More than three decades already, wow! Congratulations to you Steve Dionne for such a great milestone and unwavering passion for the floral industry. You have a chance to read Steve's story on the 10 questions this week on Thursd, to say it's insightful is an understatement because it is such a great read.
Through his paradigm, you can view the floral world differently, learn unique approaches to stressful situations, and understand his passion for fresh flowers, as mirrored in an initiative he is so passionate about 'That Flower Feeling' campaign.
Question 1
For those who don’t know you, who are you, and what do you do?
"That seems like a great place to start! My name is Steve Dionne, and I have been involved in the floral industry for over thirty years. I’ve always been very involved in the California floral industry, and in 2012 I founded Wafex USA in partnership with Wafex Australia to specialize in importing Australian and South African native flower varieties grown around the globe.
Most recently, however, in 2020 I took the role of Executive Director of CalFlowers and this is my full-time focus. As an extension of my role with CalFlowers, we launched That Flower Feeling (TFF), a national consumer marketing campaign to increase fresh flower consumption in the U.S. market."
Question 2
What is so special about your job?
"There is a lot to enjoy about working with CalFlowers and That Flower Feeling. Although CalFlowers continues to be perceived by many as solely representing the California floral industry, we are a fully national association with members in all fifty states, and all segments of floral. CalFlowers supports a huge range of national and state-level industry initiatives and being part of this amazing network, fueling growth and change, is extremely gratifying.
That Flower Feeling is also a very personally rewarding project. Our vision for TFF is an enduring consumer-facing brand that the entire floral industry can organize under, and that endures decades into the future. With the support of huge swaths of the industry in all segments we are truly building something special for the benefit of all floral industry stakeholders. Each incoming cohort in the future of floral will benefit more and more from the work we are doing today as the American consumer identifies with our brand and understands the benefits of including fresh flowers in their everyday life."
Question 3
Are there any specific challenges or obstacles you’ve faced at work, and how did you overcome them?
"The greatest challenge I’ve faced in my current role was quite simply the lack of the skillset to effectively do the work. Because I had been involved at the board level with CalFlowers before taking on the Executive Director role, I had a high degree of familiarity with everything the job entailed. That Flower Feeling, however, introduced two important new buckets of work performance that I had no prior experience with – consumer marketing and fundraising. I’m a firm believer that when you’re feeling the most vulnerable, uncomfortable, and overwhelmed is when you experience the most growth, and as I look back on those first two years of developing That Flower Feeling I can see that.
We hit it out of the park with the marketing campaign we created, including two prestigious international marketing awards and SAF’s Floral Marketer of the Year award, and the industry at large met our brand and campaign launch with tremendous enthusiasm. On the fundraising side, over 200 companies have supported TFF Foundation with financial contributions and we’re currently developing additional fundraising mechanisms around TFF-branded items offered through traditional and mass-market retailers."
Question 4
What are the threats in the industry, and if so, do you have any solutions for them?
"One advantage to being involved with CalFlowers is it provides a much broader perspective on the many threats to different industry segments. Our members are breeders, growers, transporters, importers, wholesalers, retailers, everyone. Each segment has its threats of significance – for example, our California producers are facing sustained, unprecedented cost increases in almost every major expense category simultaneously. We could spend hours discussing the range of threats, but I do know that effecting a significant increase in demand for flowers will go a long way towards solving most of them.
For many of us, the uptick in demand that the industry experienced as society came out of the COVID-19 shock was the first time we have ever experienced demand outstripping supply month after month. This is why we created That Flower Feeling, as a growing pie will create more beneficial business conditions for everyone throughout the floral supply chain. To put this another way, the greatest threat to the floral industry is very likely every other product that competes with floral in the consumer landscape and the solution TFF offers is to broaden the scope of how consumers view flowers as a viable, day-to-day purchase."
Question 5
How has technology like e-commerce platforms or digital marketing affected your industry, which strategies have you employed to stay competitive?
"In the context of CalFlowers, which unlike many of our members does not need software platforms designed to facilitate effective commerce, we implemented a new AMS (Association Management Software) platform this year. The increases in efficiency of our database management, member communication capabilities, and website were remarkable, and I was once again struck by the relatively easy and low-cost process. I think back to several nightmarish episodes of ERP-level implementation projects lasting months on end and with tremendously complex buildouts.
With the several recent software projects I have been involved in, the sleeker SAAS platforms present a much lower bar to successful implementation than how things were prior. It’s a refreshing change that represents the natural acceleration of technological tools that promise to develop even more quickly as AI, and eventually AGI transform business practices."
Question 6
Who (in or outside the floral industry) is an inspiring example to you? And Why?
"I often feel like I won one of life’s most important lotteries when I was blessed with my amazing parents. Jim and Thayis Dionne are a beacon of inspiration to me and my family. I had the great fortune of working and building a business with them for the first half of my career, and so many of my positive experiences in the industry are attributable to the lessons they taught me. But the real inspiration comes from how they live their life, their unflagging faith, their generous treatment of others, and their worldly knowledge. They inspire me to be good, be productive, be faithful, and be at peace with myself."
Question 7
How do you handle stress or difficult moments in your life?
"As I mentioned above, I believe strongly that periods of stress and challenges are the only times we experience significant growth in our lives. Therefore, when I’m going through one of those – and there are many! – I take comfort in reminding myself that not only is everything going to turn out okay, but I’ll be a better, stronger person for having experienced it. This philosophy has served me well, and it’s one of the lessons I most hope my three sons can take from me as they carve out their own lives in a very challenging world."
Question 8
What has been the best (floral or non-floral) news for you lately, or of the last year?
"Great question, and this one is easy. For me, it hasn’t been one thing but a series of related things involving my sons. Jason, Tyler, and Colin range in age from 17 to 23 and so are in that part of life where it’s time to go find your place in the world. Watching them propel through college applications and eventually head off to university, take on their first jobs, settle on areas of academic focus, and simply expand their horizons has been immensely fun and rewarding. Tyler was married this year, so I also am blessed to welcome a daughter-in-law into the family."
Question 9
Which is your favorite flower/plant and why is it good for you?
"This answer may be surprising in that my favorite flower is not suitable for the cut flower industry. It’s Clivia, and I’ve been drawn to it since the first time I saw one when I moved to San Diego. Clivia is an intense orange with a yellow throat, the contrast is striking and adds a lot of depth to the overall appearance. In addition, it blooms in a tight cluster and has deep green, attractive foliage. It’s stunningly beautiful."
Question 10
What are you doing this weekend?
"This is Thanksgiving Week in America, and that provides a time not only for family gatherings, but also affirming our gratitude for our families, our faith, and our country. My son and his wife are visiting from Texas for the holiday, and we’ll be visiting the beach, biking on Coronado Island, and making some great home-cooked meals, playing some board games.
On Sunday, I’m playing a round of golf with some of my industry friends. Every time I get together with this group, we spend the majority of our time talking about and encouraging each other to be the best leaders we can be in our businesses, our communities, and our families. It’s regenerative to spend time with people who want to leave the world a better place than they found it, and I treasure these friendships. So, for me, the weekend promises high-quality time with family and friends!"
All pictures courtesy of Steve Dione.
