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406.542.0309 MFA Secretary
MFA Monthly Newsletter
April Newsletter
Exciting News! Meet Your 2025 Convention Speakers. We’re thrilled to officially announce two outstanding industry professionals joining us for our 2025 Convention at Fairmont Hot Springs!
** Business Speaker (and more): Tim Huckabee – Known for revolutionizing floral sales and customer service, Tim brings powerful insights that will elevate any shop’s performance. ** Designer: Jackie Lacey ,AAF, AIFD, PFCI, CFD, – A master of floral artistry, Jackie will inspire and educate with stunning design demonstrations and creative Tricks of the trade. A more thorough Bio for each of these presenters will follow, as well as a more detailed description of their presentations. For now, we are just excited to spread the news!!! It’s goanna be awesome! Mark your calendars for October 17-19, 2025, Stay tuned for more details about this highly anticipated event! Tips & Tricks Session – April 23 @ 2:00 PM (MT). Join us for a casual Zoom session to connect with other florists, share ideas, and ask any questions you have! Whether it’s design, staffing, pricing, or prepping for Mother’s Day –nothing is offlimits. Don’t miss this opportunity.
***Facebook Page Reminder--Heads up! There are two MFA Facebook pages floating around – but only one is active and accurate. Follow the page with the convention information in the banner image to stay in the loop! This page is updated regularly and it has all the correct association and convention details.
**Sponsor Spotlight: Reliant Ribbon A huge shout-out to Reliant Ribbon – not only are they regular supporters of MFA, but they’re also Emerald Level Sponsors at this year’s AIFD Symposium in Palm Springs. We’re grateful for their continued support of the floral community!
**Dues Reminder--If you haven’t paid your 2025 membership dues, now’s the time! Staying current ensures you’ll continue receiving updates, benefits, and first access to convention news and registration.
**The AIFD scholarship for the 2025 symposium entry will be announced on the 15 th of April. Stay tuned!!! Thank you and congratulations to all that applied. Hopefully if MFA has members who are excited about participation in these scholarships we might be lucky enough to continue being able to award them. Fingers crossed.. Let’s grow together and keep making Montana bloom! Montana Florist Association mtfloristassc@gmail.com 406-542-0309 ( Lindsay ) Montanafloristassociation.com
Upcoming Events
2025 Montana Florist Convention
Fairmont Hot Springs
1500 Fairmont Road
Fairmont, MT 59711
Come for a full weekend of learning, designing and creating.
2025 AIFD Symposium
The final lineup of Symposium Designers is subject to change.
Join Us July 12-15th
Palm Springs, CA
- World-Class Designers
- Cutting Edge Marketing
- Business Focused Programs
- Interactive Immersive Workshop Experiences
Reflet with us in Palm Springs…New Symposium Experience
- PAYMENT PLANS AVAILABLE!
Our Sponsors- Click to View
2025 MFA Convention Speakers
Jackie Lacey, AAF, AIFD, CFD, PFCI
Jackie Lacey has over forty years of experience in the retail floral market and floral education field. His portfolio includes an extensive background in the retail floral market and wedding/event design experience. Jackie now utilizes his experience to provide education and instructional design programs, market showroom set up, private
Jackie Lacey has over forty years of experience in the retail floral market and floral education field. His portfolio includes an extensive background in the retail floral market and wedding/event design experience. Jackie now utilizes his experience to provide education and instructional design programs, market showroom set up, private retail consulting, product development as well as design and event planning. His most recent position as Director of Education and Industry Relations with Floriology, BloomNet and Napco, Senior Design Team Specialist and Senior Editor for Floriology Magazine have kept him on top of market trends, current design trends, industry education and retail marketing. Jackie utilizes his extensive video development, creation, capture, and editing as co-creator of one of the top floral education centers in the industry and is considered one of the top floral educators not only in the field but in the world. .
Jackie has won numerous awards in floral design competitions in multi-state, national and local floral associations. His work has been published in Floriology Magazine, SAF, “Flowers &”, “Modern Bride”, “Inside Weddings” and many others. National Television exposure includes designing and participation for WE TV programs “Platinum Weddings” and “I Do Over” as a Celebrations.Com Floral Expert. Previous work for celebrities such as Drew Barrymore, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, Diane Lane, Cheryl Ladd, Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere, Matthew McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio have come easily through participation with floral design on several major motion pictures.
Continuing education through numerous stage presentations for multi–state Associations and national industry leaders such as SAF, AFE, Virgin Farms Direct, Smithers-Oasis, BloomNet, FTD, Fitz Design Team, Floral Strategies and John Henry Company allow Jackie to help the continued growth of the floral industry. Experience in floral design for the Tournament of Roses Parade floats, product development team for the largest Import/Export show in the world and set up and design for Gift Market showrooms only adds to the vast floral experience he can call on for every event. His expertise in floral evaluation and judging, see him requested as a fair and non-bias judge in numerous floral competitions.
He has served as a leader in many industry associations to include his current position as 2023-2025 Past President of FSFA International, AFE Trustee and board member. His previous positions include 2019-2021 AIFD National President, 2011-2022 AIFD National BOD, and he has served on numerous AIFD committees and previous member of the AIFD Southern Regional Board. Recipient of the 2023 FSFAI Humanitarian Award, 2021 FSFAI Lifetime Achievement Award, 2021 AIFD Special Award of Dedication, 2022 AIFD Special Award of Recognition, and 2022 GLFA National Service Award. Jackie’s extensive travels across the country, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, China, and Europe afford many opportunities for him to interact with designers of all levels and share this extensive background and experience to florists everywhere.
Tim Huckabee, The Profitable Florist
Tim Huckabee’s journey in the floral industry began in 1993 when he took a job at Surroundings Flowers in New York City. What started as just a job quickly became a passion, as he learned the ins and outs of running a successful flower shop. Seeing firsthand what worked—and what didn’t—he realized that sales and service skills were the m
Tim Huckabee’s journey in the floral industry began in 1993 when he took a job at Surroundings Flowers in New York City. What started as just a job quickly became a passion, as he learned the ins and outs of running a successful flower shop. Seeing firsthand what worked—and what didn’t—he realized that sales and service skills were the missing ingredients in most shops. Determined to change that, he took the best practices he had learned and developed a structured process to teach florists how to sell with confidence, maximize every sale, and provide top-tier customer service.
Since 1997, Tim has personally visited over 7,000 flower shops around the world, training teams in real-life selling techniques that drive results. He continues to teach and coach florists both on-site and through live webinars, helping them transform their businesses into highly profitable, customer-focused operations.
With The Profitable Florist, Tim has worked with shop owners and teams across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and North America, conducting hands-on training and coaching programs that empower staff to be more organized, confident, efficient, and professional.
Florists may also recognize Tim as the author of Flower Shop Sale or Fail, the must-read monthly column in SAF’s Floral Management magazine, where he breaks down real customer interactions and reveals how shops can dramatically improve their sales and service.
With a degree in Marketing from the University of Connecticut, decades of hands-on experience, and a passion for helping florists sell with confidence, Tim remains the industry’s go-to expert for turning everyday staff into high-performing sales professionals—and turning struggling shops into highly profitable businesses.
2024 MFA Convention...Fairmont, MT
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