President's letter - April, 2012

Spring is here and the weather is getting better. We hope that tax season is keeping everyone busy and that the economy continues to improve.

Here at the Club, we are very busy planning for summer and fall seasons with lots of fun and educational activities for our membership and the retail community.

Awards Given
Starting at the High Point market, two of our esteemed Club members will be honored by the national IHFRA organization for their dedication and their excellence in service to their peers. Hank Holste, who currently serves as our Vice President, will be honored with the Dean of IHFRA award. Marty Sobel, who has served the Club in every capacity I can think of, receives the penultimate award for a member of IHFRA, the Rudy B. Steltemeier Award. The Rudy B. Steltemeier award honors a member who has demonstrated qualities of outstanding services to fellow representatives through IHFRA, our Club or to reps in other ways. Marty has long deserved this recognition, and we are proud to have him as our member. Congratulations Marty and Hank!

Fun Events
When we return from High Point, the Club has some fun and exciting plans. On June 8, the Midwest Furniture Club is hosting our Annual Dealer Appreciation Day. We are returning to Arlington Race Track and urge our members to invite some your retailers for a day of conversation, fun and dining. For only $80, members can bring 3 guests to the event. That’s four people for $80! It’s a fun day of socializing, food, drink and watching the ponies run. We encourage you to attend.
--> Dealer Appreciation Details Here

Charity Outings
On June 19th, we will host our 10th Annual Bill Krause Golf Outing at Whisper Creek in Huntley. This year the golf event raises money for the charity the Krause family and our Club has long supported, Alternatives in Education for the Hearing Impaired. In addition to a great day of golf, we will have a cocktail hour and dinner. Raffles and prizes are always a great part of the day as well.
--> Golf Outing Details Here

Midwest Furniture Show
And we are in the thick of the planning for our Midwest Furniture Show to be held September 6th and 7th in Schaumburg. This year our first allotment of space sold out quickly, and we were able to expand into more space to meet the demand. This year promises to be the best show we’ve put together, and we invite you to join us and participate. If you haven’t signed up yet but want to exhibit, please contact Geoff Weed and he will try to accommodate all requests for space. He can be reached at 312 305 6421 or at midwestfurnitureshow@gmail.com.
--> Midwest Furniture Show Details Here

Member Meetings
As always, we invite you to our monthly meetings. The next few meetings will be held on 5/11, 6/8, 7/13, and 8/10 at the Holiday Inn in Willowbrook. We encourage you to join us and give us your input and contribution.
--> Member Meeting Details Here

We hope everyone has a great spring and summer!

Mike Mackey
President 2012 Midwest Furniture Club

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