Community and Industry Involment and Environmental Awareness

Our community involvement has certainly made our business and work a richer environment and more rewarding experience. We are involved mostly in school and church activities with an emphasis on voluntary teaching and fund raising. We are happy to say that we donate to any cause or request that comes to us. Though small stores often carry the brunt of these events, we are happy to give. We have received two fold, we are pretty sure, because people asking for items for auctions or donations for events often shop our store and even if ads on place mats, high school sports programs and local organization publications have not been proven to result in additional sales, we are happy to do our share in support of a healthier and happier community. GIVING is a key component in our business plan. All four of us owners agree on this and we actually enjoyed donating a one thousand dollar Nativity set to a local church this past holiday season. One of our most creative endeavors to give back was this past holiday season when we invited local Parent Teacher Association groups into our warehouse to price our holiday wares. The ladies were then paid $l0.00 an hour for their work and the money was written into a check for their PTA. This was a highly successful venture; the women enjoyed it and were able to buy any goods they especially liked early and we paid their sales tax.

Some of the recipients of our goods and/or money in the past are:

We espouse the idea of involvement within our industry and are a member of the Western Home Furnishings Association and the National also. We belong to the Better Business Bureau and have never suffered a negative report. We look forward to visiting with other furniture dealers as members of the Chamber of Commerce realizing that our stories are similar and yet different. We wish there were a venue for more sharing but learn as much as we can at furniture markets and at seminars we are able to attend. Reinventing the wheel is NOT our cup of tea so we love to hear other people in our business tell their stories. We devour publications from national and state wide organizations with a focus on the furniture industry. We were delighted to be asked to participate as a panelist at the WHFA meeting in Kona in May of 2006 and to be profiled by the WESTERN REPORTER in December of 2005. We are convinced of the importance of furniture dealers working together to protect and celebrate our industry. We view our membership in these organizations as an absolute necessity. We have received support, good advice, wonderful learning sessions, and met some very interesting people through the WHFA and its affiliates.

We try to be green! We decry the foam used to ship furniture and recycle it and all cardboard. We are very supportive of groups who are caring for our planet and will, of course, fully and willingly participate in the upcoming initiative against formaldehyde in home furnishings and décor. We are constantly looking for ways to become even more environmentally friendly and use those criteria when we shop for goods.

The furniture industry is a changing one; everything must change in order to survive. So, we believe in the power of change. Our industry is now greatly enhanced by Asian factories and will continue to be so. There are fewer retailers now but of course, we are vying with big box stores for the furniture revenue. We are determined to stay in business, though, and are firmly convinced that there will always be a place at the table for us. We love our store and our work and we promise our customers a pleasurable experience furnishing their home with a smile, a very fair price and a look that will last. As we tell our customers, “We are here for the long run!” We do not espouse the idea that these coming years will be bleak for our industry. On the other hand, we think that this is a culture of “Survival of the Fittest.” We are fit and we will work to stay fit. We believe that our reputation, our service and our product and store environment are good right now but need to be attended to every day, every hour, with each customer who approaches our front door. We will never be complacent; we will always be vigilant and we will always be AT HOME. We are not aware of how we were nominated for Retailer of the Year but we are honored to be able to share our story with you, the nominating committee. Thank You!