IHFRA’s Furniture Industry Awards Gala Goes Virtual
Furniture World News Desk on
6/23/2021
With a theme of ‘Hooray for Hollywood’, a slate of star-studded honorees and a mission to support The Malouf Foundation this year, The International Home Furnishings Representatives Association (IHFRA) is planning to pull out all the stops for this year’s Furniture Industry Awards Gala, set to air on Sept 23, at 7:00 pm, EST.
IHFRA confirmed that this year’s event, the group’ s 25th such gala, will also go virtual for the first time. “While we love getting our furniture family all in the same room during FIAG, with COVID-19 still an issue for many, we opted to put the health and safety of our honorees and attendees first,” said IHFRA Executive Director, Ray Allegrezza.
Scott Carr of Malouf (right) tells IHFRA’s Ray Allegrezza about the Malouf Foundation.
Allegrezza added that this year’s honorees made it easy for IHFRA to decide on a Hollywood theme. “Each of our honorees is a star in his or her own right,” he said referring to Shan Huei “Samuel” Kuo, co-founder and chairman of Samson Holding, Ltd., who will receive the Pillar of the Industry award, Andrew Koenig, president of Top 100 City Furniture, who will be presented with the Retailer of the Year Award, Kathy Ireland, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Designer of Kathy Ireland Worldwide, who will receive the coveted Icon Award, industry veteran Kevin O’Connor, who currently serves as a consultant to Samuel Kuo of Samson Holding, slated to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, Geoff Weed, former IHFRA president and longtime rep for Ashley Furniture, who will be presented with the Distinguished Service Award, Marty Libowsky set to receive the Legacy Rep Award and Joseph Montero, who will receive the Rising Star Award.
The other exciting element, IHFRA said, is a new partnership with The Malouf Foundation, which exists to confront child sexual exploitation, specifically sex trafficking and online abuse. The group, founded by Sam and Kacie Malouf of home furnishings supplier Malouf, fulfills its mission by providing education, promoting healing, and ensuring justice for survivors.
As a non-profit, IHFRA has counted on sponsorships and ticket sales to attend the event to help the company stay in the black. “While our decision to go virtual will likely challenge this year’s operating budget, we will always put the health of our friends in front of our finances,” Allegrezza said, adding, “so much so, that we will make the show available for anyone to watch, free of charge,” he said.
To register to watch the FIAG gala at no charge, click here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/ihfra/539608
To sponsor this year’s FIAG, click here: https://ihfra.wufoo.com/forms/wqqym4u1ti5tt2/
To learn more about the Malouf Foundation, click here: https://malouffoundation.org/
About IHFRA
Founded in 1934, IHFRA is the largest association dedicated to serving independent home furnishings sales representatives.
Based in High Point, North Carolina, IHFRA currently has in excess of 1,600 members and is the central hub of communications, education and programs for home furnishings sales and marketing professionals. For more information, visit www.ihfra.org.
About Malouf Foundation
Formalized in 2016 and operating out of Logan, Utah, the Malouf Foundation is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to confronting child sexual exploitation, specifically sex trafficking and online abuse. The Foundation fulfills its mission by providing education through OnWatch™, promoting healing through Rooms Restored™ and the Utah Trafficking Aftercare Center, and ensuring justice for survivors through children’s advocacy centers. With the support of Malouf™ and its charity network, the Malouf Foundation gives 100 percent of its resources to the people it serves. A significant portion of every Malouf™ purchase supports survivors of sexual exploitation through the Malouf Foundation. For more information or to make a donation, visit malouffoundation.org.