-Retailers Honored During Market at Member Appreciation Reception

Furniture World Magazine

Saturday evening of the San Francisco Summer Market the Western Home Furnishings Association partnered with the San Francisco Concourse to host the WHFA Member Appreciation Reception. Held for the first time at the Concourse Mezzanine and sponsored by three Concourse tenants, Haute House Furnishings, R&D Imports and Shawna Stoney, the reception included a ceremony to honor WHFA’s longest serving board member, former President and now retiring Larry Wolfe, Silverado Furniture, Napa, CA. Larry, accompanied by his wife Linda and son Andrew, received plaque and photo mosaic commemorating his years of dedicated service to the association and the industry. Also during the reception, the San Francisco Mart Honored the 2003 Summer Gold Pass recipients, Bob Ammirato and Valerie Valentine, Design Galleria by Valentine, Sacramento, CA and Greg and George Follett, Follett’s Furniture, Lewiston, ID, for their years of leadership in the industry and support of the furniture market. SF Mart’s President, Michael Gennet, was on hand to present the awards. Both recipients are longtime WHFA Members and currently serving on the WHFA Board of Directors. The Reception had long been held in the WHFA Resource Center, SF Mart 2, #705, but this market it was moved to the Concourse Mezzanine, billed as “The Party”, and was radically different from previous events. The party began with costumed characters from the Velocity Circus greeting party patrons as they boarded the market shuttle bus. Upon arrival at the Concourse, attendees weaved through a collection of carnivale-garbed dancers moving to the beat of steel drums. Everyone knew this was going to be a very different party when, upon entering the Concourse, were greeted by a beckoning mermaid, while other characters meandered throughout the event; the blue-skinned fortune teller, the saber-dancing harem girl, the toga-clad muscle man, the roving juggler, and the black-leathered want-to-be Bond girl “Pushy Galore” to list a few. The Concourse Mezzanine was laid out in a club-style environment with chairs and sofas arranged to accommodate relaxed conversation all the while soft techno music filled the background. An estimated 600 people attended the reception, making it by far, the best attended Market Reception WHFA has ever hosted. Plans are already underway to surpass this event for the 2004 January Market.