FNGLA Establishes Disaster Relief Fund

Florida’s nursery & landscape industry was hammered again as Hurricane Frances wreaked havoc throughout Florida’s peninsula during the Labor Day weekend.

Initial estimates of nursery crop loss and structural damage from Hurricane Frances is in the $350-$400 million range. When combined with the $100-$200 million estimate from Hurricane Charley which hit three weeks earlier, Florida’s nursery & landscape industry has taken a $450-$600 million hit.

 “These loss estimates do not include nursery costs of preparing for the hurricanes, getting back up and running, and lost sales during these extended periods of business interruptions,” says Ben Bolusky, executive vice president of the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association (FNGLA).

Still, FNGLA members and association leaders are optimistic. “While we have nurseries flattened in some parts of the state and other nurseries under water, this is a large and resilient industry,” says FNGLA President Bill Klinger. “Florida’s foliage and nursery industry is open for business.”

To offer disaster relief to affected industry businesses, FNGLA is working closely with Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Bronson, Governor Jeb Bush, and the state’s congressional delegation in seeking the needed federal assistance to Florida’s $9.9 billion nursery & landscape industry and the 158,000 Floridians it employs. Additionally, the association is continuing to sponsor a relief fund that was established after Hurricane Charley rolled through the state three weeks ago.

“This is a very generous industry and after Charley, a lot of people were calling to offer assistance and supplies,” says Linda Adams, associate vice president of FNGLA. “People were sending supplies and wanted to send money, as well, so we set up a fund that people could donate to.”

As it stands, FNGLA is still accepting monetary donations, however Adams requests that donations of supplies such as food and toiletry items, generators and nursery supplies like shade cloth be postponed until the association can assess the damage and get a better impression of the hardest-hit areas and the businesses that will benefit most from those provisions.

“After Hurricane Andrew in 1992, we had an influx of donations from companies in neighboring states and cities, but we found that either the wrong kinds of supplies were being sent or the supplies that were needed weren’t making it to the areas that needed them the most because of the disorganization caused by the storm,” Adams explains. “Everyone had good intentions, but now we’ve learned that we need to get a better feeling for what supplies different areas and specific nurseries need to get back on their feet before we start sending supplies where they won’t do the most good.”

Currently, FNGLA has received more than $10,000 in donations and expects all of it to go toward disaster relief within the industry and the association’s membership. If you would like to donate, send checks made payable to FNGLA to:

FNGLA
1533 Park Center Drive
Orlando, FL 32835

FNGLA will also post updatees regarding hurricane damage and relief efforts on their Web site.