A Growing Success: An Interview with TSFA Texas State Floral Association
Plenty of florists live in states where the floral association faded years ago — and the pandemic finished off more than a few of the survivors. So how does Texas keep its wheel turning? Vonda and Lori sit down with Susan Piland AIFD, CFD, TMF, current president of the Texas State Floral Association, and Cheryl Vaughn CFD, TMFA, immediate past president, to find out what makes TSFA one of the strongest state associations in the country — and what florists everywhere can borrow from it.
Two paths to the same boardroom
Cheryl came to flowers "late" — the 1990s — got involved with TSFA in the early 2000s, and volunteered at her very first convention. There she met her mentor, discovered a passion for education, joined the education committee, became a co-chair and instructor, then a board member. Susan's route started even earlier: the floral design and horticulture program at Skyline High School's career development center. She attended her first TSFA convention the year she graduated, earned her Texas Master Florist certification over two years (back when it was only offered at conventions, pre-internet), and worked her way up through education chair, retail director, and vice president to president.
Why TSFA works when others fold
Asked the question every struggling association wants answered, Cheryl doesn't point to luck. TSFA trains its leaders as they come up, leans on a strong executive director, Diana Nordman, who keeps everyone focused and forward-thinking, and holds every new project against a clear mission: cultivating member success in a strong floral community. The organization also moves fast when it matters — during the pandemic, a quick call to the state agriculture commissioner got floral added to the essential agriculture bill, keeping Texas florists and wholesalers working. "If we can do that through a pandemic, what's gonna stop us now?" Cheryl says.
Getting the younger generation in the door
Lori noticed something at the post-COVID expo in Houston: young people everywhere — including designers running businesses out of their homes without a brick-and-mortar shop. That wasn't an accident. A few years back, TSFA recognized its leadership was aging and deliberately started bringing in floral industry stars with big social media followings who motivate and attract younger designers. Just as important, the association widened its definition of who belongs: not just traditional shop owners, but studio florists, wholesalers, growers, and educators. "We have to change, we have to be open to change," Susan says — and the learning goes both ways. When newer designers come through the Texas floral design school, their fresh take on flowers re-inspires the instructors.
Solving the workforce problem in high school
The challenge TSFA hears about constantly is the same one every shop owner knows: workforce. Texas started addressing it before the shortage hit crisis levels — by training the teachers. At least 300 Texas high school teachers teach floral design full-time, with hundreds more teaching it part-time. Not every student becomes a florist, but every one of them becomes an educated flower consumer, and plenty do enter the industry: Cheryl's own shop employs two level-one certified students, plus a high school teacher who works Saturdays. The program even benefits wholesalers through the extra product those classrooms buy. And the students are teaching the industry right back — this generation wants to come into the shop, touch, feel, and have an experience, which shapes how TSFA thinks about marketing to the next generation of consumers.
How to plug in
TSFA membership reaches beyond state lines — members come from Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, even Arizona. Dues are deliberately affordable, with separate owner and employee rates, and some shops pay for their employees' memberships. The calendar ahead includes a member spotlight in East Texas in January, the Texas Floral Forum in San Antonio in June (two and a half days of hands-on classes, business and design presenters, and the Designer of the Year competition), a fall showcase in West Texas, and a first-ever holiday-themed showcase in Central Texas. Volunteering is as easy as calling the office or visiting tsfa.org — the workroom always needs hands, whether you're slopping buckets or assisting designers.
Key takeaways
- A strong association trains its next leaders on purpose — leadership development is a program, not an accident.
- To attract younger members, bring in the educators they already follow, and welcome studio florists, not just brick-and-mortar shops.
- The workforce pipeline starts in high school: educate teachers and students, and you build both future employees and lifelong flower customers.
- You don't have to live in Texas to join TSFA — and volunteering is the fastest way to find a mentor.
- As Susan tells her 25-year-old self: keep giving to the floral industry, because it comes back tenfold.