High Point Market Authority Partners With Reps To Encourage Market Attendance

Furniture World Magazine

The High Point Market Authority (HPMA) announced that it is partnering with International Home Furnishings Representatives Association (IHFRA) members to promote Market attendance. As part of the program, key IHFRA representatives will act as Ambassadors for the High Point Market, meeting one-on-one with retailers across the country to talk about the importance of attending Market during challenging economic times. The program is specifically focused on retailers who have never attended Market, as well as those that do not regularly attend. “The Ambassadors will help us reach out to these retailers and encourage them to experience for themselves the world’s premier home furnishings Market, as well as all the positive changes that have taken place here over the past three years,” says Brian D. Casey, president and chief officer of the High Point Market Authority. The following representatives are serving as IHFRA/High Point Market Ambassadors: Edward Myers is a sales rep for Broyhill Furniture, serving Eastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey. Currently, Myers is chairman of the Tri-State Home Furnishings Association, and first vice-president of IHFRA. Next month, he will become the new president of IHFRA. Richard Gillispie, CHR, represents Hooker Furniture, and is a member of the Virginia/Carolinas Home Furnishings Representatives Association. Gillispie is currently chairman of the board of IHFRA and serves as a liaison to the High Point Market Authority board. He is also a board member of the National Home Furnishings Association. Matthew Ryan Keepers, CHR, represents Hooker Furniture in Texas, along with Bradington Young, Sam Moore and Opus Designs. He is an active at-large member of IHFRA. Thomas M. Schuckert, CHR, represents Palliser Furniture. He is a former president of IHFRA and is currently a member of the IHFRA nominating committee and an active board member of the Cleveland chapter. George Foree, CHR, represents Fairfield and Linwood in Kansas, Missouri and Southern Illinois. He is an active at-large member of IHFRA. Mark Scharff, CHR, is a multi-line representative and a past president of the New Jersey Home Furnishings Association. He has represented his chapter on the IHFRA board numerous times and now serves as an officer of the association. Marty Sobel represents Liberty Furniture and Masterfield Furniture in Illinois, Wisconsin, Northern Indiana and Eastern Iowa. An active member of The Midwest Club and IHFRA, he is a former president of board chair of The Midwest Club. He has twice been honored with the prestigious Charles B. Costar Dean of IHFRA award. Cary Laufer, CHR, represents Legacy Classic and Team Florida Furniture Sales. He is a past president of the Florida Home Furnishings Reps Association. He currently serves on the executive board of FHFRA. Brooks Roughton represents Universal Furniture, Craftmaster Upholstery, Better Homes & Gardens and Pennsylvania House in Northern California and Nevada. He is a past president of the Northern California Home Furnishings Representatives Association. “The role of these Ambassadors is of critical importance both to the Market, and to the industry as a whole,” Casey says. “They understand that when a retailer makes the trip to Market, everyone—retailer, manufacturer and sales representative—benefits.” He continues, “There’s no question that retailers are operating in difficult times, but skipping Market to stay home and ‘man the store’ will not help turn things around now. The reality is that retailers struggling to generate new business need new perspectives, ideas and resources. A trip to the High Point Market will enable them to efficiently interface with everyone they need to see in one place, to ask questions and get answers, and to uncover the ideas and new products that will help keep them competitive through this business cycle. The High Point Market Authority is the official sponsor of the High Point Market in High Point, North Carolina. Featuring an extensive selection of exhibitors spanning every category, style and price point and attracting thousands of visitors from more than 110 countries twice each year, the High Point Market is the driving force of the home furnishings industry.