going to be the designer to create the designs.

SPEAKER_03 28:28

She's incredible.

unknown 28:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:29

Yeah. And you've been working on some of the social today.

SPEAKER_03 28:33

Her social. And I've stalked her personally, her Instagram. We've been conference a little bit there. I love her already. I can't wait to meet her face to face. So she's going to do a great job. And of course, she has a team of helping it. We can't forget all of the ambassadors and all of the people that help all of these. Yeah, the volunteers that make it all go together, right? Make all of this stuff really happen. One thing about Hanukkah, yes, how cool is it though that her workshop, what you're helping her do, is literally going to be up on her main stage. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_02 29:14

That's probably why it's almost sold out, right? Because it's just, yeah. I wish that I wasn't in charge of symposium because I would be in that class. Yeah, I know. I know. So I just because I just adore her. Well, she touched that about every class. But she's Dutch. That's my background. Yeah, that's true. That's true.

SPEAKER_03 29:34

But I you say that about everyone.

SPEAKER_02 29:36

I do. Because I know the inside of it. Randy and I have been working with them and we're like, oh man, everybody's got to see this. Right.

SPEAKER_03 29:42

No, I feel the same way, just working in the little part I have. And I'm like, I don't even want to have, you know, part.

SPEAKER_02 29:49

Are you kidding me? You've got a lot.

SPEAKER_03 29:51

I I just want to be a part of them because I think they're pretty cool.

SPEAKER_02 29:54

Yeah, but our keynote speaker is San Dima, who is gonna talk about empty your backpack and create with purpose. And he is a dynamic speaker. I think everybody is gonna just absolutely adore him and just love his energy and enthusiasm, which is what we're all about, right? Right. Um and the flowers of this are going to be provided by the Elite Flower, but the whole luncheon is sponsored by the Bill Doran Company, which is very cool.

SPEAKER_03 30:22

Yeah, yeah. I went down a little rabbit hole of Sam on YouTube. There's a lot of different video clips of him in dynamic speaker. Good, good. I'm glad you said that too, because that's what I was doing.

SPEAKER_02 30:37

And I'm like, oh my God.

SPEAKER_03 30:38

You know me, I'm picky about those kind of speakers. So great. He is a you don't want to miss. I would not, I hope everybody books their flight for after that.

SPEAKER_02 30:48

And Lori, that's why we shortened symposium somewhat, is because normally the leadership is not a luncheon, it's a last gala. And what happened is a lot of people were leaving because they're like, oh, I just need to get home. I don't want to stay another night. And what this provides is, oh, you can take you have a 7:30 flight out tonight. Yep. And so if somebody wants to get out and so they can go back to work on Monday morning, you can do that. And so we're gonna really honor the leaders of AIFD at a luncheon this time, and it will just be really great to be able to do that way. You can stay on Monday and Tuesday and go to Disney if you want, but you still have a room, right? But it's like bringing it all together and you can finish up and go home late that evening. Yeah. I'd just like to finish with the words of Tim Farrell because I think he wraps up what we say about symposium.

SPEAKER_06 31:37

I definitely feel that being a floral designer is a lifelong learning opportunity. And you can never learn enough or never know everything. I believe that we elevate each other by teaching each other. And I think for those that are starting in the industry, it's a great way to learn more about your craft. For those that have been in the industry a long time, it's a great way to refocus and learn from other florals and floral designers at the symposia. The goal is really so that all of us who are being elevated now will someday elevate somebody else. So if we can take that away from the symposium, I think it'll be well worth your time and money.

SPEAKER_12 32:12

So true.

SPEAKER_03 32:13

Perfectly said, Tim. Perfectly said. I hope if anyone listening is on the fence, this sways them over the fence. I really do. And if it does, I hope when you're there, you come up to Vonda or I and go, hey, I'm here because I listened. I really, I want to know. I want to know. Because I promise you will love it. Love it.

SPEAKER_02 32:45

Won't be disappointed.

SPEAKER_03 32:46

You won't. You won't. I have never been to a state convention or a national convention where I left and going, oh, why'd I go? What a waste. I've never done that. Never ever. And the day that happens is the day it's time for me to hang up my bootstraps, hang up my flowers.

SPEAKER_02 33:07

Exactly. So treat yourself and register for symposium today. Do it. And we'll see you in Orlando.

SPEAKER_03 33:14

Yes. 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.

SPEAKER_14 33:33

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