The International Casual Furnishings Association announces the finalists for three prestigious awards to be presented at the ICFA Awards Gala during Casual Market Atlanta in July.
Apollo Awards
Founded in 1959, the Apollo Awards program recognizes retail excellence in the sales and marketing of outdoor furnishings. Finalists must demonstrate outstanding accomplishments plus active partnerships and excellent credit ratings with manufacturers and industry suppliers.
Each finalist is recognized as an exceptional dealer of a wide variety of quality products in their trading area and a role model for others within the industry, as well as characterized by superior customer service plus innovative marketing and merchandising strategies.
Finalists in the single-store competition include Island Living & Patio, West Palm Beach, Florida; O’Malia’s Living, Carmel, Indiana; Outdoor Elegance, La Verne, California; Patios Plus, Rancho Mirage, California; Villa Terrazza, Sonoma, California; and Village Green Home & Garden, Rockford, Illinois.
Retail businesses with multiple stores include Gasper Home & Garden Showplace, Furlong, Pennsylvania; Kolo Collection, Atlanta; Sunnyland Outdoor Living, Dallas; Today’s Patio, Scottsdale, Arizona; and Viridien (formerly Fire House Casual Living), Charlotte, North Carolina.
A follow-up online ballot with profiles of each retailer will be distributed to all ICFA members in good standing to determine the winner in each category.
Manufacturer of the Year Award
Five manufacturers of outdoor furnishings have been named finalists for the ICFA’s 2023 Manufacturer of the Year Award — Castelle, Ebel Inc., Lloyd Flanders, Poly-Wood and Treasure Garden.
The finalists were selected based on the overall design and quality of their products, along with their merchandising, customer service, ethics, communications and trade relations.
Company profiles of the manufacturer finalists will be distributed to ICFA members for a second round of voting, and the company with the most votes will be announced as the Manufacturer of the Year.
Sales Rep of the Year Award
Six outstanding sales representatives have been selected as finalists for the 2023 Sales Representative of the Year. Finalists include John Balch, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Tim Baldwin, Richmond, Virginia; Doug Becht, Geneva, Illinois; Joe Crandall, Marietta, Georgia; Phil Fowler, Wilmington, Delaware; and Charlie Smith, La Quinta, California.
Finalists were selected based on leadership, professionalism, exceptional service, communication skills, knowledge and product training expertise.
Hosted by International Market Centers at the Oceans Ballroom at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, the ICFA Awards Gala will bring together all segments of the outdoor furnishings industry for a dinner celebration that recognizes excellence throughout the casual furnishings industry.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Kathy Juckett, CEO of Telescope Casual Furniture, will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and
Kathy’s great-grandfather, Henry J.W. Vanderminden Sr., founded the company over a century ago. His son, Henry J.W. Vanderminden Jr., continued his legacy, leading the company until his 90s. His son, Robert D. Vanderminden Sr., then became CEO and named his daughter, Kathy, as his successor in 2001. Kathy’s grandfather, who died in 1993, predicted her leadership path. “As a woman with a head for business, you are a freak of nature, but the way you juggle the priorities of an executive, mother, wife, daughter and granddaughter, and make it look so easy, tells me that you were born to be a manager,” he told her early in her career.
“Working in the family business was never my ambition growing up. I landed there at the end of my senior year at Skidmore College because of a credit issue. I had to complete an independent study to have enough credits to graduate,” says Kathy. “I was majoring in the pioneering area of industrial social work, so a professor helped me develop an independent study program to support the human resources office. My first day was May 21, 1979, and, 44 years later, I’m still here.”
Kathy’s duties weren’t limited to her HR project — helping employees with alcohol addiction seek rehab rather than firing them — but entailed working for a harsh taskmaster in the sewing room, learning how the machines operated plus listening to management and workers explain their challenges. “I finished my project and graduated,” she says, adding, “I learned more in those few months than during my four years of college. It became obvious to me that this was where I belonged.”
Stepping into the CEO role, she steered the company through several transitions that drove success. As the new century began, Telescope Casual underwent a revolution, moving from the mass production model of her grandfather and Henry Ford’s day to mass customization to meet the desires of 21st-century consumers. Click here to read more about her story and journey to the top of Telescope.
Products receiving the industry’s Design Excellence Awards will be spotlighted, including the Lilly Awards for Outdoor Furniture and Outdoor Accents plus the Lillian B. Winchester “Best of Show” design award.
Tickets for ICFA members can be ordered from the ICFA website for $85 per person or $800 for a table of 10. Tickets for nonmembers are $110 each and $1,100 for a table of 10. Sponsorship of the ICFA Awards Gala is available in a variety of levels by clicking here.
