CASUAL INDUSTRY SHINES AT MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM

CASUAL INDUSTRY SHINES AT MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM

Carson Kressley Served as Host of the ICFA’s Gala Awards Dinner

ATLANTA – The International Casual Furnishings Association (ICFA) recognized manufacturing and retailing excellence, honored its 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients and celebrated outstanding service and leadership at a gala awards celebration yesterday during Casual Market Atlanta.

ICFA members and guests gathered at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons football team and Atlanta United soccer team, for a dinner hosted by interior designer, television personality and fashion stylist Carson Kressley. The evening was staged on the 85,000-square-foot playing field and sponsored by ANDMORE, the co-sponsor with ICFA of Casual Market Atlanta at AmericasMart. A portion of the proceeds from the ticket sales were ear-marked for ICFA’s philanthropic focus, the City of Hope.

Apollo Awards

The Apollo Awards recognize retail excellence in the sales and marketing of outdoor furnishings. Finalists must demonstrate outstanding accomplishments and commitment to customer service. Winners in two categories, single-store and multi-store, were selected from a group of finalists through an online ballot.

Winner in the single-store category was Bucks Country Gardens of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Finalists included American Casual Living, Buford, Georgia; Island Living & Patio, West Palm Beach, Florida; Island Trading, Hamilton, Bermuda; Patios Plus, Rancho Mirage, California; and Villa Terrazza, Sonoma, California.

Winner in the multi-store category was Kolo Collection, Atlanta. Finalists in the multi-store category included Offenbachers, Rockville, Maryland; Sunnyland Outdoor Living, Dallas; Viridien, Charlotte, North Carolina; and Watson’s of Cincinnati.

Lifetime Achievement Awards

The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award is reserved for individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the casual furniture industry and to their individual communities. The 2024 honorees are Happy Land, former sales manager for several casual furniture manufacturers and now a member of the retail staff of Custom Outdoor Furniture in Garden City, South Carolina, and Joseph Ziolkowski, respected executive director of the Summer and Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association in the mid-80s.
Happy Land has been a sales manager at a manufacturing company, an independent sales representative and a sales associate at a retail store – all following a secure job in the banking and tax collection field. Her successes in the casual industry did not go unnoticed, and she eventually was the first woman elected to the board of directors of the Summer and Casual Furniture Manufacturers Association, the predecessor of the ICFA. She credits the support and encouragement she received as an industry newcomer as the motivation for paying it forward by serving as a mentor to young professionals entering the business today.

Joseph Ziolkowski is better known simply as “Joe Z.” He joined the American Furniture Manufacturers Association, predecessor of today’s American Home Furnishings Alliance, in the late 1970s and was at the forefront of building the Summer and Casual Furniture Manufacturers division. He developed seminars for the growing outdoor industry and planned the early Apollo Award banquets to recognize outstanding retailers, eventually establishing the current single store and multi-store award categories. He expanded the design excellence competition and introduced a broad range of supplier members to the group.

At the same time, Ziolkowski began his work promoting flammability standards among upholstery producers, eventually leading to creation of the Upholstered Furniture Action Council. The voluntary flammability standard he helped develop was adopted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as a national standard more than four decades later. Although he retired from AHFA in 2000, he continued leading UFAC for another 15 years.

Manufacturer of the Year

Castelle was named Manufacturer of the Year – a tribute to the design and quality of the company’s products, as well as its outstanding merchandising, customer service, ethics, communications and trade relations. This year’s finalists, all of whom received Manufacturer Leadership Awards, included Berlin Gardens, Ebel Inc., Frankford Umbrellas, Jensen Outdoor, Telescope Casual Furniture and Tuuci.

Sales Representative of the Year

This award recognizes an outstanding sales representative within the casual furnishing industry. Candidates were selected based on leadership, professionalism, exceptional service, communication skills, knowledge and product training expertise.

The 2024 winner, selected from six finalists and determined through online voting, was Joe Crandall of Marietta, Georgia, who represents Jensen Outdoor, Tuuci, Ratana, Elaine Smith, Brown Jordan and Winston.

Other finalists included Tim Baldwin, Richmond, Virginia; Doug Becht, Geneva, Illinois; Steven Dennis, Dallas; Phil Fowler, Wilmington, Delaware; Andy Hamilton, Dallas; Mike Hammer, Wooster, Ohio; Vern Lachowitzer, Longwood, Florida; and Phil Spring, Alpharetta, Georgia.

Mia Nault Unsung Hero Award

This award was created to call attention to outstanding customer service representatives at manufacturing companies throughout the casual furnishings industry. Candidates are selected based on their ability to provide exceptional customer service, as well as outstanding communication skills, innovative problem-solving, professionalism and ability to inspire others as brand ambassadors. In 2021 the award was renamed in honor of the inaugural 2020 recipient, the late Mia Nault of Ebel Inc. This year the honor was presented to Terry DeMuse of Lloyd Flanders. She was recognized for her larger-than-life personality, constant willingness to help and sense of humor.

Dudley K. Flanders Leadership Award

The second recipient of the Dudley K. Flanders Leadership Award is Patrick Troy, recently named president and CEO of the U.S. divisions of Dedon and Gloster, following 13 years at Tuuci. He thinks strategically, encourages innovation and drives progress. Troy also leads by example and creates a high level of trust, respect and motivation for the team around him.