HFIA Names New Board of Directors
New Orleans Retailer Chosen as Chairman
Home Furnishings Independents Association (HFIA), the organization that serves the independent home furnishings professional, has named its new chairman and board for the 2007 to 2009 term.
“HFIA is a stable, reliable organization with 84 years of experience, but we also have a fresh, inventive, and original vision for the future success of its members,” says Julian Doerr Mutter, president of Doerr Furniture in New Orleans, who will succeed outgoing chairman Bill Castleberry of Castleberry’s Ethan Allen Home Interiors in leading the Dallas-based association and addressing members’ strategic needs through an expanded list of services.
Along with the new board, the HFIA has also adopted a new name: Home Furnishings Independents Association.
According to Doerr Mutter, “When we use the term ‘independent,’ we’re talking about the decision-maker, the business owner, and the action-taker—the player/coach, so to speak. The independents in our industry can join HFIA and find services expressly designed to serve their businesses. And, when they partner with the new HFIA, they have the opportunity to directly influence not only the Association but the industry, too.”
Other members of the HFIA executive committee include: communication committee chairman Serena Cole, Duxiana; program development committee chairman Steve Kidder, Vermont Furniture Galleries; member recruitment chairman Tom McMinn, McMinn Furniture; pr committee chairman Verona Mair, The Emporium; secretary/treasurer Stan Pickett, Quality Furniture and Appliance; and annual meeting chairman Bill Castleberry, Castleberry’s Ethan Allen.
Serving with the Board of officers are board members Sam Boeke, Henry Simon Furniture Co.; Bob Bolton, Ashley HomeStore; Karen Craig, manufacturers’ representative; Dale Dodd, Dodd Home Furnishings; Lynn Harrison Dyer, sales representative; Robert Gilbreth, FurnitureKidz Gifts & Accessories; David Lively, R & A Marketing; and Dick Winter, Winter Furniture Co.