Flower Power
Where’s The Flowers??? With the abundance of rain lately, you may be asking yourself this question. The answer is simple… some of the most beautiful flowers in the ArkLaTex are at Flower Power. Flower Power had been serving the Shreveport- Bossier area with their fabulous flower arrangements for 15 years, and the business doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Mother/daughter duo, Cathy and Heather Zahn, are a powerhouse team who love being part of their community.
Cathy Zahn received her Bachelors’ Degree from LSUS with a major in English Literature and a minor if Fine Arts. She is a master gardener who always found herself outside planting and working in her flower beds before she decided to open Flower Power. “I took floral design classes from Mary Dark at New Wine Floral Design School and she taught me not only design, but also the business aspects of owning a flower shop,” she said. Today Flower Power is located at 3803 Youree Drive in Shreveport. “This building has housed a flower shop for over 70 years, and when Mary asked if I were interested in purchasing it, it was a real no-brainer.”
Heather Zahn was born and raised in Shreveport, where she attended Southfield School and then Trinity Heights Christian
Academy. She attended LSUS and worked for Sealy Management Company for several years, and then took a position at General Motors. She was employed as a logistics supervisor for 6 years and then promoted to logistics manager where she continued until General Motors closed. Heather joined Cathy at Flower Power in October 2014 to take on the role of business manager, and has slowly been taking over daily operations.
Valentine’s Day is by far Flower Power’s busiest day of the year, but the shop seems too never slow down. Every year Flower Power provides flowers for numerous events… Mardi Gras bals, weddings, funerals, holidays, graduation, proms, baby showers and homecoming to name a few. Flower Power provides arrangements for Shreveport Convention Center events as well as several of the local casinos. Cathy shared, “We love being involved in community events. Recently we were one of the sponsors of “40 Under 40” and we provided all of the floral arrangements.” Flower Power is also a proud Sponsor the Susan G Komen “Dancing For A Cause” this April and will provide all the florals for the event.
The Zahns are very busy women who find time to do it all. “Last year we were the chosen florist for Travel South USA at the Shreveport Convention Center which had roughly 400 vendors. Each state chairperson had their own idea of what they wanted to represent about their state, so we had to create a floral arrangement based on their criteria, and then duplicate for each vendor from that state. While it was challenging, it was tremendous fun bringing each idea to life,” said Cathy.
Both Cathy and Heather received training in Atlanta, Ga from the American Bridal Consultants (ABC) Program. Weddings are among their favorite events. Flower Power was the official KTBS “Tie The Knot” Florist for two years. Cathy and Heather both said, “We love what we do and we are here to stay! Last September, we attended a Society of American Florists (SAF) convention in Florida and picked up some really great new ideas for Flower Power. In January, we made a huge investment in a new operating system that enables us to be cutting edge and up to the minute. We are the designated Expert Florist for Alpha Media, who owns several major radio stations including 98 Rocks and KLKL 95.7, and we answer any questions about flowers or our services on line at any Alpha Media website. Our social media and new user friendly website has tremendously increased our visibility.”
Cathy added, “We love our employees.
We are so fortunate to have such an incredibly talented design team and amazing delivery people. It takes quite a few people to do what we do, and our employees are the best. We also have some wonderful seasonal employees who return each Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day to help get us through those super busy times.”
Flower Power is housed in an almost 9000 square foot building at the corner of Albert Avenue and Youree Drive. Flower Power offers a wide variety of floral arrangements and green and blooming plants that are suitable to almost every budget. Green plant rentals in varied sizes are also available and very popular. Flower Power fills the stage with greenery at both the Shreveport Convention Center as well as the Municipal Auditorium several times yearly for graduations and conventions.
Cathy loves being a florist. “It gives purpose to my life. I get to celebrate so many special moments with people. I help them say hello, goodbye and everything in between.” It is clear that both Cathy and Heather Zahn’s passion for their work has resulted in a very successful business. That success was recognized by the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce in 2007 when Flower Power was named Small Business of the Year. Our community is the beneficiary of this great mother/daughter team who truly find power in their flowers.
(318) 698-4600 | www.fl owerpowershreveport.com | 3803 Youree Drive, Shreveport, LA 71105
