Sysco, one of the leading foodservice providers in North America, is dedicated to providing consumers with solutions for meals consumed away from home. Sysco operates more than 160 locations in the United States and Canada, providing work for over 45,000 employees. It looks to make a difference in the lives of its more than 400,000 customers and to the success of its customers’ businesses.

Jim DiMenna, president of Jem-D International, headquartered in Leamington, ON, will be officially inducted as chairman of the Canadian Produce Marketing Association at the CPMA/ACDFL Annual Convention & Trade Show April 11-13 in Calgary.

Mr. DiMenna got his start in the produce industry in 1966 at age 10, and has come a long way since then.

“What you have done I admire greatly, but what have you done for me lately?”

That old gibe applies to the floral industry as it shifts gears from the tension and strain of Valentine’s Day and Easter and braces for another major floral day — Mother’s Day.

And just for good measure, you can throw in high school prom season, a growing market for supermarkets.

Supermarket buyers may not recognize John Dolan’s name, but his work in Colombia and Ecuador has affected almost every box of roses they’ve received in the past 25 years. I met John in 1990, while working in Miami for a huge importer and bouquet-maker. My job was working with our 40-plus farms to diversify crop offerings.

For John Dolan, life was a bed of roses for almost four decades. Mr. Dolan embarked on a distinguished career as a trailblazing rose plant propagator who brought numerous bestselling roses to U.S. and international markets.

Mr. Dolan, who now lives in Pleasanton, CA, opened the door to Latin America for U.S.-bred roses. From Town Crier in 1961 to Amber in 2007, with bestsellers along the way like Classy and the No. 1 rose in Eastern Europe, Forever Young (12 million and counting), he introduced 33 rose varieties over the years.