Women in the Home and Furnishings Industry Today (WithIt) has named the nominees for its annual WOW awards. The annual accolades recognize business leaders nominated by their peers who have contributed to the success of the home furnishings industries and have demonstrated significant impact on their companies, the industry, or both.
Connie Post, head of Affordable Design Solutions by Connie Post, will be honored with the Legacy Award for her lifetime of contributions to the industry and her leadership among women for more than 35 years. This is the highest award bestowed by WithIt.
Post is renowned for her extensive work with retail design, re-branding, and re-merchandising. Her work produces exemplary sales growth for retailers and has made her the go-to person for retail design in the home furnishings industry. She is also an author, TV personality, and keynote speaker. Post also mentors young professionals and volunteers for organizations such as WithIt, City of Hope, and ADL.
In addition to honoring Post, WithIt will present WOW Awards in four categories: Education, Mentoring, Leadership, and Future Leader. The Education Award recognizes an individual who has put forth significant effort to educate associates, retailers, and consumers about home furnishings. This year’s nominees arePatricia Bowling of American Home Furnishings Alliance, Susan Lorenz of Kravet Furniture, and Christi Tasker of PuTTin’OuT.
The Mentoring Award honors a company or individual for their efforts to foster advocacy, development, and promotion of women in their company and the industry. Mentoring Award nominees are Lisa Ferguson of Décor Mentor, Leslie Carothers of The Kaleidoscope Partnership, and Renee Loper-Boyd of International Market Centers.
WithIt created the Leadership Award to recognize the contributions of a woman over age 40 who has demonstrated successful leadership in her company, WithIt, and the home furnishings industry. The nominees are: Irene Crowell of Ashley Furniture Industries, Katherine Juckett of Telescope Casual Furniture, and Marilyn Durning of STORIS Inc.
The Future Leader Award honors a woman in the industry under age 40 who has demonstrated outstanding achievement and the potential to become an industry leader. The nominees are: Emily Martin of Lexington Home Brands, Stephanie Lena of Somerton Dwelling, and Marissa Kashani of Louis Shanks of Texas.
The WOW Awards dinner will be held Friday, April 15, at 6:30 p.m. in the IHFC International Ballroom during the High Point Market. Tickets can be purchased at www.withit.org. Individual tickets are $150; a table of 10 is $1,500.
Emceeing the event is designer, author, and makeover TV personality Libby Langdon, who is a longtime WithIt member and former board member who carries her own licensed collections with Braxton Culler, Crystorama, Tiger Rugs, Casart Coverings, and Bradburn Gallery.
The design and décor for the evening is being developed by Gary Inman, VP/Hospitality for Baskervill, a top 20 hospitality design firm based in Virginia.
