Secretary
Stephanie Connor IMF
Iowa native Stephanie Connor IMF made what seemed to be a logical transition from retail and restaurant management, into the floral world in 2014.
“I was approached by a family friend, while on vacation with my fiancé, his family, and several friends, all us happening to be in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at the same time,” she says. “Two years prior, I had finally left the 80+ hours a week work life of a restaurant area manager, and was having a blast as the purchaser, merchandiser and social media manager of an area children’s boutique. I had no intention of going anywhere else, and was loving what I did. I never saw it coming. I was just sitting on the beach, no idea that I was about to be ambushed about a new career venture and that things were about to totally change for me.”
A flower shop in Connor’s current city of residence, Grinnell, Iowa, had closed. Friends of Connor’s owned the building and had also owned a flower shop in that location until their retirement and sale of the business 5 years prior. “There was a need in our town for a quality flower shop where people cared, where they put pride into what they did and really loved their industry. We hadn’t had that in our area for a long time, so… it made sense to say ‘yes’ to running it, but on two conditions: I would need support and training as far as designing, and secondly, I would be first choice to buy the business, and eventually the building once I knew I could do it on my own.”
Connor took the pay cut with confidence, hoping what she would be learning in her new field would all be worth it in the end. The shop owner, Cynthia Sherman IMF CFD, was an Iowa Master Florist and on the Iowa Florists’ Association Board, and encouraged Connor to do the same. “The passion for education is vital to a store’s success; I knew that already But there was no other way I would have ever met all the great people I know in our industry, or have the confidence I do, if it hadn’t been for those formal classes and getting involved with the Board,” she says. “There’s no substitute for those experiences and connections made.”
Shortly before her first Iowa Florists’ Association Convention in fall 2014, Connor got a few surprises. Sherman, who was to emcee the convention, had a death in the immediate family, and would not be able to perform her duties at Convention. This meant a few things for Connor. “She said to me, ‘Oh, you’re around a microphone all the time since you’re a singer. Just go up there and say a few things and introduce people.’ For the first time since high school, I was kind of nervous to speak in front of people- I didn’t know any of them, I was new to the industry, and from looking at the schedule, there was a lot of time to fill with me talking or it would be a bomb- and I would be the easiest to blame, since I’d be the one with the microphone in my hand. I was actually terrified.”
That wasn’t her only twist. She also had to fill the other duties Sherman had agreed to- assisting the industry-famous Guest Designer, Deborah De La Flor. “I looked her up on Facebook and Googled her,” Connor remembers. “I was going to be her only assistant for a state show, and I just knew I would let her down. When she arrived at the venue, I felt panicked. The only thing I could do was paste on a smile and try to not make this woman hate me. I introduced myself, and apologized, explaining that I was there accidentally, and not as the observer I thought I was to be. I told her I had been working with flowers for only 4 ½ months and that I would try my best, or if I needed to somehow switch places with anyone else, I would. I was kind of hoping she would say ‘yes’.”
But she didn’t. De La Flor smiled and told Connor that “we all start somewhere,” and began to guide her through the pieces she was to work on. “She was so supportive,” Connor remembers. “I asked her several questions, but she would keep coming over and praising what I had done. I thought it was nuts. After doing my first real hand-tied pieces with her guidance to start, I then I asked her if she needed me to bevel the Oasis for the centerpieces, and she told me she if I knew about beveling already, she didn’t believe I had only been at this for a short time. It was a huge boost to my confidence.”
It must have worked.
Connor made her way through the Convention, playing emcee to the best of her abilities, and was De La Flor’s assistant during the show as well. She found things to talk about with the audience based on her own experiences thus far in her shop, and forced engagement from the audiences and judges alike. “It ended up being fun… surprisingly. I think I must’ve done well with it, because the Board asks me to do it every year.”
That same Convention, Connor was nominated to and voted onto the Iowa Florists’ Association Board. “That first year was a blur,” she recalls. “There were people coming onto, and leaving, the Board, and so many of them had done it for so long, it was time for fresh faces and ideas. It was a broken Board, and there was a lot to take in, and a lot of change that needed to happen but would only come to fruition with fresh perspectives from new people.” Connor learned from her Board experience in 2015, and served as IFA President in 2016. In the light of all the changes taking place during her term and all the discoveries of what still needed to happen or be repaired, including earning her Iowa Mater Florist Designation, she was asked to remain as President for 2017 and is now the current Past President. Her IFA involvement led to connections with association leaders from other states, and ultimately to her involvement in NAFA.
“I knew nothing about NAFA until I got a chance to speak with a few other people who had been involved with it and had seen what good they can do for state organizations. At my first meeting, I was both appalled and comforted to hear that other states also struggle with membership, engagement, poor prior leadership and resistance to change, all to the level we did, if not worse. I knew nothing when I came into my IFA role as President because the core messages, the drive and the purpose had been skewed or missing for so long. I felt very alone for much of my 2 years as I researched, planned and tried to execute all the changes the IFA needed to remain in existence. Because there was no guide for me, I had to rely a lot on common sense, friends who had served on NPO Boards and help from others I met who had been through something similar. It was draining. I didn’t want anyone else to have to go through that if I could at all be of some help to them. NAFA has allowed me to be a voice of experience OR an ear to listen, and the support system I have found in fellow members is huge. Just the information and insight you pick up from these people… NAFA people are the most dedicated and sincere you’ll find in our industry.”
Connor has headed the IFA’s portion of the annual Christmas decorating of the Governor’s Mansion at Terrace Hill for the past several years in addition to her IFA and NAFA involvement. She has formally purchased her flower shop and plans on keeping education as a top priority when it comes to her staff. She has little spare time, but when she finds it, she sings at weddings and events or with her and her fiance’s band, and the pair host monthly karaoke shows at a favorite local spot.
Flowers by DZyne 813 4th Avenue Grinnell, IA 50112
641.236.7554
bestgrinnellflowers@yahoo.com
