... we would be willing to bet every florist in the U.S. could ditch those exhaust-emitting vans and deliver flowers via their very own cavalry. So tell us, what are your holiday wishes? To get someone to give your Web site a brand new look? A marketing campaign that will reach the younger generations? A fleet of Budweiser horses to help get deliveries out by carriage when the weather gets bad (see, we knew it was a good idea)? Send your business-related wishes to vmachir@safnow.org and we'll print the best ones in E-Brief. As an added incentive, everyone who writes in by Dec. 19 and includes their company's name and mailing address in their e-mail will receive a FREE copy of SAF's "The Marketing Edge" (read more about this powerful tool in this issue's Product Spotlight). What do you wish for?

SAF is urging the industry's growers and wholesalers to take advantage of a public comment period for the first U.S. national standard for sustainable agriculture. 

Inspection delays at U.S. Customs in Miami should not impact the movement of product through Miami during Valentine's Day, according to Christine Boldt, of the Association of Floral Importers of Florida (AFIF) and other organizations looking into the issue.

Florists are among the countless number of businesses affected by the six-week long Writers Guild of America strike.

With less than two weeks before Christmas, it is still not clear if this is going to be a boom or bust for retailers. Here is where the season stands to date:

Last year the National Retail Federation reported that predicted spending on Valentine's Day would continue to increase, and more than half of the men planning on making purchases for the holiday of love (58.3 percent) would be spending that money on flowers, while 27.6 percent would be spending it on jewelry.

Juggling big budget event work alongside the retail business is something some florists can relate to — and others wish they could. High-end event designer and retail florist Ian Prosser, AAF, AIFD, NDSF, PFCI, is tired of the juggle. The Scotland-born florist, whose clients have included the likes of Tom Cruise and the Backstreet Boys, is leaving retail to focus solely on event work.

Sometimes free publicity falls in your lap. Ask the Pannepacker family, owners of Penny's Flowers in Glenside, Pa. The business is celebrating its 70th anniversary, and, thanks to a recent news article, the whole community knows it.

Break out the legwarmers. Warm up your cassette players. The '80s are back, sort of.

Just as soon as growers learn to fight one bug or plant disease, new or resistant strains show up. The good news is, better pest and disease control techniques, as well as tools and products, are being developed to help meet the challenge. Growers can get up to date on the latest science and talk to experts in the field at SAF's 24th Annual Pest Management Conference in Atlanta, Feb. 28-March 1. Get the complete conference schedule and register online or download the full brochure now.

• Deadline for SAF Awards nominations and PFCI and AAF applications: Feb. 1, 2008.
• SAF's Congressional Action Days: Feb. 25-26, 2008, in Washington, D.C. Register online.
• SAF's Pest Management Conference: Feb. 28-March 1, 2008, in Atlanta. Register online.
• SAF Palm Beach 2008: Sept. 17-20, 2008, at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla.

BJ Dyer, AAF, AIFD, of Bouquets in Denver was interested in our story in the previous week's issue of E-Brief about workplace eating. He says it got him thinking about allowing food in the workplace, the inefficiencies it sometimes causes — and whether businesses should have a policy about it. See this week's E-poll so you can tell us what you think.

Want to start an innovative, effective marketing campaign in the New Year? Get an edge over competitors with SAF's "The Marketing Edge" (Click on "How-to Marketing Kits and scroll down). This complete guide to local marketing features a 32-page booklet that details marketing options, steps for developing a marketing plan and tips on building effective campaigns. Plus, you'll get two CD-ROMS with 100 holiday and non-holiday ads, a library of illustrations and photos, and marketing plan worksheets.

One-hundred percent of florists responding to the previous week's e-poll said they do not offer any special promotions for Cyber Monday or Cyber Weekend.

Poinsettia sales remained somewhat steady in 2006, according to SAF's post-Christmas online survey of retail florists. Almost half the respondents reported sales of Poinsettias "about the same" as the year before.