By Kristin Boza
The Steuber family of Steuber Florist & Greenhouses, 2654 W. 111th St., were awarded BAPA’s 2018 Community Service Award at the organization’s annual donor appreciation reception in November. The award honors individuals and businesses what contribute their time, talent, and treasure to support BAPA and the Beverly/Morgan Park community. Steuber Florist and Greenhouse exemplifies those qualities.
This year, Steuber Florist & Greenhouses celebrated 75 years of business and has not stopped rooting itself in the community. Current owner Scot Steuber is the third generation to grow the plants and run the shop. He continues to use some of the same techniques his grandfather initiated. Steuber grew up in the apartment above the shop and became an employee at a young age.
Giving back is an essential part of Steuber’s mission in life, and he’s proud to be asked to contribute in various ways. “I’m a giver, it’s in my nature to please people,” he said. “I enjoy making things look nice and going above and beyond to satisfy our customers.”
The latest project for Steuber Florist and Greenhouse is creating the winter holiday arrangements in the planters lining Western Avenue. “We really want to make it full and lush; it’s a pretty big undertaking and we’re really excited about it,” Steuber said. “It’s so important to beautify our community.”
Steuber and his team are also preparing to decorate the outside of the Givins Irish Castle at a significant discount. He assessed this kind of contribution as a “thank you for allowing us to be here for all of these years. If it wasn’t for the community here and our customers, we wouldn’t be able to operate.”
Steuber Florist and Greenhouse has a history of supporting the Beverly/Morgan Park community. “We really try to donate something whenever someone local asks. There are a lot of benefits in the neighborhood, so we always try to contribute at least a gift card for a raffle basket if we can,” Steuber said.
Steuber Florist and Greenhouse has been the exclusive floral sponsor for BAPA’s Beverly Hills/Morgan Park Home Tour, donating outstanding flower and plant arrangements for each of the featured houses.
Aside from straight-up donations of time, talent, or flowers, the shop also offers discounts to certain groups, like Little Company of Mary Hospital, the Chicago Police Department’s 22nd District, fundraisers for the 19th Ward, Smith Village, St. Christina Parish, St. Cajetan Parish, and Mother McAuley High School, to name a just few.
“I have a firm belief that we’re doing some good for the community, and our work is not always just about making money, it’s about being nice and feeling good about our contributions,” Steuber said.
At times, Steuber seems to downplay his efforts to give back to the community, like when he said he invites local churches to take some of their leftover plants and flowers as the planting season winds down. “It wasn’t huge amounts, but I’m more than happy to oblige.” It may seem like a small amount to Steuber, but it makes a huge difference in the beautification of our community.
