If you’ve ever crossed paths with Jimmy Girouard, chances are you walked away smiling, and maybe shaking your head, at a perfectly timed one-liner. Jimmy has a remarkable gift for remembering jokes (and delivering them with just the right pause) and he’s always happy to share one with anyone within earshot. He genuinely loves seeing people laugh.
That talent goes way back. When Jimmy was a student at South Burlington High School, his 10th-grade science teacher, Mr. Lisman, figured out an important strategy for keeping Jimmy engaged. If Jimmy stayed focused during class, he could have a few minutes at the end to entertain his classmates with a joke or two. What started as a one-time deal turned into an entire semester of joke-telling, and Jimmy’s audience never complained.
Jimmy grew up near our current South Burlington facility in Queen City Park and was part of the second class to attend the then-brand-new South Burlington High School. He played football as a fullback and guard and laughs easily when recalling the team’s record. “We were terrible,” he says with a grin. “0–8.”
After High School
Right out of high school, Jimmy married his sweetheart Suzanne in 1968 at St. Joseph’s Church in Burlington. They settled into their first small apartment in Burlington and are celebrating 58 years of marriage this August- an accomplishment worthy of flowers all on its own. Together they raised four children and now enjoy nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, most of whom live nearby in the community Jimmy has always loved.
Jimmy’s working life took him in many directions before flowers entered the picture. Vocational training brought him to Massachusetts for certifications like HAZMAT handling and asbestos abatement. He spent many years as a union member working in construction piping, later moved into labor union leadership, and eventually worked for Vermont Gas in their engineering department, conducting inspections for construction projects across the state.
20 Years of Flowers
His path into the floral world began about twenty years ago thanks to a simple conversation at church. Jimmy learned of a part-time delivery job at a local florist, Chantilly Rose, and decided to give it a try. He spent the next ten years delivering flowers to retail customers, a role he describes as “pretty smooth” except for the memorable day his delivery van was “attacked by goats” during a stop in Richmond. (Jimmy was unharmed. The van survived with just a scratch.)
What he loved most, though, were the people, the conversations, the stories, and the joy on someone’s face when they opened the door to a floral delivery.
When Chantilly Rose closed in 2015, those same relationships carried Jimmy forward. Through his connection with our own Therese Rainville, he joined the Green Mountain Floral Supply team as a driver. In 2025, Jimmy celebrated 10 years with GMFSI, and during that decade he’s become a familiar and valued presence—both behind the wheel and in the flower department, helping with everything from bucket cleaning to sleeve stickering and whatever else needs doing.
While his deliveries now bring flowers to florists rather than retail customers, Jimmy still loves being out on his routes. He says the keys to being a good driver are being ready, available, flexible, and safe- and he lives those values every day.
As Jimmy puts it, “I love the family-oriented and friendly nature of Green Mountain Floral Supply. It’s been an extremely generous place for me to work this past decade.”
We are incredibly grateful to Jimmy- and to all of our drivers- for the vital role they play in our wholesale floral business. Our drivers are a critical part of our supply chain and a welcoming, positive face of Green Mountain Floral Supply. We truly couldn’t do all this without them.
