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TEXANS TELL 



<^ TRADE TRUTHS 



Second annual convention of the Texas State Florists' Association no- 

 table for heart-to-heart talks. Speakers diagnose trade ills and prescribe 

 remedies. Better business management the principal them£. Fort Worth 

 practically suspends its ordinary daily routine to give the visiting florists a 

 welcome and a demonstration of the quality of its hospitality. 



EEHAPS it was because so 

 prodigious an amount of 

 work was done at the Wa- 

 co convention in May a 

 year ago, and in the four- 

 teen months that since 

 have elapsed, that the Tex- 

 as State Florists' Associa- 

 tion, at Fort Worth, July 

 6 and 7, found itself in 

 position to take a holiday — the business 

 of the meeting amounted to little more 

 than the adoption of the necessary reso- 

 lutions to keep going along the lines 

 laid down at last year's meeting. 



But because no radical changes were 

 made it must not be considered that the 

 convention was lacking in interest — far 

 from it. The fact is that so much hard 

 work had to be done 

 last year, in the way 

 of starting the ball 

 rolling, that there 

 was little time for 

 anything else. This 

 year, with the ma- 

 chinery working 

 smoothly, there was 

 opportunity for talk, 

 for the discussion of 

 the special problems 

 that confront the 

 trade in the south- 

 west — and there was 

 time to get acquaint- 

 ed, for the Lone Star 

 state is so big the 

 florists in the Pan- 

 handle . heretofore 

 have been almost 

 strangers to those 

 along the Rio Grande. 



Large Attendance. 



Fort Worth proved 

 a splendid meeting 

 place. The florists 

 there are men of 

 standing in the com- 

 munity and when 

 they announced that 

 they were to enter- 

 tain the members of 

 the trade from all 

 over the state, the 

 public largely*' laid 

 aside its daily duties 

 to assist in extending 

 a welcome. Prob- 

 ably no other gath- 

 ering of florists in 

 this country ever has 

 been so hospitably 

 received. 



So widely had the 



OFFICERS ELECTED 



Houston 

 Dallas 



/^ President 



Robert C. Kerr, 



Vice-president 

 Harry Greve, 



Secretary-Treasoret 

 L. J. Tackett, - Fort Worth 



Press Representative 

 Louis Oescb, - - Dallas 



Educational Director 

 Fritz HenseU - College Station 



}916 Meeting Place 

 Dallas 



Robert C. Kerr, of Houston, President Texas State Florists' Association. 



meeting been heralded that the attend- 

 ance proved to be considerably larger 

 than last year, although the S. A. F. 

 officers who had been invited found 

 it impossible to attend. The headquar- 

 ters were the Westbrook hotel, but the 

 meetings were held at the Chamber of 

 Commerce. The convention was opened 

 by Vice-president W. J. Baker and 

 Mayor Tyra, L. J. Tackett speaking 

 for the Fort Worth Florists' Club. 

 H. B. Beck, of Austin, responded and 

 then President Kerr took the chair. 

 Reports showed the association to be 

 doing extremely well for a yearling and 

 it was unanimously voted to keep right 

 on along the same lines. 



The first two sessions were devoted 

 principally to the reading of essays, 

 which are printed in 

 this issue. Most of 

 them dealt in straight- 

 from - the - shoulder 

 fashion with the uses 

 and abuses of trade 

 customs in Texas and 

 the free airing of 

 views was of special 

 interest because of its 

 novelty. 



Want the S. A. F. 



There was spirited 

 discussion over Presi- 

 dent Kerr's recom- 

 mendation regarding 

 affiliation with the S. 

 A. F. and the hope 

 expressed by many 

 that Texas may 

 shortly entertain the 

 national organi- 

 zation. No action 

 was taken beyond go- 

 ing on record in fa- 

 vor of every florist 

 in Texas joining both 

 the state and nation- 

 al bodies. 



The morning session » 

 of July 7 marked the 

 closing of the con- 

 vention with the con- 

 clusion of routine 

 business and the 

 election of officers. 

 Dallas was chosen for 

 the 1916 convention. 

 It was the unanimous 

 opinion that Presi- 

 dent Kerr was deserv- 

 ing of a second term. 

 Other officers elected 

 were: 



Vice 



president — 



