GLFF Hall of Fame

Fourth Inductee – James Nordlie – Inducted 2011 – Nordlie, Inc

On September 20th, the Great Lakes Floral Foundation (GLFF) inducted Mr. James O. Nordlie of Nordlie, Inc. into its Hall of Fame. The event was held at The Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, MI.

The evening featured a reception, industry update by Robert “Bob” Williams AAF, PFCI, VP North American operations Smithers – Oasis and current President SAF, followed by dinner and the induction ceremony. The evening was emceed by Mr. Jerome Raska AAF, AIFD, CF, PFCI, of Blumz by JRDesigns. MFF Chairwomen Jeanette Ballien of Gaudreau the Florist, LTD reviewed the life and company history of Mr. Nordlie before presenting him with a beautiful Waterford crystal vase.

One of the many highlights of the evening was a slideshow presentation featuring many photos from throughout the life of Mr. Norldie. Some of the more special photos showed Mr. Nordlie in his P-51 Mustang aircraft that he flew over northern China during WWII. In an article about Mr. Nordlie’s war experience he was quoted as saying, “Our work was all low level, mostly dive bombing and strafing — bridges, rail yards, airdromes, warehouses, and military installations. Besides “ground fire,” our biggest problems were bad weather, mountains, dust storms, lack of navigational aids, and shortages of fuel.” After the war ended Mr. Nordlie returned to finishing his schooling at the University of Michigan.

Mr. Nordlie said, “I am flattered, appreciative, and humbled…thank you all! My father, Fred Nordlie, would be most pleased and I thank him for spending 20 years, including the depression years of the ’30’s, building a reputation and a business that became Nordlie, Inc. A great part of the credit goes to our loyal, hard working, and dedicated employees. It’s similar to the air corps in WWII…. THE PILOTS WERE THE ‘FANCY PANTS’, BUT IT WAS THE LINEMEN AND CREW CHIEFS…. WHO SAVED OUR LIVES EVERYDAY.

The Great Lakes Floral Foundation would like to give a special thanks to the following corporate sponsors (listed alphabetically) for their gracious support of the Foundation and the Hall of Fame dinner:

• Allstate Floral
• Berwick/Offray
• Fresca Farms
• Golden Farms
• Rosa Flora LTD.
• *Smithers – Oasis
• *Teleflora
• *William F. Puckett

*Indicates Full Table Sponsorship for the event

Anyone wishing to honor Mr. Nordlie through a donation to the Great Lakes Floral Foundation (GLFF) is welcome to do so. Donations are 100-percent tax deductible. Donations can be mailed to the GLFF, P.O. Box 67, Haslett, MI. 48840, made online or by calling (517) 575-0110 for more information.