Town hall-style membership meetings will be held in August in three major flower growing areas of California as part of a new outreach effort to the 600 members of NORCAL, the California Association of Flower Growers & Shippers. Carol Caggiano, a floral designer, design instructor and commentator, will speak at each session on emerging industry issues.

The daylong meetings will be held in the South Central California region on Aug. 21 at Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort by Hilton in Santa Barbara, in Southern California on Aug. 22 at the Sheraton Carlsbad Resort & Spa in Carlsbad and in North Central California on Aug. 29 at the Monterey Hyatt in Monterey. Board members from the regions will participate in the meetings.

Board members for the South Central district are Pat Mullen of Mayesh Wholesale Florist in Los Angeles, new board president; Joe Ortiz of Joseph & Sons in Santa Paula, board vice president; Joe Goldberg of Skyline Flower Growers & Shippers in Nipomo; and Erik Van Wingerden of Myriad Flowers International of Carpinteria.

For the Southern district, board members are Kim Kudo of Kim’s Flower Network in Oceanside, board secretary-treasurer; Jason Levin of Dos Gringos in Vista; Steve Dionne of Cal Americas in Vista; and Jose Luis Arellano of O&J Growers in Encinitas.

Board members in the Northern district are Dee Dee Meininger of Obies Floral, Carmen Garcia of Coastal Nursery and Monterey Bay Heather, Robert Kitayama of Kitayama Bros., all of Watsonville, and Mike Crosby of Sun Valley Group in Arcata and Mike Franzoia of California Flower Shippers in Mountain View. Mr. Franzoia is the board’s past president.

The agenda for all three meetings calls for registration starting at 9 a.m., welcoming remarks from local NORCAL board members at 9:45 a.m., and remarks on trends in the floral industry at 10 a.m. by Carol Caggiano, a floral industry veteran who headed the design team for NORCAL’s Fun ‘N Sun Weekend last year.

Following a break, round table discussions at 11 a.m. will cover a variety of industry issues, tailored to topics current to each region. After a member appreciation lunch, a NORCAL director from the region will summarize the association’s current activities and goals. The meeting will conclude with a vendor reception from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The town hall-style meetings will be held in even-numbered years, alternating with the Fun ’N Sun Weekend.

On another important item for NORCAL’s board, no decisions had been made as of July 11 in hiring a chief executive officer, according to Monnaie Castillo, business administration manager and special events coordinator. The position was posted in mid-March.