Fostering a community, uniting for a common goal, and striving to make it better for the floriculture industry. This is where Kate Penn's passion and dedication lie, as the CEO of the Society of American Florists (SAF). An interesting read awaits you in her answers to the 10 questions on Thursd this week. Get to learn how SAF connects and creates thriving floral communities.
Did you know Kate has a beautiful rose named after her? Yes, she does, a rose named Rose Katy from the breeder Kordes Rosen. Here are the 10 questions for Kate Penn, enjoy!
Question 1
For those who don’t know you, who are you, and what do you do?
"I'm Kate Penn, the CEO of the Society of American Florists (SAF). This means that I lead SAF's efforts to -- and I’m quoting our mission statement here "to connect and cultivate a thriving floral community." We do this through education, both live and virtual events throughout the year, as well as the content on our website in our bimonthly magazine and our biweekly newsletter. We are also the industry’s watchdog, meaning we advocate for the floral industry’s interests on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Additionally, represent the floral industry in the media through timely and effective communications where needed.
I discovered the floral industry 37 years ago. I had graduated at the time with a degree in journalism and was doing some freelance writing for newspapers, and I saw an ad for a writer for a trade association called the Society of American Florists. That launched my career in the floral industry. Over the years my position evolved and changed a lot from writing and editing to running our publications, helping develop all of our education for live events to weighing in on the strategic direction of SAF.
Seven years ago I was asked to put my hat in the ring for the CEO position when our longtime CEO Peter Moran was retiring, so I decided to do that and I have been in this position ever since. As far as what the job entails, the common thread through all of those roles for me and the 10 other members of our team is listening to our members talk about their challenges, their needs, what’s keeping them up at night, and working with our team and our volunteer leadership to develop content and programs and an advocacy strategy to help them thrive."
Question 2
What is so special about your job?
"The industry that we serve and the beauty and positive impact on emotional well-being derived from flowers and plants. This industry adds to the world's joy and love and these are some of the things that make this job so special and important."
Question 3
Are there any specific challenges or obstacles you’ve faced at work, and how did you overcome them?
"COVID-19 is the first thing to come to mind. What does an organization that is focused so much on gathering people together for live events do during a pandemic? Although initially stumped, it quickly became very clear, SAF needed to play whatever role it could in ensuring that consumers could still buy flowers and plants, in this environment where options for gift-giving and family visits and celebrations were going to be drastically disrupted.
So, we focused our efforts on helping the floral industry pivot. And we did this by connecting the industry for peer-to-peer sharing the way we always have, but we just had to do it virtually. Between mid-March 2020 through the end of May that same year we held two to three different live virtual webinars every single week. We made those webinars open to anyone in the industry whether you were a SAF member or not. And our industry took advantage of it. On average, we could have anywhere from 900 to 1300 people on just one webinar. Our other area of focus was urging States and municipalities to make the floral industry an essential business so businesses could stay open."
Question 4
What are the threats in the industry, and if so, do you have any solutions for them?
"The first thing that comes to mind is labor; attracting and retaining talent. However, that's less of a threat and more of a challenge and has been for many years. I'd say more of a threat to our industry is the lack of succession planning or planning for an exit strategy, meaning when a business owner is ready to retire and, rather than passing it along to a family member or selling the business to someone they simply shut the doors. Every time that happens the community has lost a florist and there's one less option for the consumer to buy flowers. And that's not good for the industry.
SAF is focused on both of these issues. Our next-gen initiative educates and inspires the young people in our industry, to keep them in the industry. We do this through monthly happy hours where the “next-genners” come together and discuss issues, on a Facebook group and during an annual gathering called Next-Gen Live! We're making an impact.
I have talked to so many people who have gotten involved with SAF’s next-gen activities and they say things like, “I am so excited about this industry,” “I didn't know how complex it was and how many different kinds of career paths there were,” and “I didn't realize there were so many people my age in this industry.” So, with our efforts to bring this next generation of the industry together, we are securing a labor pool not only for today but also for the future.
We also focus a lot of our content and programming around helping business owners build a successful business that one day they can sell. We do this in our bi-monthly magazine, a biweekly newsletter, and monthly virtual events during our live events at the annual convention every year. Helping our industry build viable businesses is something that is worth selling down the road and is a huge part of what SAF does."
Question 5
How has technology like e-commerce platforms or digital marketing affected your industry, which strategies have you employed to stay competitive?
"Well, I've been around long enough to remember what it was like before e-mail and the internet but I'm sure we don't want to go back that far!
E-commerce has enabled more consumers to buy more flowers often, so that is a good thing for the industry. And it's because of e-commerce and our industry’s ability to provide contact-free delivery, which led to great success during COVID-19. It's also meant more competition, which on the one hand can be very frustrating. However, competition also is what keeps industries strong, by challenging businesses to continue to grow and evolve."
Question 6
Who (in or outside the floral industry) is an inspiring example to you? And Why?
"Within the floral industry, it's really hard to narrow it down to just one person. This industry is filled with so many creative, innovative, generous, and hard-working people. And they're funneling all of that energy not only into their businesses but also in the ways they give back to the industry. You see it at every single floral industry event you attend whether it's SAF's annual convention or AIFD Symposium or one of the amazing state association conventions. It’s truly awe-inspiring. And then there are the almost 50 volunteer leaders who volunteer to serve in SAF’s leadership, our board of directors, councils, and task forces. These people give up their time to come together and talk about the trends and challenges in the industry and figure out how SAF can help the industry move forward. I am truly inspired by our volunteer leaders.
On a personal level, I’m most inspired by really great journalists, people who are doing in-depth investigative reporting to get the stories that need to be told into the spotlight."
Question 7
How do you handle stress or difficult moments in your life?
"Some wise people have said that a stress-free life is a life of unrealized potential. I agree with this. As I have said more than once to our team, if we’re not failing then we’re not trying hard enough (full disclosure, another stolen line!). However, managing stress and taking care of our mental health is more important than ever, and I also stress this with our team. That means listening to my body and brain when it says it needs a break. And doing things that I love outside of work: lots of yoga, hiking, cooking, and spending time with my husband and two amazing (adult) daughters, from whom I learn so much. Finally, humor is so important to keep things in perspective – my parents raised us to not take ourselves too seriously; from them, I learned that laughter sometimes truly is the best medicine!"
Question 8
What has been the best (floral or non-floral) news for you lately, or of the last year?
"I'm excited about the enthusiasm in the industry that's starting to build around sustainable business practices. Research that was conducted by the American Floral Endowment has shown that consumers are willing to pay more for sustainably produced flowers, and we’re seeing more and more floral businesses adopt sustainable business practices. This, of course, is a good thing. At SAF we’re very focused on telling the industry’s sustainability stories to the media, so the more stories we have to tell, the better."
Question 9
Which is your favorite flower/plant and why is it good for you?
"I can't narrow it down to one! That would be impossible. I love ranunculus, anemones, dahlias, and roses, and there are some gorgeous new chrysanthemum and carnation varieties… And of course, I am quite partial to (and am completely honored by) a new rose that was named after me, called ‘Katy’, propagated by Plantec and bred by Kordes!"
Question 10
What are you doing this weekend?
"OK, this weekend let's see... Friday I am going to a postcard writing gathering, to write postcards to voters in swing states to encourage them to vote (a certain way, which of course I will not divulge) in the upcoming US presidential.I’ll be doing some cooking on Saturday for friends coming to dinner. And on Sunday I'm going to a shower for a friend from my yoga studio – but not for a wedding or baby but because she just got a dog! The other thing I'll be doing is packing for Ecuador because I am attending Expo Flor Ecuador in Quito on Monday.
My favorite non-working activities are cooking, yoga, hiking, and traveling."
All pictures courtesy of Kate Penn.
