45th Convention of Georgia Home Furnishings Association a Success:

Furniture World Magazine

The Georgia Home Furnishings Association recently held its 45th Annual Convention at the Crowne Plaza Resort on Hilton Head Island, SC. The Convention kicked off on Sunday evening, June 20, with an outdoor Hawaiian Luau. The convention continued with the 2nd Annual "Best Ideas Competition" on Monday morning. Drew Rieling of Shepherd Performance Groups facilitated the competition. The winners of the competition were: First Place - Ben Haverty, Havertys Furniture, Atlanta, with Haverty's compensation method for delivery drivers based on customer satisfaction. Second Place - Greg Glass, Farmers Furniture, Dublin, GA, whose idea was to offer a store promotion in conjunction with local church groups providing day-long singing entertainment in the Farmers stores. Third Place - Tom Sanders, Sanders Furniture Co., Winder, whose idea was to work in conjunction with a local school in providing t-shirts or some other kind of promotional item (with the store's name imprinted on them) to specific classes that excel in attendance and/or grade point average. Ellen Gefen of Gefen Productions in High Point provided the Wednesday morning seminar. Ellen presented an insightful Design and Color Trends Workshop, which showed how the fashion and home furnishings industry come together. She also explained the influence that Generations X & Y have in relation to home fashions. Other highlights during the convention included the annual President's Banquet on Monday evening where the GHFA "Rep of Merit" Award and the GHFRA "Nice Guy" Award was presented. The evening's entertainment was provided by Atlanta's "Banks and Shane." The Ladies enjoyed a cruise to Daufuskie Island Wednesday afternoon followed by a luncheon and pastry demonstration at the Daufuskie Island Club Resort. The convention concluded on Wednesday evening with '50's Sock Hop along with contests for Best Dressed, Dancing, Hula Hoop, and Bubble Gum blowing. The Annual Claude Bailey Golf Tournament was held on Tuesday morning at the Golden Bear Golf Club in Indigo Run Plantation. Also held were Tennis Tournaments sponsored by Guardsman Products and the Annual Reps vs. Retailers Volleyball Tournament sponsored by Shepherd Management Group. The 2000 Georgia Home Furnishings Association Convention will be held at The Resort at Sandestin in Destin, Florida. The dates for this event will be June 25 - 29, 2000. For more details on our upcoming convention, please contact Kathy Rawlings at (800)541-8595 in Georgia or (770)979-1100.