HFIA Hosts Russian Business Owners

Furniture World Magazine

Mary Frye, president, and the staff of Home Furnishings International Association (HFIA) recently hosted a group of eleven Russian retail business owners and their Rotary hosts to a tour of the Association offices and the Dallas Market Center. The retailers were part of a Productivity Enhancement Program (PEP) offered by the Center for Citizen Initiatives. Over 300 Rotary Clubs, through joint efforts with other organizations, have trained approximately 3,000 business professionals in the United States through the Productivity Enhancement Program. The successful 6-year-old program is also endorsed and supported by the U.S. State Department. "The business owners have now returned to their various areas in Russia, bolstered with new ideas and inspirations to make vast improvements in their business and communities," said Dwayne Howell, Howell’s Homefurnishings, PEP coordinator of the McKinney Rotary Club (and HFIA member). In a letter to Frye, representatives of the Center for Citizen Initiatives said, "Recent news reports remind us of the enormous challenges facing those Russians trying to build a free and stable society. Your contribution to this new generation of private entrepreneurs will have a lasting and far-reaching effect." Frye noted that an additional benefit of the visit was her renewed appreciation for the abundance of opportunities for American businesses. HFIA is an Association for the home furnishings industry. To contact them go to www.hfia.com or call 800-942-4663.