Boston Flower Show: Will It Stay or Wilt Away?

Like a row of dominoes falling, the financial woes of the 179-year-old Massachusetts Horticultural Society have reached the end of the line, leaving creditors and exhibitors unpaid and placing the future of its New England Spring Flower Show in question.

Holly Perry, a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society board of trustees, said a June 17 story in the Boston Globe that was “not very flattering about his business practices” initiated an investigation into now former Executive Director Robert Feige that resulted in his resignation.

Although Perry would not explain the society's financial difficulties to Tradeshow Week in detail, she said the society had not received accurate or complete financial statements from Feige. As a result, the society was not able to pay a number of creditors or educational and nonprofit exhibitors at the New England show that it had agreed to subsidize. The budgetary problems forced the society to drastically cut its staff – from 30 to six – and has left everyone, herself included, wondering whether there will be a 2009 show.

“We realized that we were in very deep financial trouble, (and) we had to take action immediately,” Perry said. “Unfortunately, any reduction in anybody's budget (first) is payroll.”

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society typically pays exhibitors a subsidy for out-of-pocket expenses used to create booth displays according to a formula based on the square footage of the booth. Lisa Greene, treasurer of the Northeast region of the American Institute of Floral Designers and exhibit manager for both the nonprofit AIF and North Shore Community College's educational exhibit, said neither group has been paid the subsidy it expected for participation in this year's show.

“And that is unfortunate,” she added.

Perry said the society is not considering bankruptcy and is instead working on a plan to get its financial house in order.

“We need to pay our creditors,” she added. “We need to restore our trust. We need to have our statements and financial things transparent.”

The 137-year-old New England Spring Flower Show is one of the largest consumer events in the Boston area. Held March 8-16 at the Bayside Expo Center, it used the entire venue, had approximately 200 exhibitors and attracted about 100,000 attendees, according to information provided to TSW. Dates for a March 14-29 show are listed on the society's Web site, but Perry said plans for next year remain uncertain.

“(The board is) exploring some opportunities, such as having a company that runs tradeshows perhaps help,” she added, “but these are all under negotiation, so no decision has been made at this point.”

Perry would not say what tradeshow management companies the society is speaking to. However, she added, she knew that time was of the essence.

Meanwhile, the society owes a number of 2008 exhibitors money. How many or how much, Perry wouldn't say.

Greene said she received a letter from the society stating that it was voluntarily reorganizing, and “until the review and planning process is completed, accounts payable balances have been frozen as of July 24.” She also said the letter asked if the creditor institution was interested in considering the amount owed it a tax-deductible contribution.

“It was a form letter that went out to everybody,” Perry said. “The intent was to let our creditors know that we are a nonprofit, and they can get a bigger tax break ... if they were to forgive the bill.”

Carol Michener-Card, owner of the Lincoln, Mass.-based CMC Landscape Design, an exhibitor at the 2008 show, said the society owed her between $2,000 and $3,000. She, too, received the form letter from Massachusetts Horticultural, but said she has every expectation that her subsidy will be paid.

“If I don't get my money for two years, then, whatever,” Michener-Card added. “If I don't get my money (ever), I'm not going to be quite as happy.”

Not every exhibitor was left unpaid. Some received what was owed them before the problems surfaced.

“We did receive ours,” said Joe Trepiccione, gardener and head of the show exhibit for Charlestown, Mass.-based Gardens for Charlestown. “It was quite (a while) after the show had ended, but it was in a timely manner.”

He added though he was unaware of the extent of the financial troubles plaguing the society, he had heard rumors.

Given the uncertain number of exhibitors owed an unclear amount of money, Greene, Michener-Card and Trepiccione all said there was some question of whether they will return to a 2009 show.

Greene, whose organization also exhibits at the Philadelphia Flower Show, held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center March 2-9, said not receiving the subsidy “puts us in more of a precarious situation if anything goes wrong at the Philadelphia show.”

She added that her nonprofit had to use its emergency savings to cover the losses incurred from the New England show. “Over the years, we developed a great relationship with the people who run the show,” Greene said. “Unfortunately, it's not my money to play with. It's my nonprofit's, and I couldn't put that at risk again.”

Perry said everyone will eventually be paid. “The question is when and how, and that will be worked out individually with each of our creditors,” she added.