2024 Business Presenters
Social Gurus, Superstar Storeowners and 40 Under 40 Professors.
Discover the keys to success in the floral industry from our phenomenal business presenters who will be sharing their expertise & insight with you at the GLFEE.
Stephanie Brady
PMP | Project Manager at the Society of American Florists
Stephanie Brady PMP
Stephanie Brady, PMP, is SAF’s project manager and heads up some of the most visible and beloved programs at SAF, including SAF’s Next Gen Group, the Professional Floral Communicators-International (PFCI), the annual Sylvia Cup Design Competition, Outstanding Varieties Competition, SAF’s annual awards, and much more.
Dr. Breigh Jones-Coplin
Owner & Founder of Black + Blossomed
Dr.Breigh Jones-Coplin
Dr. Breigh Jones-Coplin received her PsyD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Denver’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology and currently practices as a mental health clinician and sport psychology consultant.
Breigh also has a Master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology from University of Denver and currently serves as the Clinical Assistant Professor for the same program.
Dr. Breigh is also the owner and founder of Black + Blossomed, LLC - a floral design company.
Breigh created Black + Blossomed to showcase Black art and ignite a movement away from merely surviving as a community to thriving -and is passionate about intersecting the world of flowers and mental health.
She just recently opened her first brick and mortar for Black +
Blossomed and is spearheading a movement of using flowers as a vessel for healing, understanding self, and appreciating the world around us.
Tim Huckabee
Owner & Founder of The Profitable Florist
Tim Huckabee
Tim was raised and educated in Connecticut and moved to New York City in the early 90s to pursue
a career in marketing, what he studied in college. While searching for his career move, he decided to
take a part-time job in a flower shop for some cash flow. And he was hooked. Tim worked at very
high-end, super organized luxury shop and learned every aspect of the business. What was meant
as a temporary job soon became his career.
After several years Tim decided to take all those best practices and launch his own company,
FloralStrategies, with the idea of bringing sales and service training to retail florists right in their
shops. Since 1997 Tim has visited over 7000 flower shops on 5 continents and does most
training now by webinar. In addition to writing for all the major trade magazines and speaking at floral
events around the world, Tim hosts an online academy covering it all from sales to design.
In spring 2022 Tim decided it was time for change again and he moved to the center of the floral
universe, Amsterdam, and rebranded the company as The Profitable Florist. Tim and his team
continue their mission to aid florists in becoming more efficient and prosperous. On the horizon for
2024 is the launch of their app, designed to make stores even more profitable. He spoken at several
GLFEE events and is back for 2024.
Jackie Lacey
AAF, AIFD, CFD, PFCI | Director of Education and Industry Relations with Floriology, BloomNet and Napco
Jackie Lacey AAF, AIFD, CFD, PFCI
Jackie Lacey has over thirty-five 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 current position as Director of Education and Industry Relations with Floriology, BloomNet and Napco and Senior Design Team Specialist and Senior Editor for Floriology Magazine keep him on top of market trends, current design
trends, industry education and retail marketing.
Jackie has won numerous awards in floral design competitions in both multi state, national and local floral associations. Published articles have appeared on both his expertise and floral experience. 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.
Ellie LaFever
PFCI | Creative Director and CMO
at Flower Clique
Ellie LaFever, PFCI
As a born and bred flower child, Ellie LaFever has learned the floral industry through osmosis. From washing buckets and answering the phone to designing sympathy and weddings, her
creative progression and love for flowers blossomed into her role as Creative Director and CMO at Flower Clique. Ellie’s day-to-day role includes product development, photography,
educational course creation, product innovation, and e-commerce growth for retail florists.
When she isn’t behind the screen, you can find her cooking, drinking wine, traveling, and taking her chiweenie Roma on new adventures.
Shirley Lyons
AAF, PFCI | Owner of Dandelions Flowers & Gifts
Shirley Lyons AFF, PFCI
Shirley Lyons has been the owner of Dandelions Flowers & Gifts in Eugene, Oregon for 43 years. She has also served as Past President and Chairman of the Board - Society of American Florists. Additionally, she has over 20 year experience serving as a chair on Committees for Teleflora, FTD Unit, various District Groups and the NorthWest Florist Association.
Shirley has been involved in the floral industry for 40+ years and has spoken at countless industry events and seminars.
Derrick Myers
CPA, CFP | President of Crockett, Myers and Associates
Derrick P. Myers, CPA, CFP
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, with certificates in accounting
and finance, Derrick went on to successfully attain his Certified Public Accountant designation,
and was made a partner in the accounting firm of Crockett, Myers & Associates. He continued
his professional education and became a Certified Financial Planner. Derrick provides the
expertise to guide businesses and individuals toward their financial goals through management
advisory services, as well as tax, estate and financial planning.
Over the past 35 years in his role as a business consultant and coach, Derrick has developed
financial strategies which are unique in the floral industry. His strategies have proven instrumental in increasing the profitability of many florists. He shares these techniques during his coaching sessions as well as through his seminars. These techniques focus on helping florists reduce costs, manage staff, save taxes, and run a more profitable business.
Since 1983 Derrick has been working to create and perfected his “Floral Analysis Program”
while working with hundreds of florists and being active in numerous florists associations. The
“Floral Analysis Program” breaks down and analyzes financial statements in such a way that
Derrick can show the florist owner exactly where to focus their time and energy to reduce costs
and increase profits.
Bob Negen
Co-founder of WhizBang!
Bob Negen
Co-founder of WhizBang! Retail Training, is a retail expert, author, speaker, and
business coach. Bob motivates and trains independent retailers to improve and grow their
businesses with actionable tactics and strategies. His proven systems and techniques
consistently deliver measurable results in over 40 retail industries – including the floral industry.
Bob speaks to business owners in their own language using real-world retail experiences and
humorous stories from the trenches.
A retailer himself for 19 years, Bob turned his single kite
store into an award-winning multi-million-dollar toy store chain. Now he uses his four decades of retail experience to help store owners and managers learn the necessary business skills they
need to succeed in today’s changing retail environment.
Kate Penn
CEO of the Society of American Florists
Kate Penn
Kate Penn is CEO of the Society of American Florists and leads the association’s small but mighty team in connecting and cultivating a thriving floral community, through its advocacy, live and virtual events, content, business best practices, online learning platform and more.
Renato Cruz Sogueco
AAF, PFCI | Vice President of Digital
Strategy and Education at BloomNet
Renato Cruz Sogueco AAF, PFCI
Vice President of Digital
Strategy and Education at BloomNet, a premier florist services
company. His primary role is to serve member florists by developing
innovative services and solutions focusing on digital marketing
strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO), search engine
marketing (SEM), social media, content marketing and mobile strategy to help them build web traffic and engage customers.
He also serves as lead educator on topics such as new technology, digital marketing strategy and business, consumer and demographic trends at the Floriology Institute in Jacksonville, FL., and the new online learning
platform, Floriology Now. Prior, he served as Chief Information Officer
(CIO) for the Society of American Florists (SAF), the floral industry’s
trade organization providing marketing, technology and government
relations for flower growers, suppliers, wholesalers and retailers.
Lori Wilson
PFCI | Director of Education and Community for Flower Clique
Lori Wilson PFCI
Lori Wilson, PFCI
As the Director of Education and Community for Flower Clique, Lori brings her background of
20+ years in education and her passion for connection to our ever-changing industry. She
focuses on helping business owners lead their teams with excellence, emphasizing sales and
leadership effectiveness, employee motivation, and transformative mentoring. Lori's
undeniable passion for ongoing education has led to her roles as a presenter and panelist at the
Society of American Florists and the Texas State Floral Association.
She is the co-host of a top floral podcast, The Business & Pleasure of Flowers, and has over twelve years of experience in the floral industry. She is the mother to three wonderful children and one needy dog named Bo. Lori and her husband Mark reside in Houston, Texas.