The Flower Naming Ceremony has become an important tradition for Floriexpo, honoring life-long members of the floral community that have helped to maintain a high standard of interpersonal conduct and reputation within the industry. In 2024, the event debuted the newly named Hermosa Rosa Maria flower, named for Maria Fernandes, whose passion for the industry and the people in it have made her true floral industry pioneer as the former National Category Manager at Sobeys.

Lee Fanning, the current Category Manager at Sobey’s, took to the stage at Floriexpo to detail Maria’s past in the industry, but we wanted to further explore the significance of this award with her. See what Maria has to say about receiving the award, the approach she’s taken with her team that enabled her to make such an impact across the entire floral industry, and more.

Floriexpo: Meaning “Beautiful Rose,” the Hermosa Rosa Maria flower has a connection to your Portuguese heritage, so we wanted to further highlight that connection and ask what it’s meant to you as the 2024 Flower Naming Recipient.

Maria Fernandes: It was quite an honor, and honestly, I was totally surprised and shocked.  Being recognized in this manner was truly an honor that left me speechless and couldn’t have asked for a better way to finish one chapter of my life of dedicating 45 years to the floral industry.

It was also a really nice touch to bring it back to my culture and my background. I came to Canada when I was eight years old, but I still keep to and celebrate many of our Portuguese traditions from back home, and would bring them to the office. That’s everything from special treats , especially at Christmas with our traditional food. They knew that so by naming and keeping it in my culture, it’s something that impacted me on an even deeper level.

Being on the stage and part of that ceremony is already such a beautiful memory. Every time I think about it, and all that went into making it happen I’m just really touched. It was totally unexpected and really means a lot to me.

That you were so surprised to be honored in this way speaks to the approach you’ve taken throughout your career in terms of how you support your team and department in subtle ways that isn’t always easy to see but makes all the difference to individuals and an entire industry. Can you talk a little bit about what it’s meant to cultivate a culture within a floral department or within an individual team?

When I started running the department, my philosophy was, if I could do it, everyone could do it. Partly because when I started, I didn’t know anything about floral or even how to design.  So I took a class to get certified as a designer. I felt that it so in my department, and it was the same as I grew the business and went from having a staff of four to entire teams, every single person had to learn certain aspects of the job. Even if you’re just coming in part-time to do watering, you need to know how to wrap a flowers  properly to help serve the a customer. If a customer needed to put some simple flowers in a vase, everyone learned how to support that.

But I also made sure I took the time to initiate and teach everyone everything they needed to know. I wanted them to feel comfortable in the job and enjoy what they were doing. It’s been something that I’ve done ever since I started my career.

Let’s go back to that beginning. What can you tell us about the start of your career and how the insights and lessons there were foundational to it?

I started at the store level as a cashier when I was finishing my degree in business. I could only work three days a week, but they didn’t want to lose me as an employee, so they asked me about working in the floral department, which was just an eight-by-four foot section of the floor. What was foundational was the approach I was able to take to trying things out.

Once I was up and going, I heard a lot of questions like, “how come you don’t carry cut flowers?” So I went to the owners and said I wanted to bring cuts into this store. They said no at first, because it was too much of a risk. But I convinced them to try just one pail. Within two hours, they were all gone. That convinced them to bring in more the following week. And it kept growing. I ended up building a cut flower and tropical so they  gave me free rein of bringing in plants. Our sales grew from something like $30 that week to $300 the next and it just kept going.

You’re not always going to succeed when you try something new, but it’s still worth it to try. Sometimes it’s going to fail, but sometimes it isn’t. That’s something that’s stuck with me and something I encourage with everyone on my teams. Don’t be afraid to try something new.

Having that kind of support is essential because it’s the sort of thing that enables growth within a department but also for those individuals. 

Career growth is something I wanted to support in a big way. I always wanted to pass on the knowledge I have to anyone that worked with me, because they needed to know as much as I did to run the department. It was a way for them to also look at their own futures.

I used that philosophy throughout my whole career, from when I was starting to manage the department at store level to when I became a Category Manager. I always told my team, “I want you to be better than I am. I want you to succeed and I want you to be able to feel comfortable in the role.”

I would often give them smaller categories to look after. I wanted them to have the same knowledge and to be comfortable with making certain decisions. That’s the only way you can learn, but it also makes sense for a department and store. If you work as a team, you’re just going to succeed.

I always said, “what’s best for the customer? Don’t think about anything else, what’s best for our customer to retain our customers?”

It sounds so simple, but that approach and that kind of support can make all the difference. It highlights what it means to focus on the essentials, because we’re always getting questions about the latest trend or fashion, but all of what you just said highlights how what’s most important is probably happening within your own department.

Yes, and that’s because what I’ve always said is that what’s current now is not always going to make sense. So have a plan. What is this going to look like in five years? How are you going to improve on it? But one thing that I hope I’ve conveyed is how important is it to stay connected with the people in the stores.

Because I came from the store level, I remember decisions being made at head office that impacted my customers, and with how they reacted to certain things. So I always tried to convey that feedback, and encouraged people at the store level to provide it to me when I was at the Category level. I always kept the lines of communication open with the stores because they’re there, literally talking to the customers.

 It’s such an important connection to have and maintain, so what did you find was the best way for somebody to encourage and maintain those connections?

I always said to not be afraid to pick up the phone. I know that can be tough with timing and schedules, but that’s such an important piece.

A lot of people never even go into a store. They say they’re busy or whatever else, but I made it a point to make those visits during the holiday times, to go to those different regions and areas to talk to the staff. They were busy, and they were often surprised to see me, but I was also there to help if needed. I went into the coolers to pull stuff out to get through those really busy times, but also made sure to take that five to ten minutes to really get a sense of what was good or wasn’t so good in the program and what suppliers delivered properly on the programs.  

It makes a difference because it allows you to build a trust and a confidence. Without that, people at the store level might say things about the head office making a certain decision that shows they don’t know what you’re doing. I didn’t want to be that and I didn’t want the staff to say that I didn’t have an open mind. It goes back to that concept of always trying something new. You have to take those risks.

It’s an approach that enabled an incredibly successful career that has transitioned to a new phase with your retirement. So what can you tell us about what’s on the horizon for you?

I am retired, but I’m going to still keep up with this industry. My passion was really in the innovation, where I could look at something and think, “oh, I can turn this into this and that.” And I think I still have that.

I want to keep visiting industry shows like Floriexpo, but it was such a different experience for me this year. In the past, I was so focused on making sure I was talking to the wholesalers that I needed to connect with and getting work done that you can only do at those sorts of events. This year though, I was able to have many different conversations about where things are in the industry and what it needs, so I’m excited to be part of all of that. I think I still have a lot to contribute to it.

All of which speaks to the reason you’re one of the select Flower Naming Recipients. That willingness and desire to stay connected with this industry, even as your role in it changes, defines this high standard of interpersonal conduct and reputation within the floral industry.

That industry really is my passion. It’s not what I thought my career would be and when I went to school, or even when I started working the floral department all those years ago. But it’s defined my career in a way I’m proud of and I don’t look back with regret on any of it.

And yes, I’m glad to see that passion defines this award, which really is an honor, but there are so many people that have this similar passion for floral, since it’s always changing. One of the things I said about floral is that you can’t get bored because it’s always different, and you really see that during the holidays. They’re never the same. After they wrap up, it’s always, “how can we improve?” That question is always on your mind, so it’s not just about being more creative, but always mixing it up in a way that’s fun and interesting. That’s what I hope continues to drive and inspire future Flower Naming ceremonies and honorees.