AFMA Honors John D. Bassett With Distinguished Service Award

Furniture World Magazine

John D. Bassett 111, president and chief executive officer of VaughanBassett Furniture in Galax, Va., has been honored by the American Furniture Manufacturers Association as the recipient of its 2001 Distinguished Service Award. Bassett received AFMA's most prestigious and coveted honor at the association's annual meeting held Nov. 8-11 in New York. AFMA recognized Bassett as "a manufacturer's manufacturer" who exhibits "an intense and focused approach to business." The Distinguished Service Award is presented annually in recognition of a member's contributions to the furniture industry. Recipients are chosen for their time and effort devoted to improving the industry; their executive presence and stature; their willingness to work to solve industry problems; and their integrity and leadership in community, state and industry. Bassett served as president of AFMA in 1997. His tenure was marked by the establishment of a Blue Ribbon Committee to explore ways the industry might reverse the downward trend in consumer disposable income being spent on home furnishings. That committee ultimately made recommendations resulting in AFMA's current public relations program. Bassett also has served two terms as chairman of the International Woodworking Fair. In presenting the award, Patrick Norton, chairman of La-Z-Boy, said, "He is an extremely devoted family man, a fierce leader of his company, and a competitor of the first order who has given tirelessly to our association, our industry and to the community where he lives and works." In addition to his furniture industry contributions, Bassett serves as a deacon at the Pocahontas Baptist Church in Bassett, Va., and is on the vestry of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Galax, Va. He actively supports the Bassett volunteer fire department and the fire brigades at his factories. Vaughan-Bassett operates plants in Galax and Atkins, Va.; Sumter, S.C.; and Elkin, N.C.