Celebrations to ring in the Chinese New Year will begin in earnest on Feb. 10. Drawing upon the Chinese zodiac, 2013 is the Year of the Snake. According to Chinese wisdom, a snake in the house is regarded as a sign that a family will not starve. And people born in the Year of the Snake are regarded as keen, intelligent, wise and skilled at business. Festivities during the Year of the Snake will conclude Feb. 24.

The Southeast Produce Council will honor Paul J. DiMare Sr. with its 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award during the council's annual convention and trade show later this winter in Florida.

The convention, known as Southern Exposure, will take place from Feb. 28 to March 2 at the Caribe Royale Resort & Conference Center in Orlando, FL. This will be the 10th convention and trade show for the council, which was formed in 1999 and which has grown steadily ever since.

The California Association Flower Growers & Shippers (historically termed NORCAL) is ramping up quickly for 2013, setting a newer and quicker pace to demonstrate member value and to assure that NORCAL is ready to accept a leadership position within this internationally competitive industry.

Developed for the experienced frontline sales manager or branch manager, the Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association’s 2013 Management Institute will focus on the problems and opportunities in coaching and leading a team of outside selling professionals, according to a news release.

The institute runs March 15-16 in Charlotte, NC. Leading it will be sales expert Jim Pancero, a consultant from Dallas who has been directly involved in business-to-business selling for more than 40 years, six of which were spent selling large computer systems for IBM Corp.

In the last few years, no one in the floral industry has changed more than the wholesale florist. Today’s wholesalers have worked hard to improve their position in the distribution channel, serving a vital and expanding role in floral distribution. And no organization is as uniquely positioned to meet the needs of floral distribution as is the Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association.

The year 2012 started on a good note as importers continued to receive their Andean Trade Preference & Drug Eradication Act duty refunds that were granted in November 2011. This provided a great confidence boost for the industry in the beginning of the year.

The 2012 Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day season did not have the weather-related issues that the floral trade had been faced with in previous years. This allowed the industry to feel confident about the great product it was providing to the consumer.