New Board Members Announced by The Common Thread for the Cure Foundation

Furniture World News Desk on 11/2/2018

Pictured above from left ot right: Ashley Hodges Morgan, Kelly Ponder, and Kathy Wall.

The Common Thread for the Cure Foundation has announced three new members for its board of directors. The organization supports individuals who are affiliated with the design and furnishings industries and are fighting breast cancer by offering financial assistance through confidential Helping Hands Grants. Joining the 2018/2019 board are Ashley Hodges Morgan, Kelly Ponder, and Kathy Wall.

Founder and board chair, Suzann Bray said, “We are pleased to have these three talented and enthusiastic new board members. Each brings a history of supporting non-profits, as well as offering unique talents and connections that will certainly benefit our worthy cause.”

 
Morgan is an attorney and a member of Lewis Thomason’s Business & Commercial and Tax Practice Groups in Memphis, Tenn. The North Carolina native now resides in downtown Memphis. She focuses her practice on business and transactional matters — as well as federal, state and local taxation, including United States Tax Court litigation, letter ruling requests, civil tax disputes and controversy involving the Internal Revenue Service and various state and local tax authorities — but her passion is working with non-profit organizations.

Ponder is director of outreach for Crypton in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Her primary role is to nurture business relationships with distributors, designers, architects, manufacturers and end users in the contract market. Since joining Crypton in 2015, Ponder has enhanced the brand awareness for Crypton within the A & D community, as well as having established numerous new relationships with various organizations that support the design community. She’s held positions with for-profit and non-profit organizations, including J. Crew, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and MSX International.
 
In 2000, Wall founded The Media Matters, Inc., headquartered in Lexington, N.C. The agency provides marketing, brand strategy, communications and advertising services to non-profits, international brands, and most extensively, to all business channels representing the home furnishings and decor industries. She enjoys working collaboratively and brings a wealth of actionable strategies to retailers, manufacturers, suppliers, and designers. Wall has served as chairman on the boards of WithIt, a non-profit professional development organization for women, and the Furniture Discovery Center, a museum dedicated to educating the public about the home furnishings industry.
 
Other members of the board are Suzann Burkhead-Bray, chair, International Fabrics, Inc., Asheboro, N.C.; Jane Barea, president, Walter Robbs, Callahan & Pierce, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Karen Kontoulas, vice president of fundraising, Kimball Office, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Linda Higgins, secretary, L. Higgins Design, Graham, N.C.; Patty Younts, treasurer, Lexington, N.C.; along with directors Roger Arciniega, Momentum Group, Irvine, Calif.; Rob Mayer, Mayer Fabrics, Indianapolis, Ind.; Phil Miller III, Thayer Coggin, Inc., High Point, N.C.; Pam Mathias, Versteel, Jasper, Ind.; Scott Schwinghammer, Versteel, Jasper, Ind.; Mark Stuckey, The Contract Group, Holly Springs, N.C.; Lindsey Ann Waldrep, Crossville Tile, Crossville, Tenn.; Dee Wyrick, Momentum Group, Semora, N.C.

Helping Hand Grants aid breast cancer patients and their families in areas where insurance does not apply. For example, a grant can be used to meet financial obligations, household needs and transportation to medical appointments. The intent of these grants is to enhance the quality of life for those who have breast cancer enabling them to maintain as normal a lifestyle as possible while they are confronting the disease.

You can help The Common Thread for the Cure in the following ways:

• If you know someone affiliated with the design and furnishingsindustry that is currently battling breast cancer, please tell them about The Common Thread for the Cure and the Helping Hand Grants.
  
  
• Make a monetary donation in any amount to The Common Thread for the Cure.
• As a company, or as an individual, donate funds for one Helping Hand Grant.
• Specify or purchase year-round sponsors’ designated products that benefit the foundation.
• Ask the company where you work to support The Common Thread for the Cure through financial contributions, sponsorship or a fundraising event.
• Attend, sponsor or volunteer at one or more of the industry fundraising events held throughout the United States.
• Spread awareness of The Common Thread for the Cure to friends, co-workers and companies within the furnishings industry.