November 20, 2024 • 19 mins
Discover the rewarding career paths in floriculture available to FFA members! From floral design and horticulture to event planning and marketing, the floral industry offers diverse opportunities to FFA members. This blog shares insights from Randy Wooten and Sharon McGukin about mentoring FFA students, building essential life skills, and participating in the many programs like the Georgia Floral Design Clinic discussed here. Whether you're a florist or simply passionate about floriculture, learn how you can make an impact by guiding the next generation in their floral careers.
How we Bloom podcast is an oasis of flower ideas. Host Sharon McGukin of Smithers-Oasis North America interviews floral guests who dare to do things differently. We listen, learn, explore new opportunities and that's how we bloom!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Randy Wooten (00:06):
we all know there's a shortage of designers
out there and that's just onepart of our industry, but here's
an excellent way get involvedand help cultivate new blood for
our industry.
Sharon McGukin (00:24):
Welcome to How We Bloom, an oasis of flower
ideas.
I'm your host, Sharon McGukin,AIFD, AAF, PFCI, and I believe
that every great success storystarts with one simple idea.
That's why we interview thosewho dare to do things
differently.
Inspiring people who plantseeds, grow ideas, and bloom to
(00:48):
their full potential.
In this podcast, we listen,learn, and grow.
Explore new opportunities, andthat's how we bloom.
Joining us for today's podcastis Randy Wooten, AIFD, PFCI,
(01:09):
CFD, GMF of RW Wholesale inDouglas, Georgia.
Randy has joined us to discusshis commitment to introducing
FFA members to floriculture.
After working with an FFA memberin his own floral shop, Randy
discovered his passion fortraining students to join the
floral industry.
(01:30):
Randy developed a statewidefloral design clinic ten years
ago that's held annually inconjunction with Georgia FFA
Association.
The clinic serves 200agriculture students and Georgia
FFA advisors each year.
Participants learn basics suchas how to design boutonniere or
wrist corsage, to more advanceddesigns like bouquets and both
(01:54):
water and foam based designs.
Classes include pricing, floraltrends, and flower care under
the guidance of floralprofessionals, offering
opportunities that many studentsin the classroom won't have
otherwise.
Thank you for your time.
Randy, thank you so much forjoining us today to enlighten
our listeners as to how they canparticipate with FFA students
(02:18):
that might be interested injoining the floral industry.
Randy Wooten (02:22):
We would love for as many people to get involved
as possible and the probably theeasiest way and quickest way to
get involved would be reach outto your local FFA chapter, to
your middle school, junior high,high school, and touch base with
the FFA advisor and say, Hey,I'm here.
I would love to work with yourkids, let them know that you're
(02:44):
a resource and you're willing.
That's one of the biggestchallenges that the program
faces is because many FFAadvisors, floral design or the
floral industry is not in theirwheelhouse, okay?
They cover so many careerdevelopment, events.
the FFA.
(03:04):
So floral design andfloriculture is just one of
them.
So in many cases they have noclue where to begin.
they're even afraid to reach outto the florist.
So that's probably the easiestand quickest way to get involved
is reach out and make yourselfknown on a state level, there's
more than one state.
Georgia is one of, I think,three that I know of.
(03:27):
California, Texas, as, as wellas Georgia.
We all have strong designworkshops, clinics,
certification programs.
I would reach out if you don'thave a contact in your state.
You can always reach out to me.
I can provide you with one.
is a, what we call a statesupervisor, that is in charge of
(03:50):
floriculture or floral design inthat state.
And I can definitely put you incontact with those people.
Now, on the national level, wehave a national convention every
year.
Right now it's in Indianapolis,and it's always, normally the
last week October, which iscoming up pretty quick.
(04:11):
You reach out to me.
We're always looking forvolunteers for that contest or
career development event.
Just to give you an idea, ittakes about 65 volunteers to
pull that off.
That career development event,is comprised of 10 different
(04:33):
segments, and each segment hasto have volunteers.
Now, I will tell you, not allvolunteers that are needed have
to be a floral designer, or evenin the floral industry.
They can be in the horticultureindustry.
They could be a professional.
There's one component to thisthat has to do with
(04:53):
interviewing.
They have to do a mockinterview.
So we're looking for businesspeople, business minded people
from that segment to come in andbe the person that is doing the
interview.
There's so many different waysthat you could be
Sharon McGukin (05:08):
when I was president of AIFD, I attended
that FFA National and howamazing was that to see 55, 000
great kids In one building.
It was just astounding.
I've never gotten over howamazing that felt because it was
(05:30):
really eye opening to see whatall they could do, what all they
wanted to do, and to see themajor corporate sponsors who are
contributing to this program tohelp bring it to life.
And with it being the studentswho are in Floral classes that
being within our own industry.
(05:51):
We really need to be a part ofthe support for that type of
structure
Randy Wooten (05:58):
Absolutely, I'll never forget my first trip to
National Convention.
Even though I was a product ofFFA and grew up in it, I never
attended National Conventionuntil I became part of that
committee and it was trulyoverwhelming.
I'll tell you.
As a whole, that organization isdriven with leadership.
(06:21):
it's amazing to watch these 15,16, 17 year olds take the And
and present and speak like it'sjust unreal.
I can't stress how rewarding itis to see that, it just
reinforces why I feel ourindustry needs to be a part of
(06:43):
that organization, and that isan excellent source to cultivate
new blood for our industry.
I think we need to really putourself out there and expose
ourself to them and be thatresource.
Sharon McGukin (06:59):
think if they have that much confidence at
that age, just think what allthey can accomplish in a
lifetime.
I'm with you.
That was really impressive.
And also impressive are thevolunteers who work with them
and the advisors.
And I think that is just like inthe case of yourself.
It's a passion.
(07:20):
They really have, the goals setfor these kids and are very,
very earnest in how to bringthem forward.
Now we see that's the challengefor people getting involved with
FFA, but what are the challengesfor the floral industry for
bringing FFA students to theindustry again, as I alluded to
(07:41):
earlier, not everybody wants adesign knife and a design table.
There are other jobs.
Growers, importers, wholesalers,retailers, there's just such a
scale of businesses within itand at AIFD we have begun
bringing in FFA go and creatingprograms for them.
(08:02):
recording, as a floral industrycould we do stronger?
a challenge of bringing them inand having them want to
participate in the floralindustry?
Randy Wooten (08:16):
That's a great question because I can speak
personally from within our statein Georgia, and I'm sure Texas
and California will echo this aswell.
You referenced earlier thefloral clinic that we do every
year.
It just happened recently, andin that clinic, we were only
able to accommodate 270 kids.
(08:38):
And we had a big waiting list.
Just in case someone canceled,put me in.
interest is there, we just don'thave the manpower.
it's hard because we're allbusy.
Many people that have their ownshops are running on skeleton
crews right now.
I get it.
But one of the challenges wefind is having the time to give
(09:01):
to these students and show upand volunteer.
I wish we were able to bringmore table, but we need the
volunteers.
And that's one of the challengesthat we face.
Another one is in the retailworld.
People may have the passion andwant to do it, but they're
(09:22):
limited, their staffing limited.
And so I think if we were tobring a State Association or
AIFD, example, Southern RegionalChapters, come together and help
pull that together.
We're better in numbers, and Ijust think It takes, it'll take
a little bit of cultivating andwork and I appreciate you having
(09:44):
me on today because this is agreat way to pull that there and
say there's a need.
Many times we hear, I can't doanything about something if I
don't know there's a need, andthis is a big challenge for the
Sharon McGukin (09:59):
And we will also do a blog of this same
information and you're going toprovide for me some pictures
from the actual event that youaccomplished.
So look for the blog and thephotos and perhaps if we look
toward individual businessesbeing able to bring in and do it
(10:20):
even on a smaller scale, thenthat keeps that knowledge local
and helps them to grow in thatparticular area.
So it's not like you really haveto go out and participate on a
larger, long distance level.
These are things that can bedone in, in your own flower shop
or your own agricultural orhorticultural businesses, I
(10:44):
think.
Randy Wooten (10:47):
Absolutely, and I want to take the opportunity to
share my personal experience andmy success story, as I like to
call it within our Georgiaprogram.
Workshop, we've had many and youalways love to hear it because
you wonder so many times whenyou have this large group of
kids, what actually, will youreap from this?
(11:08):
And I can tell you now, of theyoung ladies who.
I mentored and worked locallyfor five years.
She went on and won the statecontest in floral design.
when she graduated, I had hopedshe would go into the floral
industry.
However, she left Coffee Countyand went to Georgia Tech has a
(11:31):
master's in engineering.
And after she graduated, to mysurprise, she moved back home to
Douglas, Georgia and started anevent company.
flowers and weddings.
Yes.
And I was thrilled that she didthat and then two years later
purchased my retail shop and iscontinuing my grandmother and
(11:54):
great grandmother's legacy.
With whole new, fresh look.
They're just killing it.
I mean, they're young.
They know social media.
It's just, I couldn't be moreproud and she's just one of many
success stories that we havehere in Georgia.
There's been, I know off hand,five that I've counted before we
(12:16):
came on that have went out andeither work in a shop or had
their own shop.
it's encouraging and veryrewarding.
We all know there's a shortageof designers out there and
that's just one part of ourindustry, but here's an
excellent way get involved andhelp cultivate new blood for our
industry.
So I encourage you to do.
(12:36):
If you focus on assisting withFFA training and programs, even
though you're doing it for thereason of volunteering for them,
very often it comes back to youin your own business or in your
own community.
I think that's really great.
The main reason I think that wespecify FFA is because they're
already showing an interest inlearning of things that are
(13:00):
nature, things that are handson.
A lot of people who are in theindustry come from a farm or a
landscape or a small businessbackground.
These kids are kind of prequalified because they are those
things.
If our listeners from across thecountry wanted to reach out and
ask for more advice, would yoube open to speaking with them
(13:25):
about ways that they can getinvolved or sharing contacts
that you have with FFA National,things of that matter?
Oh, absolutely.
I've been encouraged over theyears during my involvement.
If I can be of any service,please reach out.
I have we have resources.
I can put you in contact withthose people there again.
(13:48):
You may not know who to contactin your area, in your state.
I can provide you with that by asimple phone call.
have direct access to theNational Superintendent of
Floriculture.
Her and I are really goodfriends.
We work together.
We can help you.
All you gotta do is
Sharon McGukin (14:09):
Fantastic.
And in the blog, I'm going tohave links to some other career
development event programs thatyou can reach directly through
FFA and you can follow thoselinks to get to that
information.
Now, one thing I want toclarify, I said contest or
competition and you said weprefer to call it the
Randy Wooten (14:36):
Career development event.
Sharon McGukin (14:39):
So when he says career development event, he is
talking about the programs wherethe kids are evaluated.
Randy Wooten (14:49):
Yes.
And, of looking at this as thisis a competition, it is, they're
being evaluated independently,not compared to one another.
But the main goal is we arecareer development.
We're building skills for acareer and I think that was a
great choice in moving in thatdirection with the verbiage
(15:12):
because it puts you in a wholedifferent mindset, it reinforces
to the student that this is morethan just a contest.
We're trying to build lifeskills here and I think this is,
At a ground level that we shouldbe involved in as an industry
FFA is probably the most perfectfit for that because like you
(15:36):
said, they're alreadyinterested.
They already come from that kindof background.
it's a really greatorganization.
Sharon McGukin (15:43):
what you've just said is very important.
Building life skills.
Because when you're working withflowers or plants, that's
something you can do as you andI have done.
for careers, but it's somethingyou can do as a hobby.
It's something you can do that'svery healing.
Even if the students learned andthey never did more than
(16:04):
decorate their own homes orflowers for events in their
life, if they celebrate lifewith flowers, that in itself has
a purpose.
Randy Wooten (16:17):
Absolutely, and we want to promote our product in
our industry.
So yes, it's a win/win all theway around.
Great way of
Sharon McGukin (16:25):
And anything that we can do to encourage
them, we definitely want to doit, because it's been my
experience that FFA students arejust really great kids.
Randy Wooten (16:36):
they are.
Is there anything else you'dlike to share with us, Randy,
before we go?
Well, I just want to say thankyou again for inviting me to
come and share and talk aboutthe FFA program.
It's very dear to me.
meant a lot to me as a growingup in school For someone and I
know people who know me now willprobably think this is crazy for
(17:00):
me to say this But when I was inschool, I was a very shy kid I
never wanted attention drawn tome.
I never stood up in front of theclass and spoke but through FFA,
helped me tremendously becauseit put me out there.
if you were to have told RandyWooten at age 15, that at some
(17:22):
point in my life, I would bestanding on AFD stage speaking
to hundreds of people.
I would have told you werecrazy.
However, was through thosementors that helped me a lot.
So you can see why I'm verypassionate about the
Sharon McGukin (17:37):
I can see that.
You and I both have referencedAIFD, so I think I should say
for our listeners that might notbe aware, that's the American
Institute of Floral Designers.
That's something that we bothare very active in, and I just
appreciate everything you'redoing, especially because you're
doing it for my state.
So, thank you so much, RandyWooten.
(17:59):
Fellow Georgian.
Randy Wooten (18:01):
Well, thank you.
Sharon McGukin (18:08):
To our audience, Smithers Oasis North America.
Randy and I want to thank youfor joining us today.
If you've enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend
and be sure to hit subscribe.
You don't want to miss theinspired solutions our upcoming
guests will share with you foryour personal or business
growth.
If you have topics or guests youwant to hear, please message me.
(18:32):
We'd love to hear from you.
Until next time, I'm SharonMcGukin reminding you that like
the unfurling petals of aflower, we grow by changing
form, soaking inspiration inlike raindrops, absorbing energy
from others like warmth from thesun.
This growth opens us up to newideas and that's How we Bloom.
we all know there's a shortage of designers
out there and that's just onepart of our industry, but here's
an excellent way get involvedand help cultivate new blood for
our industry.
Sharon McGukin (00:24):
Welcome to How We Bloom, an oasis of flower
ideas.
I'm your host, Sharon McGukin,AIFD, AAF, PFCI, and I believe
that every great success storystarts with one simple idea.
That's why we interview thosewho dare to do things
differently.
Inspiring people who plantseeds, grow ideas, and bloom to
(00:48):
their full potential.
In this podcast, we listen,learn, and grow.
Explore new opportunities, andthat's how we bloom.
Joining us for today's podcastis Randy Wooten, AIFD, PFCI,
(01:09):
CFD, GMF of RW Wholesale inDouglas, Georgia.
Randy has joined us to discusshis commitment to introducing
FFA members to floriculture.
After working with an FFA memberin his own floral shop, Randy
discovered his passion fortraining students to join the
floral industry.
(01:30):
Randy developed a statewidefloral design clinic ten years
ago that's held annually inconjunction with Georgia FFA
Association.
The clinic serves 200agriculture students and Georgia
FFA advisors each year.
Participants learn basics suchas how to design boutonniere or
wrist corsage, to more advanceddesigns like bouquets and both
(01:54):
water and foam based designs.
Classes include pricing, floraltrends, and flower care under
the guidance of floralprofessionals, offering
opportunities that many studentsin the classroom won't have
otherwise.
Thank you for your time.
Randy, thank you so much forjoining us today to enlighten
our listeners as to how they canparticipate with FFA students
(02:18):
that might be interested injoining the floral industry.
Randy Wooten (02:22):
We would love for as many people to get involved
as possible and the probably theeasiest way and quickest way to
get involved would be reach outto your local FFA chapter, to
your middle school, junior high,high school, and touch base with
the FFA advisor and say, Hey,I'm here.
I would love to work with yourkids, let them know that you're
(02:44):
a resource and you're willing.
That's one of the biggestchallenges that the program
faces is because many FFAadvisors, floral design or the
floral industry is not in theirwheelhouse, okay?
They cover so many careerdevelopment, events.
the FFA.
(03:04):
So floral design andfloriculture is just one of
them.
So in many cases they have noclue where to begin.
they're even afraid to reach outto the florist.
So that's probably the easiestand quickest way to get involved
is reach out and make yourselfknown on a state level, there's
more than one state.
Georgia is one of, I think,three that I know of.
(03:27):
California, Texas, as, as wellas Georgia.
We all have strong designworkshops, clinics,
certification programs.
I would reach out if you don'thave a contact in your state.
You can always reach out to me.
I can provide you with one.
is a, what we call a statesupervisor, that is in charge of
(03:50):
floriculture or floral design inthat state.
And I can definitely put you incontact with those people.
Now, on the national level, wehave a national convention every
year.
Right now it's in Indianapolis,and it's always, normally the
last week October, which iscoming up pretty quick.
(04:11):
You reach out to me.
We're always looking forvolunteers for that contest or
career development event.
Just to give you an idea, ittakes about 65 volunteers to
pull that off.
That career development event,is comprised of 10 different
(04:33):
segments, and each segment hasto have volunteers.
Now, I will tell you, not allvolunteers that are needed have
to be a floral designer, or evenin the floral industry.
They can be in the horticultureindustry.
They could be a professional.
There's one component to thisthat has to do with
(04:53):
interviewing.
They have to do a mockinterview.
So we're looking for businesspeople, business minded people
from that segment to come in andbe the person that is doing the
interview.
There's so many different waysthat you could be
Sharon McGukin (05:08):
when I was president of AIFD, I attended
that FFA National and howamazing was that to see 55, 000
great kids In one building.
It was just astounding.
I've never gotten over howamazing that felt because it was
(05:30):
really eye opening to see whatall they could do, what all they
wanted to do, and to see themajor corporate sponsors who are
contributing to this program tohelp bring it to life.
And with it being the studentswho are in Floral classes that
being within our own industry.
(05:51):
We really need to be a part ofthe support for that type of
structure
Randy Wooten (05:58):
Absolutely, I'll never forget my first trip to
National Convention.
Even though I was a product ofFFA and grew up in it, I never
attended National Conventionuntil I became part of that
committee and it was trulyoverwhelming.
I'll tell you.
As a whole, that organization isdriven with leadership.
(06:21):
it's amazing to watch these 15,16, 17 year olds take the And
and present and speak like it'sjust unreal.
I can't stress how rewarding itis to see that, it just
reinforces why I feel ourindustry needs to be a part of
(06:43):
that organization, and that isan excellent source to cultivate
new blood for our industry.
I think we need to really putourself out there and expose
ourself to them and be thatresource.
Sharon McGukin (06:59):
think if they have that much confidence at
that age, just think what allthey can accomplish in a
lifetime.
I'm with you.
That was really impressive.
And also impressive are thevolunteers who work with them
and the advisors.
And I think that is just like inthe case of yourself.
It's a passion.
(07:20):
They really have, the goals setfor these kids and are very,
very earnest in how to bringthem forward.
Now we see that's the challengefor people getting involved with
FFA, but what are the challengesfor the floral industry for
bringing FFA students to theindustry again, as I alluded to
(07:41):
earlier, not everybody wants adesign knife and a design table.
There are other jobs.
Growers, importers, wholesalers,retailers, there's just such a
scale of businesses within itand at AIFD we have begun
bringing in FFA go and creatingprograms for them.
(08:02):
recording, as a floral industrycould we do stronger?
a challenge of bringing them inand having them want to
participate in the floralindustry?
Randy Wooten (08:16):
That's a great question because I can speak
personally from within our statein Georgia, and I'm sure Texas
and California will echo this aswell.
You referenced earlier thefloral clinic that we do every
year.
It just happened recently, andin that clinic, we were only
able to accommodate 270 kids.
(08:38):
And we had a big waiting list.
Just in case someone canceled,put me in.
interest is there, we just don'thave the manpower.
it's hard because we're allbusy.
Many people that have their ownshops are running on skeleton
crews right now.
I get it.
But one of the challenges wefind is having the time to give
(09:01):
to these students and show upand volunteer.
I wish we were able to bringmore table, but we need the
volunteers.
And that's one of the challengesthat we face.
Another one is in the retailworld.
People may have the passion andwant to do it, but they're
(09:22):
limited, their staffing limited.
And so I think if we were tobring a State Association or
AIFD, example, Southern RegionalChapters, come together and help
pull that together.
We're better in numbers, and Ijust think It takes, it'll take
a little bit of cultivating andwork and I appreciate you having
(09:44):
me on today because this is agreat way to pull that there and
say there's a need.
Many times we hear, I can't doanything about something if I
don't know there's a need, andthis is a big challenge for the
Sharon McGukin (09:59):
And we will also do a blog of this same
information and you're going toprovide for me some pictures
from the actual event that youaccomplished.
So look for the blog and thephotos and perhaps if we look
toward individual businessesbeing able to bring in and do it
(10:20):
even on a smaller scale, thenthat keeps that knowledge local
and helps them to grow in thatparticular area.
So it's not like you really haveto go out and participate on a
larger, long distance level.
These are things that can bedone in, in your own flower shop
or your own agricultural orhorticultural businesses, I
(10:44):
think.
Randy Wooten (10:47):
Absolutely, and I want to take the opportunity to
share my personal experience andmy success story, as I like to
call it within our Georgiaprogram.
Workshop, we've had many and youalways love to hear it because
you wonder so many times whenyou have this large group of
kids, what actually, will youreap from this?
(11:08):
And I can tell you now, of theyoung ladies who.
I mentored and worked locallyfor five years.
She went on and won the statecontest in floral design.
when she graduated, I had hopedshe would go into the floral
industry.
However, she left Coffee Countyand went to Georgia Tech has a
(11:31):
master's in engineering.
And after she graduated, to mysurprise, she moved back home to
Douglas, Georgia and started anevent company.
flowers and weddings.
Yes.
And I was thrilled that she didthat and then two years later
purchased my retail shop and iscontinuing my grandmother and
(11:54):
great grandmother's legacy.
With whole new, fresh look.
They're just killing it.
I mean, they're young.
They know social media.
It's just, I couldn't be moreproud and she's just one of many
success stories that we havehere in Georgia.
There's been, I know off hand,five that I've counted before we
(12:16):
came on that have went out andeither work in a shop or had
their own shop.
it's encouraging and veryrewarding.
We all know there's a shortageof designers out there and
that's just one part of ourindustry, but here's an
excellent way get involved andhelp cultivate new blood for our
industry.
So I encourage you to do.
(12:36):
If you focus on assisting withFFA training and programs, even
though you're doing it for thereason of volunteering for them,
very often it comes back to youin your own business or in your
own community.
I think that's really great.
The main reason I think that wespecify FFA is because they're
already showing an interest inlearning of things that are
(13:00):
nature, things that are handson.
A lot of people who are in theindustry come from a farm or a
landscape or a small businessbackground.
These kids are kind of prequalified because they are those
things.
If our listeners from across thecountry wanted to reach out and
ask for more advice, would yoube open to speaking with them
(13:25):
about ways that they can getinvolved or sharing contacts
that you have with FFA National,things of that matter?
Oh, absolutely.
I've been encouraged over theyears during my involvement.
If I can be of any service,please reach out.
I have we have resources.
I can put you in contact withthose people there again.
(13:48):
You may not know who to contactin your area, in your state.
I can provide you with that by asimple phone call.
have direct access to theNational Superintendent of
Floriculture.
Her and I are really goodfriends.
We work together.
We can help you.
All you gotta do is
Sharon McGukin (14:09):
Fantastic.
And in the blog, I'm going tohave links to some other career
development event programs thatyou can reach directly through
FFA and you can follow thoselinks to get to that
information.
Now, one thing I want toclarify, I said contest or
competition and you said weprefer to call it the
Randy Wooten (14:36):
Career development event.
Sharon McGukin (14:39):
So when he says career development event, he is
talking about the programs wherethe kids are evaluated.
Randy Wooten (14:49):
Yes.
And, of looking at this as thisis a competition, it is, they're
being evaluated independently,not compared to one another.
But the main goal is we arecareer development.
We're building skills for acareer and I think that was a
great choice in moving in thatdirection with the verbiage
(15:12):
because it puts you in a wholedifferent mindset, it reinforces
to the student that this is morethan just a contest.
We're trying to build lifeskills here and I think this is,
At a ground level that we shouldbe involved in as an industry
FFA is probably the most perfectfit for that because like you
(15:36):
said, they're alreadyinterested.
They already come from that kindof background.
it's a really greatorganization.
Sharon McGukin (15:43):
what you've just said is very important.
Building life skills.
Because when you're working withflowers or plants, that's
something you can do as you andI have done.
for careers, but it's somethingyou can do as a hobby.
It's something you can do that'svery healing.
Even if the students learned andthey never did more than
(16:04):
decorate their own homes orflowers for events in their
life, if they celebrate lifewith flowers, that in itself has
a purpose.
Randy Wooten (16:17):
Absolutely, and we want to promote our product in
our industry.
So yes, it's a win/win all theway around.
Great way of
Sharon McGukin (16:25):
And anything that we can do to encourage
them, we definitely want to doit, because it's been my
experience that FFA students arejust really great kids.
Randy Wooten (16:36):
they are.
Is there anything else you'dlike to share with us, Randy,
before we go?
Well, I just want to say thankyou again for inviting me to
come and share and talk aboutthe FFA program.
It's very dear to me.
meant a lot to me as a growingup in school For someone and I
know people who know me now willprobably think this is crazy for
(17:00):
me to say this But when I was inschool, I was a very shy kid I
never wanted attention drawn tome.
I never stood up in front of theclass and spoke but through FFA,
helped me tremendously becauseit put me out there.
if you were to have told RandyWooten at age 15, that at some
(17:22):
point in my life, I would bestanding on AFD stage speaking
to hundreds of people.
I would have told you werecrazy.
However, was through thosementors that helped me a lot.
So you can see why I'm verypassionate about the
Sharon McGukin (17:37):
I can see that.
You and I both have referencedAIFD, so I think I should say
for our listeners that might notbe aware, that's the American
Institute of Floral Designers.
That's something that we bothare very active in, and I just
appreciate everything you'redoing, especially because you're
doing it for my state.
So, thank you so much, RandyWooten.
(17:59):
Fellow Georgian.
Randy Wooten (18:01):
Well, thank you.
Sharon McGukin (18:08):
To our audience, Smithers Oasis North America.
Randy and I want to thank youfor joining us today.
If you've enjoyed this episode,please share it with a friend
and be sure to hit subscribe.
You don't want to miss theinspired solutions our upcoming
guests will share with you foryour personal or business
growth.
If you have topics or guests youwant to hear, please message me.
(18:32):
We'd love to hear from you.
Until next time, I'm SharonMcGukin reminding you that like
the unfurling petals of aflower, we grow by changing
form, soaking inspiration inlike raindrops, absorbing energy
from others like warmth from thesun.
This growth opens us up to newideas and that's How we Bloom.
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