Read letters from American Floral Endowment incoming chair Art Van Wingerden, outgoing chair David Garcia

Art Van Wingerden, COO of Metrolina Greenhouses, is the new chair of the American Floral Endowment.

Van Wingerden, who joined the AFE Board of Trustees in 2018, began his two-year term in September 2026, succeeding past chair David Garcia of Pete Garcia Company/Garcia Group. Garcia will continue his service to the organization for an additional two years as past chair.

As the role transitions from Garcia to Van Wingerden, both shared letters, published in full below, courtesy of AFE.

A Letter from AFE’s Outgoing Chairman, David Garcia

Dear AFE Supporters and Friends,

It has been a tremendous honor to serve as Chairman of the American Floral Endowment over the past two years. When I began my term, I shared my confidence in AFE and optimism for where we were headed. Today, as my term comes to a close and AFE celebrates 65 years of serving the floral industry, I am even more confident in the important role this organization will play in our industry’s future.

AFE was built on the idea that our industry is stronger when we invest in our future together. I have seen that idea in action through the dedication of our Trustees and staff, the generosity of our donors, and collaboration throughout the floral community.

Together, we have accomplished a great deal:

• Expanded AFE’s investment in innovative research addressing pressing industry challenges, from pest and disease management to production, postharvest, sustainability, and emerging technologies.
• Distributed more than $1.5 million in research, scholarship, and grant funding during the 2024-2025 fiscal year alone.
• Launched a new explainer video and our website’s AI chatbot, Professor Petal, to raise awareness and make AFE’s resources easier to access.
• Expanded Sustainabloom as a free, research-based sustainability resource for the entire floral supply chain.
• Continued investing in our next generation through scholarships, internships, the Young Professionals Council, and the new Professional Development & Leadership Webinar Series.
• Strengthened AFE’s long-term foundation through Named Funds, including six new funds established this year.
• Launched a redesigned Floral Marketing Fund website, making important consumer research and marketing resources easier to access.
• Reached our 65th Anniversary with more than $23 million invested back into the floral industry since AFE’s founding.

Our industry continues to evolve, bringing new challenges and opportunities. Research is becoming more complex and costly, developing the next generation requires continued investment, and businesses need reliable resources to adapt. At the same time, outside funding sources are becoming less certain.

That makes AFE’s role more important than ever. For more than six decades, the Endowment has provided a way for the floral industry to invest in itself, creating a lasting foundation of resources, opportunities, and solutions for generations.

None of what we have accomplished would have been possible without AFE’s dedicated staff, Board of Trustees, donors, volunteers, researchers, educators, industry partners, and supporters. Thank you for your commitment and confidence in AFE.

As my term concludes, I look forward to serving as Immediate Past Chairman and supporting our incoming Chairman, Art Van Wingerden of Metrolina Greenhouses. I am confident AFE will continue building on the strong foundation so many have helped create.

I leave you with the same invitation I shared when my term began: get involved. The future of floriculture belongs to all of us. Whether through a contribution, volunteering your expertise, hosting an intern, sharing our resources, or helping others understand AFE’s impact, there is a role for everyone.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as Chairman. I am proud of what we have accomplished together and excited to see what the next 65 years will bring.

Incoming Chairman Art Van Wingerden Shares Vision

Investing in the Next Generation

It is an honor to begin my term as Chairman of the American Floral Endowment, particularly as AFE celebrates its 65th anniversary.

I have spent my entire life in the industry. Over that time, I have watched our businesses change, technology advance, markets evolve, and new challenges emerge. But one thing has remained constant: our industry depends on good people who understand the business, care about what they do, and are prepared to keep learning and adapting.

As I begin my chairmanship, one of my priorities is ensuring we develop people for the future while continuing to provide the necessary research, education, and resources our businesses need to address the challenges they face today.

Across our industry, growers, wholesalers, retailers, suppliers, floral designers, and other businesses are asking many of the same questions. Where will our next generation of employees and leaders come from? How do we introduce talented young people to opportunities in floriculture? And once they are here, how do we give them the experience, knowledge, and connections to build lifelong careers in our industry?

At the same time, our businesses are facing increasingly complex challenges. We need research that addresses current and emerging issues, educational resources and tools that businesses can implement now, and consumer research that helps us better understand changing markets. Supporting the researchers, educators, and experts behind this work is an important part of ensuring we all have access to the advancements and information we need.

This is where AFE plays such an important role. The Endowment connects our industry with academia and young professionals, invests in research, education, and programs that address real industry needs, and collaborates with organizations across floriculture to broaden the impact of that work. We bring together people who understand the challenges firsthand with those who can help develop solutions and put that knowledge to work.

Through scholarships, internships, education, and research funding, AFE puts those connections into action. Scholarships support students pursuing their education. Internships introduce them to floral businesses and open doors to careers. Educational opportunities help emerging professionals develop skills and relationships. AFE-funded research addresses industry needs while supporting the faculty and scientists whose expertise we rely on. These aren’t separate efforts. They reinforce one another, building the talent, knowledge, and leadership our industry needs to grow.

The Endowment has been doing this work for decades, and its strength has always come from industry involvement. Businesses host interns. Industry members identify research priorities, serve on committees, share expertise, and mentor young professionals. Researchers work directly with industry. Our partners extend programs and knowledge throughout the floral community. Individuals and companies provide the resources that put this work into motion.

AFE is a connector for our industry. We work across segments and alongside other industry organizations to bring people, expertise, and resources together. Support for the Endowment can have an impact well beyond any single program, company, or segment.

Part of that support also has to do with sustainability, and at AFE, we have a program specifically designed for that called Sustainabloom. We encourage everyone in our industry to leave our world in a better place than we found it. We can do that with smarter packaging, better transportation routes and a myriad of other ways to accomplish these goals by working together to come up with solutions.  

As Chairman, I want to strengthen those connections by encouraging greater involvement with AFE. Support isn’t defined by the size of a business or by any one type of contribution. We need people to participate, share their knowledge, provide opportunities, build partnerships, and invest in programs that move our industry forward. The more engaged our industry becomes with AFE, the more the Endowment can do for our industry.

After a lifetime in this business, I know our future depends on both the people we prepare for tomorrow and how well we equip our businesses to succeed today. AFE gives us a proven way to do both by investing in people, research, education, and resources that strengthen our industry.

As we celebrate 65 years, I look forward to strengthening that foundation and creating more opportunities for the next generation to find their place, build their careers, and ultimately lead this industry forward.