Kennicott Brothers Named Michigan Floral Association Supplier Of The Year

Kennicott Brothers, headquartered in Chicago, was honored as the Supplier of the Year at the Michigan Floral Association's Great Lakes Floral Expo.

Recognized as one of the oldest continuous businesses in Illinois, their story started back in 1836 with physician and horticulturist, Dr. John Kennicott, who was instrumental in the establishment of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and promoted the Morell Act which established land grant colleges.

In 1881 the doctor’s sons, Flint and Amasa founded their wholesale company and began servicing florists in a large portion of the Midwest and the South. The firm grew over the years adding wholesale houses in Aurora, Elk Grove, IL; Hammond, IN, and Milwaukee, WI.

In 2012 they acquired Van’s Floral Products adding  their locations in Alsip, IL; South Bend and Indianapolis, IN; Grand Rapids, MI; Minneapolis, MN, and Atlanta, GA. In 2014 Kennicott's joined forces with Nordlie, Inc. to add several more locations in Grandville, Flint and Warren MI; Cleveland OH, and Tampa FL.

Their service to the floral industry is ongoing today.  They remain instrumental in their support for the Michigan Floral Association as well as other associations nationwide.

Both Harrison Kennicott, Jr. and Harrison "Red" Kennicott III have received the Wholesale Florist and Florist Supplier Association's  Leland T. Kintzele Award for their contributions and involvement within the floral industry.  They are the only father and son team ever to receive such an honor.

Each year the MFA Awards and Nominations Committee is responsible for soliciting and reviewing award nominations. The committee sends all qualified nominations to a panel of independent judges who complete an evaluation form for each nominee. The committee totals the points received for each candidate nominated in a specific category and averages. The candidate receiving the highest average score in each category is chosen to receive the award.

The Michigan Floral Association is a full-service trade organization representing more than 500 florists, growers, and wholesalers statewide. Located in Haslett, MI, MFA offers group savings on insurance, financial services, retail bank card processing & supplies, office supplies, and fleet fueling; is the sponsor of the Certified Florist (CF) program; creates and hosts a statewide annual conference and trade show; conducts educational seminars throughout the year at the association headquarters; publishes the Professional Florist magazine; hosts the MFA web site, and interacts with state/federal government agencies. For more information on MFA, visit their web site at www.michiganfloral.org.

Source: The Michigan Floral Association