With both a retail store and a year-round greenhouse, Linda Zoerb, AAF, can relate to high fuel price woes as much as anyone. She recently had the opportunity to talk about those challenges with her Congressman and the community at a press conference.

Zoerb, of La Crosse Floral in La Crosse, Wis., says when Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.) invited her to represent the small business community in a conference about rising gas prices and how to take action on that issue, she jumped at the opportunity.

“We’re a retail florist, but we’re also a grower,” Zoerb says she explained. “During my tenure as president the last 14 years, I’ve seen energy costs double. When you see a cost go up 100 percent, it’s huge.”

During the press conference Zoerb talked about the indirect costs of high fuel prices, like losing employees who can’t afford the commute.

“I have three people who drive more than 30 miles a day to come to work,” Zoerb says she told the room full of people. “The price of gas for them is going up, that makes people look differently at where they are going to find employment.”

Kind used the conference to urge his proposal, which calls for a stop in making new purchases of crude oil for the strategic petroleum reserve, and a start in using the reserves to lower gas prices.

Zoerb says she supports Kind’s proposal, and was glad to be part of the effort to promote it. “Whether I’m a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent, his point is very valid,” she says.

By sharing her story with the community, Zoerb says she hopes customers will have a better understanding of how the high fuel prices impact businesses like hers.

--Kori Kamradt
kkamradt@safnow.org

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