Trends — in order to know where you are going, look where you are now and where you have been.

Reviewing creative floral forecasts from various industry segments of several years past and today, we can project where the creative future may be. Geography is very important. One size does not fit all.

Several years ago at a major trade show, I attended a panel discussion about the future of transportation in floral. The panel raised serious concerns about many issues including rising fuel costs, driver shortages, increasing insurance costs and fuel surcharges. All of these issues were, and continue to be, major problems for transporting flowers. However, I didn’t hear any discussion about how we could improve transportation to better satisfy consumers.

RALEIGH, NC — John S. Niblock, who is retiring as floral editor and floral sales manager of The Produce News, was among those honored at a celebration of the 30th anniversary of a statewide child advocacy group he founded here in 1983.

About 250 attended the Nov. 6 reception at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh, according to Deborah Bryan, current president and chief executive officer of the group.

The World Floral Expo show, held in New York the past two years, will move to Chicago in 2014, according to Dick van Raamsdonk, president of HPP Exhibitions Inc. in Amsterdam, which sponsors the annual show. The show was first held in 1999 in New York.

This year’s show will be held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, just a few minutes and one commuter train stop from Chicago O’Hare International Airport. In its announcement, HPP said the show would run from noon to 6 p.m. March 26, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 27, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 28.

An indoor garden of living plants covering some 200,000 square feet and offering 400 exhibitors will greet an expected 6,000 visitors from the United States and 15 other countries at the 41st annual edition of the Tropical Plant Industry Exhibition Jan. 22-24 at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Swing for the fences in 2014. Our industry has come a long way from the debacle years of 2008-09. We have steadily dug ourselves out of the recession and now have a full head of steam. It is now time to be optimistic and aggressive in our sales and marketing. Let there be no holds barred.