Fred Saah Jr. Accepts For Fred Sr.
The Unfinished Furniture Association (UFA) announced that Fred Saah, Sr. of Saah Unfinished Furniture in Alexandria, VA, Chris Corrente of Elliot’s Unfinished Furniture in Ventura, CA and Wendy Nusbaum of Bare Wood Furniture House in Finksburg, MD have been honored with the Distinguished Member Award from the Unfinished Furniture Association. The awards were presented at the UFA 2010 Real Wood Furniture Finished Your Way® Trade Show, held recently in Cincinnati, Ohio.
UFA is the national organization of manufacturers and retailers specializing in real wood and ready-to-finish furniture. According to Fred Moriarty, Executive Director, “UFA retailers are especially knowledgeable and service oriented because they work with consumers to help create the real wood furniture of their choice from a wide variety of custom options in color, size, wood species and style.” The Distinguished Member Award is presented annually by UFA to three retailers who have made “exceptional contributions to UFA and to the unfinished furniture industry”. This Award is of particular significance because the individuals nominated are selected by their peers in the furniture industry.
Fred Saah, Sr. and his family have operated Saah Unfinished Furniture since 1952. In the beginning they made much of the furniture they sold. For 59 years, Fred has promoted the benefits of unfinished furniture by educating the public about the quality of real wood. He served on the UFA Board of Directors from 1997 - 2001 and he additionally served on various committees. When notified of his nomination, Fred said he considered it to be “a great honor” to be recognized for his service to UFA and the real wood furniture industry.
Chris Corrente and her husband Dave took over Elliot’s Unfinished Furniture in Oxnard, CA from Dave’s father in 1982. In 1971, Dave’s father purchased the business that had been operating as an unfinished furniture store since the early 1950’s. According to Chris, the Corrente’s have “just tried to stay very true to the industry.” Chris was elected to represent the Western states as one of the first board members shortly after UFA was established in 1990.
Chris feels that changes in the furniture industry have presented challenges but Elliot’s has focused on the basics of consistent quality, selection and service which continues to earn them the customer loyalty that is essential to endure in these difficult times. This loyalty paid off last year when they successfully relocated their store from Oxnard to neighboring Ventura, CA.
Wendy and Mike Nusbaum have owned and operated Bare Wood House in Finksburg, MD as a family business since 1996. Wendy became an ardent supporter of UFA’s annual trade show by volunteering and by presenting for education programs. Wendy was elected to the UFA Board in 2002 where she continued to be involved in UFA’s education programs. In 2005 she became president and was instrumental in implementing member outreach programs. For 14 years, Wendy and Mike, through their Bare Wood House store, have introduced furniture buyers to the benefits of real wood custom finished furniture. “In this time”, Wendy noted, “retailing has experienced many challenges and you have to change with the times no matter what.” However”, she is quick to point out, “the one thing that hasn’t changed is the beauty, quality and durability of the real wood furniture we carry.”
UFA represents more than 600 retailers, manufacturers and sales representatives in the United States, Canada and The Bahamas working cooperatively to bring quality real wood custom finished furniture to consumers. For more information visit www.realwoodfurniture.org