Association Blog

Industry veteran Martin Ploy will lead the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation as president of the board of directors for 2020. Randy Coconis, president and treasurer of Home Furnishings Association member Coconis Furniture & Mattress 1st, was re-elected to an additional three-year term on the board. [Coconis Furniture offers free breast-screening exams] In addition, the foundation has announced that Drew and Jonathan Scott will host its 2020 induction ceremony Oct. 18 in High Point, N.C. The foundation, with offices in High Point, was established in 1988 to preserve the history of the home furnishings industry, celebrate those who

Andrew Koenig’s emails carry this directive below his signature: “For My City & Ashley Furniture Family – Please do not respond to my emails during non-work hours. If it’s a business emergency, I will call you. Thank you. Work-Life Balance!” Work-life balance is a core value for Home Furnishings Association member City Furniture, the Tamarac, Fla.-based Top 100 retailer, which Koenig leads as president. Employees are family, and maintaining the right approach to work and life is imperative. If the boss sends an email after hours, save it for tomorrow. That little illustration may not be why the International Home

Home Furnishings Association members who visit the Resource Center at Las Vegas Market will see a new face near the B 1050 entrance. They should stop and say hello, because he’s there to help meet a pressing need: How to offer your employees high-quality, affordable medical insurance. He is Tyler Davis, senior account executive for Decisely, a benefits broker and HR services firm. HFA and Decisely are working together to create an Association Health Plan for HFA members. “Association Health Plans help reduce small businesses’ health-care costs by aggregating members together, creating economies of scale and lower health-care costs,” Davis

It began with a call for help. It led to helping fellow members of the Home Furnishings Association. Jeff Smith, general manager of Walker Furniture in Gainesville, Fla., last year received a “demand letter” from an attorney claiming to represent a visually impaired client. Walker Furniture’s website wasn’t accessible, according to the complaint. This was an alleged violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawyer wanted a payment – thousands of dollars. This took Smith by surprise, so he contacted the HFA. Soon, he was on the phone with a corporate counsel for the W S Badcock Corp., another

One visit was all it took. When John Matter and others from Matter Brothers Furniture toured the five-acre All Star Children’s Foundation Campus of Hope and Healing in Sarasota, Fla., with philanthropist Graci McGillicuddy last year, they made an immediate decision. “Her optimism and excitement for creating a safe haven for children to heal was infectious. We knew, right then and there, we wanted to help,” said Matter, president of the Home Furnishings Association member, a Top 100 retailer based in Fort Myers, Fla. The All Star Children’s Foundation, working in collaboration with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, provides programs