Oscar Fernandez Named New SAF President
Congratulations to Oscar Fernandez, Rio Roses’ Director of Sales, for being named the President of the Society of American Florists!

The mission of the SAF is to connect and cultivate a thriving floral community through training, education, marketing, resources, and advocacy. They couldn’t have chosen a better president! Oscar has served on SAF’s Board of Directors since 2018 and has been at Rio Roses for decades.

He was one of our earliest employees and graduated from our first management training program in 1994. Since then, he’s been instrumental in helping our company grow into one of the most recognized brands in the floral industry.

Now, Oscar brings his years of expertise and positive attitude to the industry as a whole. “I am looking forward to working with not only the members of SAF but also with other floral industry organizations to further SAF’s mission to connect and cultivate a thriving floral community,” he said.

Oscar’s favorite part of being a SAF member is having the opportunity to connect with people from different segments of the industry, all of whom are dealing with the same challenges and have the same goal: Selling more flowers.

“SAF is fortunate to have someone with Oscar’s industry knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit serve as our next president-elect,” said Kate Penn, CEO of SAF. “With his current service on the board of directors, he understands SAF’s strategic direction and will be well-equipped to hit the ground running in his new position.”

The SAF is a leader in educational programs for the floral industry, and Rio Roses has been a proud SAF sponsor for more than 25 years. We believe education is the foundation of our industry, and we are incredibly proud and excited to see what Oscar will bring to his role as President of SAF.