December 2011

Dear Midwest Furniture Club Members,

As we start another year, the Midwest Furniture Club is in great shape. At the annual General Meeting in November, the Board elected a new slate of officers, as well as confirmed dates for the Midwest Furniture Show and the Krause Golf Outing.
The first order of business as your new President is to thank Ted Weisbach for his time and effort in serving as President in 2011. Ted moves into the position of Chairman of the Board. I look forward to continuing our tradition of growth, service to the industry and keeping our momentum going. We’ve enjoyed much success in the past years, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

In addition, Hank Holste, David Marcus, Bob Cremer and Mitch Simon have been elected to serve as Officers of the Board. The membership also elected 6 new members to the Board of Directors at our General Meeting held in November.

The first event of the year will take place February 10. This will be our Benefits meeting, where all IHFRA and Midwest Furniture Club members will have the opportunity to learn more about what benefits are available to them, as well as understand the events planned for 2012. Look for more information on our calendar page.

The 10th Annual Bill Krause Charity Golf Outing has been scheduled for June 19, 2012. This year, the annual event benefits the Alexander Graham Bell Montessori School & Alternatives for the Hearing Impaired, a cause near and dear to the Krause family’s hearts. Bill Krause was a long-time member and past President of the Midwest Furniture Club, and a representative for Century Furniture. Mark Dilling is spearheading the planning effort as chairman of the golf committee. We are going to be returning to Whisper Creek in Huntley, where we held the event last year. Our membership and retailers enjoyed a great day of golf, a charity raffle as well as a fun and social dinner. We are looking forward to another great outing. Donations for the raffle or advanced sign-ups can be done through Mark.

The popular Midwest Furniture Show will return to the Schaumburg Convention Center on September 6th and 7th. The Club is currently taking deposits for this year’s show and is beginning to work on the floor plan. We are getting a jumpstart on the show due to a lot of inquiries from last year’s exhibitors. Many of our exhibitors are returning, and we are currently contacting the exhibitors on our waiting list to make sure they are aware of our deadlines and improvements to the show. We’ve also moved the show to September so our dealers can focus on planning the fourth quarter and tax time with their important vendors. For Twitter users please follow “midwestfurnshow” for updates on the show.

Other plans for the year include a Dealer Appreciation Day at Arlington Race Track, summer outing opportunities and continued support for the annual City of Hope event held yearly in Chicago.

We hope you have renewed your membership and signed up for all the perks and discounts that your membership entitles you to. It’s going to be a great year for the furniture business in Chicago

Thanks for your support

Mike Mackey
President 2012 Midwest Furniture Club

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