Stanley Furniture Company & AmericasMart To Sponsor WithIt National Educational Conference, May10-12, in Atlanta

Furniture World News

Stanley Furniture Co., of Stanleytown, Virginia, has signed on as title sponsor of WithIt's national career conference for independent and corporate professionals. The conference entitled "Learn, Grow, Lead, Encourage: Developing Leaders for 2010", is slated for May 10-12 at AmericasMart, Atlanta, Georgia. Jeff Scheffer, president and chief executive officer of Stanley, says "We are pleased to sponsor WithIt's national leadership development conference. In most cases, women are the decision makers when it comes to buying furniture, and it¹s important to develop women leaders in our industry." "We applaud the organization for their ongoing educational programs," says Scheffer, "along with all those who have paved the way for women leaders in our industry." Also sponsoring the conference is site host AmericasMart. "We are strategically guided by a vision for greater success in the home furnishings industry," says Kathy Bovey, VP of Home Accents and Furnishings, AmericasMart, and WithIt member. "AmericasMart and Virginia Gorday, our Senior VP of Operations, are committed to excellence through leadership development. We¹re pleased to sponsor this extraordinary conference." "WithIt offers this conference to both independent and corporate professionals who realize that developing leadership skills is essential to success at every level in business, and, indeed in life itself," says Brenda Plowman, WithIt conference chair and Vice President of Sales USA, Hamilton & Spill Furniture Group. Conference sessions will be led by business experts representing diverse genders and functions who will examine the benefits of personal leadership development, mentoring and professional networks, and universal work/life issues. "We think this conference is an opportunity for life-changing, business-enhancing dialogue that will change the way we talk about home furnishings and the ways in which we work together toward increasing success in the future," says Plowman. The conference opens Tuesday evening, May 10, with a reception and registration. Sessions begin 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning, May 11, and continue through 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 12. Registration, including meals, is $100 for WithIt members, $300 for non-members, $25 for students. A discounted block of rooms is available for conference members (codeword:withit) at The Westin Peachtree Plaza, adjacent to AmericasMart. Register online at www.withit.org or by telephone at (336)880-2188. ABOUT WITHIT: WithIt (Women in The Home Furnishings Industry Today, www.withit.org) is a not-for-profit career organization established in 1997 to encourage and develop leadership, mentoring, education, and networking opportunities for professional women in the home furnishings industries. WithIt national headquarters is in High Point, North Carolina. The organization supports regional chapters in Atlanta, Chicago IL, Dallas TX, Florida, Los Angeles CA, New York NY, San Francisco CA, and Virginia/Carolinas.