Blue River CEO Tony Verzura Joins GFI Steering Committee to Guide, Advise, and Approve Industry’s First Standardized Cannabis Credentials

VENTURA, Calif. and SOMERVILLE, Mass., Sept. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Green Flower announced Blue River Terps and Blue River CEO Tony Verzura would be joining the newly-formed GF Institute (GFI) to adopt the industry’s first professional credential program rooted in educational rigor, aimed at promoting professionalism, credibility, and equity in the cannabis industry.

“Our vision for the future cannabis industry aligns closely with GF Institute’s overall mission: to provide the world’s finest cannabis experiences through innovation, education, and refined process development that builds credibility and consistency into the foundations of every brand,” said Verzura. “Cannabis education is built into the fabric of everything we do at Blue River. We launched the world’s first cannabis-derived terpene company and helped to propel the by-now very popular reintroduction of cannabis-derived terpenes in both solvent-based and solventless extractions to industry-wide adoption. As the cannabis industry begins this new chapter in developing a truly skilled and educated workforce, Blue River will proudly continue to champion the value of cannabis education.”

The need for GF Institute comes from the industry itself and many conversations Green Flower has had with its corporate partners over the years. In order to build a truly skilled and talented workforce, the industry needs to make real progress with some of its most painful roadblocks that prevent some licensed cannabis operators from reaching profitability: high turnover, poor customer service, inconsistent products, costly compliance mistakes, and more.

GFI stands ready to enable and facilitate true workforce development programs that focus in on employee engagement by providing a turnkey onboarding solution designed specifically to make an impact in some of the largest areas of high-demand “people growth” across cannabis supply chain: Dispensary Associates, Cultivation Technicians, and Manufacturing Agents.

“Blue River’s vision to provide the world’s finest farm-to-table authentic cannabis experiences in a natural and sustainable way makes them an ideal Green Flower Institute Founding Member,” said Max Simon, CEO and Co-Founder of Green Flower. “GFI is answering many of the questions in the cannabis workforce and helping leading employers like Blue River train and develop their employees in the necessary skills, knowledge, and credibility they need to succeed.”

Because much of the recruited talent to this fast-growing industry has little to no pre-existing, formalized cannabis experience or knowledge. This growing trend in cannabis recruitment requires every new employee to be trained from scratch, and most cannabis employers simply don’t have the bandwidth or expertise to develop industry-adopted programs with the necessary level of rigor and depth to satisfy cannabis regulators. Additionally, building out a robust training and instructional design team often introduces many operational complexities that result in lost profitability and focus on other strategic business imperatives.

With the creation of the GF Institute, the cannabis industry will build a truly skilled and talented workforce through standardized education. Choosing to roll-out standardized, standards-based professional credentials and development programs will eventually become a standard practice, enabling brands to redirect dollars that would otherwise have been spent on in-house training programs toward making other strategic investments in the employee experience.

To encourage industry-wide adoption, GF Institute invites every Licensed Cannabis Operator across the United States to join this historic push to bring credibility, equity, and professionalism to our industry and become Founding Members of GFI.

More information on GF Institute or the GFI Cannabis Credential program can be found at the GF Institute website, where visitors can download complete program documentation, review course syllabi, and find answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

About Green Flower:

Founded in 2014, Green Flower is the industry leader in cannabis education, empowering thousands of consumers, regulators, and professionals with the knowledge they need to succeed in the emerging cannabis industry today.

Green Flower’s content and technology platform powers the cannabis programs of top universities and colleges across the country, provides customized learning and compliance solutions for cannabis businesses of all sizes, and equips individuals with the skills and credentials necessary to make an impact in the modern cannabis industry.

Contact: Adam Summers

e: [email protected]  p: 708.223.2336

SOURCE Green Flower

Related Links http://www.green-flower.com/

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