Jacobson Remembers Alan “Buddy” Jacobson

Jacobson Floral

JacobsonIt is with great sadness that we inform you that our former President, Chairman, and landmark innovator, Alan “Buddy” Jacobson has passed. He was eighty-seven years old.

Buddy joined the family business in 1955 after earning his business degree in marketing from Boston University and completing military training with the army. As a salesman, Buddy traveled to retail floral shops throughout New England selling supplies. Buddy’s attention to customer satisfaction and keen business acumen propelled Jacobson into a floral industry leader and the largest hardgoods supplier in New England.

Back then, Buddy saw the floral industry as a warehousing system, but he always believed that customers should have a store, where they could touch and feel the product. Unheard of at the time, Buddy wanted a walk-in facility with foot traffic and shopping carts to create a superior experience for his customers. Soon, Jacobson’s fleet of three shopping carts grew to over one hundred in the company’s then state of the art floral supply facility on Albany Street in Boston.

Buddy strived to exceed his customer’s expectations. Fueled by the desire to meet customer needs for products that didn’t exist in the American market, he embarked on his first buying trip to Asia in 1975. In 1991 he established Jacobson’s import arm, Holiday Designs Ltd., to provide unique, trend-forward products to the marketplace.

Buddy’s legacy extends beyond just the company he transformed. He was a driver of Jacobson’s national and local floral industry involvement including the American Institute of Floral Designers, the Society of American Florists, Teleflora, Boston’s Annual “Say it with Flowers” event to raise money for ALS research, the Connecticut Floral Association, the New England Floral Expo, and the Wholesale Florist and Florist Supplier Association where he served as President from 1999 - 2000. Buddy also continued to mentor alumni through the Boston University School of Management and was a well-respected businessman and member of the Boston community.

A true gentleman and a man of the highest integrity, Buddy was the recipient of the Leland T. Kintzele (LTK) distinguished service award in 2010.  It is the highest recognition given by the Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association.

He will be greatly missed by his very dedicated and loyal group of associates and customers, who will never forget the manner in which he treated them and the impact that he made in their lives. Buddy’s intuitiveness and professionalism shaped Jacobson company values, and we will continue to strive for a superior customer experience in his memory for years to come.

A special memorial tribute has been established through the American Floral Endowment. Those wishing to honor Buddy with a contribution to this fund can do so online at Endowment.org/donate or by mailing a check to AFE/Buddy Jacobson Tribute, 1001 North Fairfax Street, #201, Alexandria, VA. 22314. 

 

 

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