AIFD News > AIFD Incorporates Member Feedback into CFD Program Revisions

AIFD News

You Spoke, We Listened!
AIFD Incorporates Member Feedback into CFD Revisions

February 11, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Tom Shaner, CAE or Eric Grammer

(Baltimore, MD) — You spoke and we listened. This theme summarizes the most recent meeting of the AIFD National Board recently held in Chicago, site of “Collaboration…Floral Education” the 2008 National Symposium (July 3-7).

After previously announcing plans for the implementation of an exciting, new floral designer recognition program – Certified Floral Designer (CFD) – many members called AIFD or visited with a member of the National Board to offer suggestions on how the program could be improved. Unlike some organizational boards that might have responded, “Thanks for your comments, but we’ve already done a lot of planning and we’re going forward as announced,” the AIFD Board listened carefully to all the input and elected to try to incorporate many of the suggestions into the CFD program before it is made available to the floral industry.

Most important in how the AIFD directed its CFD Task Force to continue its work was to incorporate a greater level of floral design education requirements into the process. To accomplish this objective, the Board directed representatives of the Task Force to meet with representatives of the National Education Committee with a focus on developing educational requirements and a means of measuring the outcomes of such programs. This might include, for instance, a requirement that CFD candidates take a designated series of design education classes to be offered by AIFD either alone or in conjunction with various floral industry events, i.e., state conventions.

“The goal of the CFD program was always to encourage floral design education,” said President Tom Simmons AIFD. “After really listening to our members, however, we realized that we needed to strengthen that element in the program.”

The Board also agreed that the CFD recognition needed to be a tool by which AIFD members could focus on encouraging talented designers to continue their professional growth with the ultimate goal of achieving AIFD Accreditation and joining members in their mission to advance the art of professional floral design.

It was also agreed that CFD will become a pre-requisite for floral designers to move on to AIFD Accreditation. “This is a strong statement in terms of floral design education,” stressed Simmons. “We want to assure the floral industry as well as the flower-consuming public that AIFD members not only have the artistry to design at the highest level but are also educated about floral design terms and techniques.”

“The CFD program is a dynamic one that AIFD hopes will inspire new talents in our industry to be motivated through education and recognition,” said Simmons. “Speaking on behalf of the entire National Board of Directors, we are thrilled by the constructive input we received from our members. This input is going to help all of us develop a program of which we will all be proud and which will provide a wonderful service to the entire floral industry.”

The AIFD CFD Work Group is planning to meet in April.

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