Hall Of Fame New Members Chosen In High Point

Furniture World Magazine

New members of the American Furniture Hall of Fame for 2003 were selected from the following industry legends and leaders during a banquet gala on October 16, 2003 during the High Point Market. The inductees were Mickey Holliman, Spencer, Collie Kittinger, Morton Seaman an J. Thayer Coggn. The nominees included: J. THAYER COGGIN (1920 - 2003) founded his company in 1953. He pioneered the move in the United Sates toward producing high quality, contemporary designs.... far removed from the traditional designs that had dominated the American market since the beginning of the industrial age. He changed the face of retailing and helped create the contemporary market. SHERWIN GLASS (1926) founded Farmers Furniture in 1911 with a stock of furniture valued at $1,110. Today there are 140 stores in five Southeastern states with more than 1300 employees. In a ten-year span, the company purchased more than $600,000,000 of furniture, appliances and electronics. W. G. "Mickey" HOLLIMAN, JR. (1937) was named chairman, president and CEO of Furniture Brands International in 1996. Today, Action Industries, which he co-founded in 1976 is the largest domestic supplier of motion furniture in the United States and Furniture Brands International is the largest furniture corporation in the world. SPENCER COLIE KITTINGER (1901-1968) was president of the Kittinger Company, founded in 1886. Beginning in 1941, during a period of growth and innovation, Spencer spent half a century as a design leader and innovator. His efforts to ensure the highest quality standards, helped to raise the level of the entire industry. DELMAR LEROY KROEHLER (1902 - 1982) joined Kroehler in 1922, the company's founding year. He became president in 1951 and retired in 1967. He helped Kroehler, the world's largest manufacturer to expand into 14 manufacturing plants in the US and Canada. In 1965, Kroehler became the first manufacturer in history to achieve annual sales of more than 100 million dollars per year. LEON JEROME LEVITZ (1915) a graduate of the Wharton School of Business in 1936, successfully negotiated with vendors and banks, during the depression years, to establish the Levitz furniture warehouse showroom concept. A true pioneer of the industry, his family revolutionized furniture retailing by providing easy freeway accessibility, and highly decorated showrooms with immediate availability, for pick-up or delivery. MORTON SEAMAN (1932), vice chairman of Rooms To Go, built Seaman's into one of the largest furniture retailers in the Northeast, with 30 stores and annual sales of $290 million. When he sold Seaman's in 1988, he became his son Jeffrey's mentor and partner in establishing the next generation’s new concept in furniture, Rooms To Go. Today RTG is the largest furniture retailer in the country. The American Furniture Hall of Fame is an all-industry effort organized to honor those individuals whose outstanding achievements have contributed to the continued growth and development of the American manufactured furniture industry, and to research, collect and preserve its cultural, economic and artistic history. For more information call (336)882-5900 or log on to www.furninfo.com/afhf.