Florint Board Elections: New Elan & Impulses For A Future-Proof Policy

For associations, a change of the presidency often gives rise to new impulses and related changes in the mission, goals and policy of the organisation. In light of the fact that the actual president of Florint, Mr. Robert G. Steinmann, had to leave the office (being at the end of his term after 9 years on the board) a change of the presidency was coming up at the 2011 General Assembly, held at Havirov in the Czech Republic on the 4th of September. Additional circumstances, however, evoked an even bigger change to the board’s structure, resulting in not only a new president being elected, but two new board members as well.

Candidate for the function of president of Florint was the current board member Mr. Mark Ward, proposed by Florint’s UK-member BFA. Mr. Ward was elected unanimously during the assembly and will serve as president for a term of 3 years, which can be doubled to 6 years in case of a re-election in 2014. His experience as BFA president for quite some years, as well as being a Florint board member and taskforce member for quite a period, also ensures that he has the competences to make the most of it. And he most certainly has the ambition to do just that. Having been elected he addressed the delegates that were present, expressing his gratitude for his election and underlining his intentions to guide Florint through the current difficult economic situation, as well as to continue to build it up as a strong federation; facilitative to the member’s goals and an obvious body to be liaised to.

Mr. Ward thus shifting from board member to president and Mr. Vallianos leaving the board for personal reasons caused two vacancies on the board, to be filled by new members. Both Mrs. Annemie Duchateau, current president of the Belgian KUFB, and Mr. Simon Ogrisek, current president of the Section of Florists of the Slovenian Chamber of Crafts, were unanimously elected to those positions: two new board members with several years of experience in a national board function, plus both active for Florint in the Technical Committee for Competitions for quite some years already. Without any doubt, a promise that Florint’s board has been strengthened with new, young and competent members who will, together with the new president, give lots of new impulses to Florint’s activities and a new élan to the policy of the organisation.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Florint.org