He’s run this Miami floral company for 60 years and still giving back | Opinion
When my mother was sick and I cared for her at home, every Saturday morning after I bathed her and gave her breakfast, I picked up my friend, the late Josie Poitier, and we went to Berkeley Florist Supply. Josie bought flowers to decorate her church altar. I bought a bunch of roses for my mom. That was our weekly ritual.
There wasn’t much for Momma to enjoy back then. She was bedridden from a stroke that left her unable to walk. She was blind in one eye, but she loved flowers and she could still see their beauty.
I decided not to wait until she was gone to shower her with flowers at her funeral. I wanted her to have them while she could still smell and enjoy them.
So, each week, I bought a bunch of beautiful fragrant roses and brought them home. I placed old newspapers on the floor and stood at the kitchen sink, trimming the long stems and arranging them in two vases — one for Momma’s room and one for the living room, where I sometimes brought her to sit on her recliner.
The roses stayed beautiful for the entire week. I can still hear Momma saying, “Oh, aren’t those roses beautiful?“ Her words always made me smile. It was such a small gesture, but it helped to make her day brighter.
Back then, it took all my income, along with her small Social Security check, to care for Momma and pay a small salary to the very kind Jackie Barr, who had offered to care for Momma while I worked.
Buying roses for Momma was not in the budget. Jackie didn’t ask for a certain amount. “Just give me whatever you can,“ she said.
Then, one day Morey Moss, the owner of Berkeley, learned I was buying flowers for my sick mom. Without fanfare, he instructed his employees to give me a discount. I was touched, and learned this a man of generosity and compassion.
I tell this story because a couple of months ago Berkeley Florist Supply, Miami’s oldest and largest floral wholesale supply company, quietly celebrated its 78th anniversary. For 60 of those years, the company has been led by owner Morey Moss.
In 1965, Moss was only 25 when he purchased the company. A graduate of the University of Miami with an accounting degree, and a U. S. Army Reservist, Moss had high hopes for the company that was modeled after a Boston wholesale florist business of the same name.
At the time, Berkeley was a modest operation, housed in a 6,000-square foot building with only six employees.
Moss, now 85, said he was simply looking for a business to run and grow. “I didn’t know anything about flowers. But things were booming in Miami at the time, and Berkeley Florist Supply was one of the only, and at times the only, floral wholesale companies in Miami. We were able to service many events,“ he said.
Today, Miami is the floral gateway of the United States.. “It is estimated that 90 percent of the flowers used in the U.S. pass through Miami. This has created one of the most competitive floral markets in the world,“ he said.
As the reputation of Berkeley Florist Supply grew, so did its business.
“Wholesalers like Berkeley now compete with major importers, large distributors, and multinational flower companies,“ Moss said. “We have remained strong because we have never strayed from our roots. We have always treated the Miami floral community like family. The loyalty, trust, and sense of community is still the heart of our business.“
Over the years, flowers and the elaborate vases and accompanying decorations have been used by florists to create arrangements for some of the most iconic events in South Florida — from Pope John Paul II’s visit to Miami in 1987 to Gloria Estefan concerts,
Today, Berkeley has more than 35 employees and operates from a 22,000-square-foot building at 2360 NW 23rd St. in the Allapattah area of Miami. The business is just minutes from Miami International Airport and has remained a cornerstone of South Florida’s floral industry.
Moss continues to go to work at the warehouse every day the business is open. His employees know that he values them; Berkeley has never missed a payroll in 60 years, not even during hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I love the industry,“ Moss said. “I am blessed to wake up to my beautiful wife, and then I come to Berkeley and get to see beautiful flowers every day. That makes me love my life. I want to keep sharing my love of flowers with everyone who walks through the doors of Berkeley.”
Miami Gardens native, Cleveland Brown honored
Myles Harden, a homegrown hero, has wasted no time in giving back to his community.
A 2024 pick of the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round of the National Football League draft, Harden played college football for the South Dakota Coyotes before being selected by the Browns.
He is a Miami Gardens native who attended schools in Miami-Dade County before graduating from Miramar High School in 2020. After graduation, he attended the University of South Dakota, where he earned FCS All-American honors, overcame injuries and became a standout defender.
He grew up attending church and Sunday school at The Church of God Tabernacle (True Holiness) in Miami where his paternal grandmother, Missionary Bobbie Harden, is a longtime member.
Shortly after becoming a professional football player, Myles founded the MH Playbook Project to give back to the church and its youth.
“The church was a part of my life as I was growing up and has been instrumental in my success,“ he said.
Myles, the son of Norris and Valerie Harden, is a frequent visitor to the church whenever he is in town. He is never ashamed to ask the church to pray for him.
Recently, he funded its Youth Department’s annual Christmas celebration. He gave the donation in honor of his grandmother, who he said is the reason that he is still connected to the church.
On Sunday, Myles will receive special recognition from the church during the 11 a.m. worship service.
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