As a first-time visitor, I was extremely impressed by the sheer size and bustling energy of the Produce Marketing Association’s 65th Fresh Summit Expo. The three-day event, Oct. 17-19, drew more than 22,400 people from over 60 countries to the Anaheim Convention Center in Southern California and featured 1,090 exhibitors in more than 265,000 square feet of show space — record-breaking numbers for the PMA. Plus, attendees using social media made history for the floral and fresh produce industry when #FreshSummit was named one of the most popular social media conversations around the world.

The Floral Pavilion was double the size of last year’s and it was filled with representatives from all sectors of the global floral industry, including flower growers, bouquet makers, wholesalers, distributors, plant growers and suppliers.

Pantone LLC partnered with PMA in an education session to bring the newest research around color trends and what the floral sector can expect to see in 2015.

“The floral industry should be paying attention to color because the consumer is paying attention to color, and that’s who you ultimately want to please,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director at the Pantone Color Institute in Carlstadt, NJ. “They have so much information available to them on the Internet, in the papers, in magazines, on television — it’s all available and you need to stay on top of it as well.”

Teri Rose, floral director at the Kroger Co. in Cincinnati, said on PMAtv, “From the Pantone session we learned that we need to step out of our comfort zone and start offering things that appeal to more customers. How can we match up to their style, based on some of the trending that’s going to be going on, instead of doing what we always do?”

Over 400 attendees from across the floral and fresh produce supply chain networked at the PMA Foundation Women’s Fresh Perspectives Leadership Breakfast, and 1,000 runners enjoyed the scenic course through downtown Anaheim during the PMA Foundation 5K Race for Talent, which raised $112,000 from sponsorships in support of the foundation’s mission to attract, develop and retain talent for the global floral and produce industry, said PMA officials.

The Fresh Summit also hosted four receptions simultaneously, reflecting the association’s four strategic pillars of Global Connections, Science and Technology, Industry Talent and Floral. Sam Ferrara, vice president of sales and marketing at Passion Growers in Miami, was named the 2014 PMA Floral Marketer of the Year at the floral reception. The award, now in its 34th year, recognizes an outstanding floral professional who has served the mass-market floral industry with dedication and distinction.

“Sam’s leadership and innovative thinking has guided the creation of new merchandising, products and technology that have made a difference where it matters most — in a retail environment, selling more flowers to consumers,” said Joe Don Zetzsche, director of floral at H-E-B and last year’s award winner. “He believes we can always do more, never settles for status quo and always pushes to get ahead. It’s as if success is in his DNA.”

“The floral reception turnout was just amazing; there was a lot of people there,” said Ferrara. “I was awarded Floral Marketer of the Year and it was a total surprise; I had no idea. I think the whole show this year was just incredible — I couldn’t be any happier. Our goal is to continue on with PMA the rest of the year to bring value to our suppliers and to our retailers.”

Next year’s PMA Fresh Summit Convention & Expo will be held Oct. 23-25, 2015, in Atlanta.