Close

John D. Bassett III

b. 1938

John D. Bassett III, chairman of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co., is a champion of American-made furniture and the third generation to work in the furniture industry. Under his leadership, Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co. sales have increased from $38 million in 1983 when he joined the company to more than $90 million today, the largest wood bedroom manufacturer in the United States.

With nearly 700 employees at plants in Virginia and North Carolina, Mr. Bassett believes that no one can outperform the American worker when given leadership, training and the best equipment. Mr. Bassett has reduced the percentage of imports to less than 2 percent of the company’s total sales and in 2012 oversaw an $8 million plant expansion, which included the purchase and reopening of a furniture factory. He has served as chairman of the Committee for Legal Trade which helped level the playing field for U.S. furniture manufacturers faced with unfair foreign competition and advocated for a critical Environmental Protection Agency rule change that benefits both the furniture industry and the environment.

After serving three years as an officer in the U.S. Army, Mr. Bassett began his career at Bassett Furniture Inds. in 1959, working in sales, marketing, manufacturing and management. Today, Vaughan-Bassett uses state-of-the-art equipment and systems to offer a wide selection of colors, finishes and sizes within each collection and Vaughan-Bassett Express (VBX), a quick-delivery program promises 7-day delivery on about half of the company’s line. Devoted to the work force, Mr. Bassett established the innovative Vaughan-Bassett Free Clinic for all employees and their families. Mr. Bassett also created Vaughan-Bassett’s “One for One” tree replenishment program, which has planted 900,000 trees throughout the U.S. during the past six years.

A champion of the industry, Mr. Bassett shares his knowledge about successful domestic furniture manufacturing through onsite visits with other U.S. manufacturers. His honors include the American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) Distinguished Service Award, the InFurniture Magazine Man of the Year Award and the International Home Furnishings Representatives Assn. Pillar of the Industry Award. His board service has included the AHFA, International Woodworking Fair, and American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation.

His community involvement includes serving as a board member of the Cherry Lane Volunteer Fire Department, the Bassett Volunteer Fire Department and the Martinsville/Henry County United Fund. Vaughan-Bassett also supports a free health clinic in Galax, the Galax Public Schools program which provides weekend meals to needy children, and the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges. The John D. and Patricia Exum Bassett Foundation supports many worthy causes in Virginia and North Carolina.

Close

Hassel H. Franklin

b. 1935

Hassell H. Franklin, chairman and CEO of Franklin Corp., launched a small, family-owned business in 1970 and built it into one of the largest, privately owned furniture manufacturers in the nation, achieving double-digit growth nearly every year since its founding. Today, Franklin employs a workforce of 1,300 that produces a diverse line of American-made upholstered motion furniture sold throughout the world.

Innovative strategic planning is a cornerstone of Mr. Franklin’s success. More than 43 years ago, when he approached local banks to finance his startup company, he presented a three-year plan – and then accomplished in just nine months. Mr. Franklin is known for his visionary use of vertical integration and lean manufacturing techniques. In the 1990s, he was among the first in the industry to convert his frame mill from a manual cut-and-sew operation to a more efficient computer numerical control-driven system. Today, the company’s 75-acre campus includes a metal stamping facility, foam fabrication plant, dimension mill, recliner plant and motion sofa plant, as well as a logistics company and a fully equipped research and development department. Leadership classes are held for front-line supervisors and as a debt-free company, attention is focused on the customer experience, quality products, exceptional value and quick delivery.

An enthusiastic industry supporter, Mr. Franklin established a $1 million endowment at Mississippi State University to help build the Franklin Furniture Institute, a research and training center benefitting the furniture community. He has served as president and board member of the American Furniture Manufacturers Assn. (now the American Home Furnishings Alliance) and as a board member of the Furniture Foundation and the Mississippi Manufacturing Assn. He has received the AHFA Distinguished Service Award and Industry Service Award from the Upholstered Furniture Action Council. Mr. Franklin was elected to the Mississippi Business Hall of Fame.

Mr. Franklin grew up on a small farm and was a public school classmate of Elvis Presley in Tupelo. He served in the U.S. Army, where he commanded the company that protected James Meredith during the integration of the University of Mississippi. He was the Mississippi State Alumnus of the Year, as well as the Itawamba Community College Alumnus of the Year; is past president and board member of CREATE Foundation, the largest community foundation in Mississippi; and is a major supporter of the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, Regional Rehabilitation Center, United Way of Northeast Mississippi and Sanctuary Hospice House. He served as lead director of BancorpSouth, as well as on the boards of the Mississippi Economic Council, North Mississippi Health Services, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal Publishing Co., Journal Publishing Houston, Commission on the Future of Northeast Mississippi, Community Development Foundation and Community Relations Assn. He has served on the boards of the Mississippi State University Development Foundation and its Athletic Foundation, and the Itawamba Community College Foundation.

Close

Eugene Rosenberg

b. 1935

Gene Rosenberg, a founder of Bob’s Discount Furniture and Planned Furniture Promotions, and a partner in the revival of Boyles Furniture, has combined hard work and perseverance with his love for the furniture industry. He cofounded Gene Rosenberg Associations (GRA), now called Planned Furniture Promotions, the country’s largest furniture promotion firm. He also cofounded Bob’s Discount Furniture, growing the chain to the 15th-largest U.S. furniture retailer with sales of $685 million.

The epitome of the “self-made” man, Mr. Rosenberg grew up in a modest apartment above his parents’ grocery store in Hartford, Conn. He started his furniture career as a bookkeeper in a local furniture store, earning $40 a week, and was soon promoted to store manager. Leo Kaufman, the father of his future business partner, told Mr. Rosenberg about an appliance store named Norman’s that needed his help. Within three years, annual sales grew to more than $3 million.

In 1962, Mr. Rosenberg and Paul Cohen started Gene Rosenberg Associates. Over the past 50 years, GRA has assisted more than 6,000 retailers with high-impact sales that have enabled them to survive, reorganize or close without extensive debt.

In 1991, Mr. Rosenberg and Bob Kaufman purchased a five-store waterbed chain, transforming it into a retail store offering high-quality furniture at affordable prices in a friendly atmosphere. Today Bob’s Discount Furniture consists of 43 stores located from New England to Virginia, with sales of nearly $700 million. When 70 percent of the company was sold in 2005 to an investment group, Mr. Rosenberg continued as a major stockholder and as an active board member. Recently, he and his partners re-launched the Boyles retail brand in North Carolina.

An active contributor to his community, Mr. Rosenberg enjoys helping those in need. He founded Camp Rising Sun for children stricken with cancer so that they can enjoy a week of carefree activities. He also founded and continues to oversee the Bob’s Discount Furniture Foundation, which has raised more than $3 million for dozens of children’s charities. Other groups that Mr. Rosenberg supports include the Connecticut Children's Hospital, the American Red Cross, The Jimmy Fund, The Chabad House, The Bess and Paul Sigel Hebrew Academy, Hartford Hospital, Solomon Schechter Academy, the Jewish Federation, the Gene and Anja Rosenberg Rehabilitation Center at Hebrew Health Care and City of Hope.

Mr. Rosenberg serves on the boards of Hebrew Health Care, The Chabad House and Big Brothers & Big Sisters. He and his wife, Anja, received the Human Relations Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice, and the Torch of Liberty Award from the Anti-Defamation League celebrating families with a tradition of community service.

Close

Hershel Alpert

b. 1932 d. 2010

Furniture retailer Hershel Alpert was a man of many talents. In addition to serving as president and CEO of Alperts Inc., the company he cofounded, Mr. Alpert was an esteemed mentor, consultant and university faculty member.

Mr. Alpert began his career working for Alpert’s Furniture Store, his father’s business in New Bedford, Mass., during college breaks. After serving in the U.S. Army, he returned to later become president of Arlan’s Furniture, a subsidiary of Alpert’s Furniture with stores in Massachusetts, New York and Florida. When his father sold the business in 1972, Mr. Alpert and his brother, Fred, founded Alperts Inc. With very little capital, they opened a furniture showroom and warehouse in a 90,000 sq.-ft. building in Seekonk, Mass., which was sold to General Cinema Corp. Mr. Alpert continued as president, growing the business to 15 stores located in New York, Ohio, Florida and Massachusetts.

In 1985, Mr. Alpert, his brother and merchandiser Burt Tassel bought back three stores, closed two, and expanded the original store to 150,000 square feet. For the next 35 years, as president and CEO, Mr. Alpert implemented innovative ideas and best practices, including computerized bar coding, POS and computer-aided design. The company received both the Brand Names Foundation Retailer of the Year and the Retailers Association of Massachusetts Retailer of the Year awards. In 2007, the partners sold the business to Raymour & Flanigan with the stipulation that its 155 employees would retain their jobs.

Rather than retiring at age 75, he founded Alpert Consulting. A tireless mentor to young people in the industry, he also lectured at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, where he was a faculty member and Senior Executive in Residence.

Mr. Alpert served as president and chairman of the National Home Furnishings Association and its Foundation, and in 2005 was named NHFA Retailer of the Year. He was on the board of the Home Furnishings Association, New England, and in 2009 received its Arthur J. Adelizzi Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Alpert also traveled regularly to Washington to lobby on behalf of the industry and served on the industry board of directors of the City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles.

Mr. Alpert was a leader in his community, as well, serving on numerous boards, including the Buttonwood Park Zoological Society, the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and the United Way of Greater New Bedford. He also was a member of the City of New Bedford Industrial Development Financing Authority and the City of New Bedford Airport Commission.

Close

Bernard Castro

b. 1904 d. 1991

In 1931, Bernard Castro and his wife, Theresa, started Castro Decorators with $400. It would soon become Castro Convertibles, a manufacturer and retailer of sleeper sofas, ultimately selling more than five million convertible sleeper sofas exclusively through their own 48 retail showrooms on the East Coast. Castro had two large upholstery plants, one in New Hyde Park, New York and one in Ocala, Florida, with a separate steel mechanism plant in New Hyde Park. From receiving the raw steel to delivering the finished product to the customer’s home, Castro Convertibles was uniquely “vertical.” Always creating, Mr. Castro was an inventor of many patented convertible mechanisms and gave consumers up to a million choices by offering 100 styles, thousands of fabrics and 10 bed sizes. In 1993, the retail and manufacturing operations were sold to Krause’s Sofa Factory.

An emigrant from Italy, he was a furniture apprentice who earned a degree in Interior Decoration from the New York Evening School of Industrial Art. Mr. Castro was involved in every aspect of product development, production, advertising and sales, demanding the utmost quality in every detail. Furniture was displayed with high-end accessories in room settings, to favorably compare it with designer stationary sofas. By highlighting the value of fashion-forward sofa beds and leading product innovation in the category, he created a specialty niche of chain stores for sofas by day that turned into beds for the night. Each showroom was designed to be a destination showplace, attracting people who visited to see the latest interior design trends.

Mr. Castro was an advertising genius with exceptional foresight. He recognized the potential impact of television advertising when only two TV channels existed, airing a commercial featuring his four-year-old daughter, Bernadette, who demonstrated that a Castro Convertible was “so easy, even a child can do it.”

A hands-on leader and avid mentor, who often worked seven days a week, Mr. Castro believed in promoting from within and generously donated his time and resources. In 1963, he received the prestigious Horatio Alger Award. He was a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, a founding member of the Florida Council of 100, a member of the 23rd Street Association and active in the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce. A supporter of the Florida National Guard, he dedicated several hundred acres of his Ocala farm for a Special National Guard Drop Zone and was named an honorary Green Beret. Mr. Castro received an honorary doctorate from Mercy College. A member of the Knights of Malta and the Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, he was a founding member of the Columbus Citizens Foundation and was honored by numerous nonprofit organizations, including Boys Town of Italy and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, both of New York City.

Close

Harry M. Cornell, Jr.

Harry M. Cornell, chairman emeritus of Leggett & Platt Inc., built a small regional company into a Fortune 500 manufacturing giant. The grandson of a founder of Leggett & Platt, Mr. Cornell joined the company in sales in 1950 and rose through the ranks to become president and chief executive officer in 1960. During the next 52 years, he transformed Leggett & Platt from five plants and $7 million in annual sales into a $4 billion company with 130 plants in 18 countries. Today, Leggett & Platt, a world leader in component manufacturing, employs nearly 19,000 around the globe.

Mr. Cornell achieved remarkable growth through innovation and acquisition. His many milestones included the initial public offering of Leggett & Platt common stock in 1967 and the 1979 listing on the New York Stock Exchange. As a supplier that manufactured component parts, created the machinery to make them and produced the raw materials, Mr. Cornell expanded Leggett & Platt into eight industries. He directed the opening of national production plants with satellite distribution centers, established consistent quality standards, emphasized impeccable customer service, and provided “just in time” delivery before the term existed. In 1998, it ranked in the top 6 percent of nearly 500 major corporations in the Fortune survey, “America’s Most Admired Corporations.” A visionary who considered each achievement to be a team effort, Mr. Cornell encouraged everyone around him to strive for excellence. He believed in “an attitude of discontent,” briefly celebrating an accomplishment and then challenging his team to make its own products obsolete, because he believed the company owed its customers continual innovation.

Mr. Cornell is past president of the American Innerspring Manufacturer’s Association and received the Award of Exceptional Service in 1983 from the National Association of Bedding Manufacturers (now the International Sleep Products Association). He was honored with the CEO Award from Financial World for five years and with the CEO Award from The Wall Street Transcript for three years. Under his direction, Leggett & Platt has always generously supported industry causes, both financially and with leadership resources.

At the University of Missouri, his alma mater, he helped conceptualize the new Business School building, dedicated as Cornell Hall in 2002. In 2003, the university awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Law. He also funds the Cornell Leadership Scholarship. Mr. Cornell served on the Carthage Board of Education and the St. John’s Hospital Board of Directors, and was active in many other community organizations, as well as local and state politics. In 1998, he was named Citizen of the Year in Carthage, Missouri, where Leggett & Platt was founded and remains headquartered today.

Mr. Cornell, an avid big game hunter, bird watcher, tennis player and collector of Western Art, continues to serve as chairman emeritus of Leggett & Platt, an S&P 500 company.

Close

Donald D. Dreher

Donald D. Dreher transformed DMI Furniture Inc. from decline to profitability in one of the most significant turnarounds in the U.S. furniture industry. He joined DMI, then a promotional bedroom furniture and residential desk manufacturer, in 1977. Named president and CEO in 1986, he took the reins of a company that in its prior nine years had $18 million in losses on a total of $430 million in sales. He reduced debt and generated capital by selling four manufacturing divisions and by negotiating the conversion of DMI’s preferred stock to common stock. Under Mr. Dreher’s leadership, annual sales grew from $44 million to $113 million. DMI has experienced 18 consecutive years of operating profits.

Mr. Dreher, among the first in the industry to recognize the potential of importing, led DMI from domestic to international manufacturing. In 1997, DMI launched Wynwood, an imported midpriced line of bedroom, dining room and occasional furniture. The company added Home Styles to sell accents and occasional pieces to big box retailers and later to e-commerce markets, both innovative moves at the time. He also launched DMI’s Commercial Office Division to manufacture office furniture both domestically and abroad. All three start-ups continue to be successful today with separate management, design and sales teams.

In 2003, Mr. Dreher negotiated the sale of DMI to Flexsteel Industries, where he serves as senior vice president as well as DMI president and CEO. Mr. Dreher is known throughout the industry for his honest, open and accurate transactions, as well as for his ability to attract and keep good employees, many of whom have worked with him for decades.

As a former director, member of the executive committee and president of the American Home Furnishings Alliance (formerly the American Furniture Manufacturers Association), Mr. Dreher led endeavors in investments and long range planning, as well as an effort to gain higher recognition among U.S. consumers. In 2007, he received the AHFA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, for his achievements as a “leader, visionary, confidant, tireless worker and advocate for effective change in his beloved furniture industry.” Mr. Dreher was a founding director and former president of the American Furniture Hall of Fame Foundation, where he has continued to advocate for documentation of the industry’s heritage and history. He also was an active member of the Home Furnishings Council, an industry effort to gain greater consumer awareness for all home furnishings.

Close

Jena Goldman Hall

Jena Hall, president and chief creative officer of Jena Hall Associates, is a recognized designer and business collaborator in the furniture industry, known for applying her merchandising and marketing savvy to a diverse range of industry projects and categories.

Ms. Hall grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, where she developed her work ethic and passion for beautiful furnishings at an early age through her family’s business. When the Dallas Trade Mart opened in 1957, her father took her out of school so she could go to the furniture market. She launched her own firm, Jena Hall Associates in 1972, specializing in space planning and interior design. High-profile projects have included the House Beautiful Kitchen of the Future and the restoration of the George Vanderbilt Estate on Long Island.

In the 1980s, Ms. Hall entered the field of product development, designing new furniture lines and integrated merchandising and marketing strategies for brands including American Drew, Bassett, Ethan Allen and Pennsylvania House. Her high-end collections for Casa Bique led to the launch of a licensed collection of fully coordinated home furnishings — Jena Hall’s Inspirations from the Old Country for Broyhill Furniture — with thousands of cross-merchandised SKUs covering 22 different product categories. Other licensed and private-label programs were for Nichols & Stone; Johnston Casuals; DMI-Wynwood; Vanguard Furniture; JCPenney; Robb & Stucky; Bloomingdale’s; Macy’s; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Domain; Spiegel; Neiman Marcus; and Horchow.

In late 2003, Ms. Hall joined aspenhome as executive vice president of merchandising and marketing, winning five Pinnacle design awards and developing a brand strategy for aspenhome to become a household name. Since 2010, she has worked with initiatives including the launch of the HGTV HOME brand, where she serves as design curator, and the recent introduction of Bassett’s HGTV collection. As a product designer, Ms. Hall is passionate about bringing features and functions formerly reserved for the interior design trade to the mainstream market. Starting in the 1980s, she has pioneered a mix-and-match approach and furniture solutions with innovative, multifunctional features that are now industry standards.

Ms. Hall was the founding president of WithIt, the women’s leadership and development network, supports the Jena and Stephen Hall Scholarship Fund to support rising home furnishings talent. She has served as National Home Furnishings Board president, co-chairman and on the National Executive Committee for City of Hope. She also gives her time to the Anti-Defamation League, the New York Chapter of the Jewish Federation, the American Society of Furniture Designers, the High Point Market Authority Board and the Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library Advisory Board. She has received the WithIt Founders Award and Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Furniture Hall of Fame Industry Fellow and the City of Hope Spirit of Life Award.

Close

Stuart Miller Love

b. 1929 d. 2011

Stuart Miller Love epitomized the entrepreneurial spirit and the American Dream. Born into a bluecollar family, he became an upholsterer in High Point. Saving enough money in 1963 for supplies to build one sofa in his carport, he made enough money to build two more. He worked long hours – including working almost a year with walking pneumonia – and in just five years and two moves, Stuart Furniture Industries had grown to $1 million in sales.

When the Asheboro company was sold to Hans Klaussner in 1979, annual revenue totaled more than $60 million. With the Stuart leadership team still in place, the company – renamed Klaussner Furniture – grew to $750 million in annual sales and became one of the largest furniture producers in the world. Mr. Love went on to found Prestige Fabricators and cofounded Stuart-Clark Furniture.

Stuart Furniture sold sofas to the booming N.C. mobile home industry, requiring sofas to be crafted more quickly to meet the demands of mobile home assembly schedules. He transformed the traditional manufacturing process from a four- to six-week delivery model to one- to two-week, just-in-time systems that are now standard in residential upholstery production. Similarly, Stuart Furniture later became one of the first furniture companies to use computers to further streamline manufacturing.

Mr. Love was known for his generosity and unmatched work ethic. Part of the corporate culture included dressing casually every day, because he believed the executives were part of something bigger than themselves. When a truckload of furniture, including the truck, was lost to fire, his employees deferred their wages for a week while they rebuilt the shipment. He surrounded himself with smart, loyal people and believed their successes were his successes; several went on to become furniture industry leaders.

Mr. Love was on the boards of the Asheboro YMCA, First National Bank of Randolph County and the Randolph Hospice House as it was being developed. He was a major donor to Randolph Hospital. At St. John’s Lutheran Church, Mr. Love was an Elder, as well as a Sunday school and Confirmation teacher.

As one of the largest furniture employers in the Triad for many years, Mr. Love believed his greatest gift was creating job opportunities for thousands of Stuart Furniture employees. But, he also personally was known to help scores of people without any fanfare. When he noticed an employee needed dental work, he sent her straight to the dentist and paid for it. When the cook at a local diner was threatened by unpaid bills, Mr. Love paid the debt. Because he appreciated those who had helped him and recognized the impact on his life, one of the greatest joys of Stuart Love was doing likewise for others.