New officers and board members—from companies like Global Views, Valdese Weavers and Nourison—have been elected to the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation for 2018. Currently on the minds of the board members? Likely their upcoming nominations for Hall of Fame candidates. The Hall of Fame is open to all home furnishings industry companies, organizations and individuals that conduct business in the United States. The nominations close on February 1, and the ceremony will take place in October at High Point Market.
Jeffrey S. Child, president of R.C. Willey, was elected American Home Furnishings board president; Global Views CEO David Gebhart, is AHF’s new vice president; AICO/Amini Innovation Corp. president Martin Ploy is now the organization’s second vice president; and BDI Furniture president Lorri Kelley is secretary-treasurer. International Market Centers CEO Bob Maricich, formerly AHF board president, will stay on the executive committee as board chairman.
New directors include Randy Coconis, president, Coconis Furniture; Jerry Epperson, managing partner, Mann, Armistead & Epperson; Mike Herschel, executive director, Furniture Marketing Group; Caroline Hipple, president, Norwalk Furniture; Mike Shelton, president and CEO, Valdese Weavers; and Ploy. Re-elected members serving a new three-year term are Andy Bernstein, founder and CEO, FurnitureDealer.net; Irv Blumkin, CEO, Nebraska Furniture Mart; and Alexander Peykar, president, Nourison Industries.
“Due to the strong leadership of Bob Maricich and [2017 board chairman] Michael Amini, 2017 saw increased attendance at our annual Induction Celebration, greater support for our programs, and interest in our new leadership initiative,” Child says. “We have a fully engaged board that is committed to taking the Hall of Fame to new levels. With new board members joining us for 2018, we are poised to take the Hall of Fame even further in its mission to tell our story, honor our industry’s great leaders and roll out a new leadership initiative that will create a new generation of leaders.”
