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Super Bowl Bid Gets Florist in Competition Condition
Wednesday, 06 January 2010

Even though the playoffs have yet to start, Sher Tannozzini already knows which team she’s rooting for in this year’s Super Bowl — and she’s certain they’ve been practicing hard to score and win fans in Miami.
How is this florist so sure? Well, she’s the head coach of the team at Flowers from the Rainflorist, her Ft. Lauderdale shop that’s vying to win business when the big game comes to her home territory Feb. 7. She’s been conditioning her staff for almost a year, as the detailed procurement process started in early 2009. The South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee, which works with the NFL, awarded its first round of contracts in April.

Flowers from the Rainflorist didn’t pull in the first contract it vied for (for floral centerpieces), but is still in the running for a couple of big party gigs and is still picking up publicity, like this story on CNN.com and related business for other vendors and football fans.

Although Tannozzini says her sports mania is limited to her granddaughter’s softball games, she’s pumped about her proximity to the sidelines and sees the hoop jumping of the procurement process completely worth it. (In South Florida, interested firms had to complete a four-page application detailing services offered, insurance policies and bonding situation. Businesses also had to get a certified as a woman-owned or minority company.) The reward: a listing in the NFL’s official Resource Guide of businesses. Flowers from the Rainflorist and Eden Florist & Gift Baskets in Davie, are the only two flower shops listed.

"The NFL opens doors very wide for me, and even if I don't win any contracts, it's worth it," she told CNN. Participating in the bid process has introduced her to businesses in related fields, like limousine rental and party planning firms and to NFL officials, who’ve placed personal orders with the shop. Before the Feb. 7 game, she’ll be doing a wedding for a retired NFL player, who found the shop through its involvement with the Super Bowl, and some corporate work for a national insurance company that saw the shop mentioned in an NFL blog.

The too-many-coaches-in-the-huddle-type of decision-making that comes with working with so many vendors and committees can make a “wedding for 350 feel like a walk in the park,” Tannozzini said. “But I‘ve enjoyed it immensely, learned plenty about the competitive process and made our shop prominent to folks that might not have known who we are.”

Ready to warm up for next season? The North Texas Super Bowl Host Committee has already begun holding small business training workshops for 2011 bids.

Super Bowl Vendor - Flowers from the Rainflorist
January 5th, 2010
Each host committee has its own twist on the procurement process. In South Florida, interested firms were asked to complete a four-page application detailing what services they offer and delving into gritty details like their insurance and bonding situation. Businesses also had to get a certified as a woman-owned or minority company. The prize for jumping through those hoops is a listing in the South Florida organizing committee's Business Resource Guide, which can translate to big business for a small company. This year, more than 540 companies made it into the guide.

Florist Sher Tannozzini, who runs Fort Lauderdale-based Flowers From The Rainflorist, is among those bidding for a piece of this season's showdown. Two months before the game, a handful of contracts are still being decided. Tannozzini already lost out on one subcontracting project she went after -- providing floral centerpieces -- but remains in the running for two more.

"The NFL opens doors very wide for me, and even if I don't win any contracts, it's worth it," she says. Simply participating in the bid process has introduced her to businesses in related fields, like limousine rental and party planning firms. Those contacts have generated new, non-NFL business for her flower shop.

Tannozzini says she was a bit naïve in "thinking that joining the program suddenly I would have people beating down my door for Super Bowl contracts. That's not the reality -- it's much more competitive than that."

Tisha Ford, the NFL's special events business development manager, says that working with local businesses brings a community vibe to the Super Bowl.

"This is a traveling event, and each region is unique and has its own nuances," she says. "Getting to know a particular local community helps us tap into tremendous resources."

January 15th 2009 (Industry Headlines/Industry Headlines)
Delivery Vans Double as Recyclable Collectors
If people around Ft. Lauderdale see Flowers from the Rainflorist's delivery vans and think "trash," that's fine with owner Sherry Tannozzini. As long as the trash that comes to mind is the kind that can be recycled. Tannozzini is using her three delivery vehicles to pick up old vases and containers, ink cartridges, old cell phones and, in January, Christmas trees.