The LTK award, the highest honor given by WF&FSA annually, was awarded to Peter Bilicki. This award recognizes a member who has made significant, long-term contributions to the floral industry and has displayed the qualities of integrity, fairness, perseverance and decisiveness during his or her career.
Peter was a founding member of one of the more successful single location wholesalers in the country. But many years before that, Peter had already established himself as an integral part of a very powerful wholesale operation. Seagroatt meant great quality flowers for many years. How many floral wholesalers can lay claim to their own consumer brand? From the early Seventies, Peter was in the thick of that success.
At that time, he also understood that the industry was changing and was involved in very early efforts to establish South American connections. He was an active participant in wholesaler events and early advocate for the advancement of the industry through cooperative programs. He also set a new standard for customer service, establishing himself as the salesperson of choice among retail customers.
Then in 1988 he took a great risk by leaving his job for what, at the time, was only a dream. He was one of four visionaries who created a new, unique floral wholesaler that is flourishing 22 years later. He was Vice-President and a member of the Board of Seagroatt Riccardi, Ltd. and was instrumental in the development of a state-of-the-art distribution and inventory management system.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association
