The Flower Naming Ceremony has become an important tradition for Floriexpo, honoring lifelong members of the floral community who have helped to maintain a high standard of interpersonal conduct and reputation within the industry. In 2024, the event debuted the newly named Hermosa Rosa Maria flower, named for Maria Fernandes, whose passion for the industry and the people in it have made her a true floral industry pioneer as the former National Category Manager at Sobeys.
Lee Fanning, the current Category Manager at Sobey's, took to the stage at Floriexpo to detail Maria's past in the industry, but we wanted to further explore the significance of this award with her. See what Maria has to say about receiving the award, the approach she's taken with her team that enabled her to make such an impact across the entire floral industry, and more.
Floriexpo: Meaning "Beautiful Rose," the Hermosa Rosa Maria flower has a connection to your Portuguese heritage, so we wanted to further highlight that connection and ask what it meant to you as the 2024 Flower Naming Recipient.
Maria Fernandes: It was quite an honor, and honestly, I was totally surprised and shocked. Being recognized in this manner was truly an honor that left me speechless and couldn't have asked for a better way to finish one chapter of my life of dedicating 45 years to the floral industry.
It was also a really nice touch to bring it back to my culture and my background. I came to Canada when I was eight years old, but I still keep to and celebrate many of our Portuguese traditions from back home, and would bring them to the office. That's everything from special treats, especially at Christmas to our traditional food. They knew that so by naming and keeping it in my culture, it's something that impacted me on an even deeper level.
Read more at: floriexpo.com