Ullrich Receives WF&FSA's LTK Award
A 30-year career in the floral industry that began by selling flowers out of a tiny MGB was celebrated during last week's WF&FSA Convention, when Peter Ullrich was named the 2008 WF&FSA Leland T. Kintzele (LTK) Distinguished Service Award recipient, WF&FSA's highest honor.
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SMALL BEGINNINGS LTK Award recipient Peter Ullrich's 30-year floral industry career began as a third job, selling flowers out of the back of a tiny MGB, to supplement his income. |
The LTK award annually recognizes a member who has made significant, long-term contributions to the floral industry and has displayed integrity, fairness, perseverance and decisiveness during his or her career. A visibly surprised Ullrich listened, as the presentation of the award included a retrospective of his floral industry career.
Ullrich was one of the first growers to establish a presence in Latin America and capitalize on the year-round climate there for growing flowers. His career began in the late '60s, when he supplemented the income from two other jobs by selling flowers. He'd drive to the Miami airport twice a week and load up his MGB with flowers and sell them from store to store. In 1971, he opened a wholesale operation in Queens, N.Y., and imported flowers from South America. That path led him to partnering with and eventually buying a fledgling farm in South America. Despite the fact that he knew nothing about growing flowers, he eventually turned it around, selling his flowers through CFX in Miami and later started the Condor Farms Marketing arm, which became Esmeralda Farms.
In the early 1990s, Ullrich added breeding to his repertoire and today has as many as 25,000 different seedlings being tested for commercial viability. Esmeralda Farms employs more than 5,000 people, with farms spanning over 1,000 acres.
"Yes, I started with a little MGB, it sure was a lot easier selling flowers then," Ullrich said, chuckling, as he accepted the award. "We work a lot more now ... the floral industry is a wonderful industry."
--Kate F. Penn
kpenn@safnow.org
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